Konabos

Implementing the Konabos WAaaS: A Practical Guide

Paul Williams - Senior Project Manager

5 Jun 2024

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Business Analysis 

      • Our business analysts will work with you to document what work on digital accessibility has already been done 
      • We will create a record of all your customer-facing websites and other digital interfaces, such as mobile apps, kiosks, or wearable technology 
      • We will work with you to perform a quantitative assessment of traffic on your digital properties 
      • We will work with you to understand the revenue value of each digital property 
      • We will work with you to understand your target audience and their demographics 
      • We will work with you to determine which properties have complex features, functionality, and interfaces, which should be functional for all your customers 
      • With the above information recorded, we will, as a team, determine which properties are considered highest value to the business 

Quick Wins

      • Working through the list of digital properties in priority order, Konabos will perform automated tests on each of them 
      • This will show any obvious, major accessibility issues that must be rectified to be compliant with any version and level of the WCAG (web ….) 
      • Any pages or components that are based on a template or are reused will be fixed by Konabos first to deliver the most value the fastest 
      • The remaining major issues will then be rectified based on the priority of the property 
      • Working in this way, allows Konabos to front-load fixing serious faults and getting these fixes live whilst the deeper business analysis is being undertaken 
      • An important note: one of the most common and serious issues is legibility for visually impaired people and those with dyslexia. This will be at the top of the list for remediation. Unfortunately, this often means changing the site brand guidelines in terms of color combinations and fonts. The scope of the required changes will depend on which version and level of WCAG you must comply with. We will go into this more deeply in the following sections 

Determining your Legal Exposure 

      • Whilst the Konabos design and development team implement the quick wins, the business analysis team will move on to analyzing your legal exposure 
      • For each of properties, Konabos will determine the version and level of WCAG you must comply with to conform to local and national web accessibility regulations 
      • There are several variable variables to consider: 
      • Your location and thus legal jurisdiction 
      • Where your properties will be accessed from 
      • Which devices the properties can be accessed from 
      • The websites of your direct suppliers 
      • What type of service does the property deliver? WCAG requirements will be significantly stricter for government, medical, tax reporting, legal, banking, and any other property that delivers basic, essential services 
      • Konabos will document this information and provide you with a formal report 
      • Included in the document will be an assessment of the local and national penalties that could be imposed on you and how to avoid them 
      • The report will also any specific requirements stipulated by the relevant jurisdiction (such as independent audits by qualified professionals, or proof of your ongoing web accessibility initiatives) 
      • Taking into consideration the findings from the steps above, the Konabos business analysis team will also determine if there have been any successful civil lawsuits in your domain where the plaintiffs have been awarded remunerated for assessed damages 
      • Konabos will clearly state which version and level of WCAG you must comply with for each of your properties 

Begin your journey to accessibility compliance here.

Determining the Revenue Upside 

      • If your properties are commercial, whether B2C (e-commerce) or B2B, the primary goal of the property is to convert your traffic into paying customers 
      • If your property is essentially inaccessible to visitors with differentiated abilities, this will lead to a higher bounce rate and form abandonment. The visitors are unlikely to ever return 
      • Konabos will you to determine how much revenue is being lost due to poor accessibility on your digital properties. Visitors who are marginalized by your current customer experience. Konabos will help you convert this downside to your revenue upside 
      • Konabos will produce a formal report assessing the current degree of marginalization and lost potential revenue, and the potential revenue growth by implementing web accessibility  
      • You can use this report to secure funding for attaining and maintaining digital accessibility compliance with Konabos WAaaS 

The Full Digital Accessibility Audit 

      • Konabos, with their trusted partner TPGi, will now perform full automated and manual testing on your properties in priority order. TPGi employs people of all abilities to perform manual end-user testing on your current properties 
      • This is a rigorous, methodical, and exhaustive process 
      • TPGi will write up their findings 
      • Konabos will perform a gap analysis between the digital property’s accessibility issues and the level and version of WCAG mandated 
      • Konabos will create a project plan to remediate the accessibility issues for each property, which can be started at your earliest convenience 
      • Whilst Konabos is making your properties WCAG compliant in priority order, TPGi will continue to work through testing your properties in priority. There are parallel streams of activity to ensure your critical path to digital accessibility is as short as possible 

Begin your journey to accessibility compliance here.

Reporting and Remediation 

      • TPGi and Konabos will deliver a formal report of the accessibility issues that were found, their severity, and how to remedy them. Most importantly, the report will document how to avoid introducing the same fault in future digital design and development projects 
      • The quick wins should either be complete or be at an advanced stage of development and Konabos testing 
      • As noted in the previous section, Konabos will have developed a project plan for each property to achieve digital accessibility compliance 
      • If not already underway, the Konabos design and development team will now perform the necessary remediation on your digital properties based on the version and level of WCAG each one needs to adhere to 
      • Once finished, the Konabos and TPGi quality assurance teams will confirm each property is WCAG compliant in priority order 
      • If local regulations require further independent auditing, Konabos will arrange this 

Ongoing Automated Testing 

      • Once a digital property is confirmed as WCAG compliant, Konabas will ask you to perform user acceptance testing, after which the initial exercise will be considered complete 
      • Konabos will now add this property to the list of properties with daily automated testing 
      • The testing platform produces a daily report which will be reviewed by the Konabos QA team each morning. Any new critical issues will be escalated internally for remediation, and we will ask you for a planned downtime window to implement the fix 

Manual Audits 

      • Based on the financial value, complexity, importance and type of services delivered by a property, and the strictness of legislation in your jurisdiction, we will work with you and TPGi to set a schedule for full manual tests; annual, bi-annual, or quarterly 
      • Again, a formal report will be drawn up and Konabos will perform any remedial actions to remain WCAG compliant 

Ongoing Assessment of Legislation and Regulations 

      • Konabos will monitor your jurisdiction for any new accessibility regulations so that you remain compliant at all times 
      • Depending on the type of regulatory change, the Konabos design and development team may commence on any necessary remediation immediately 
      • If the change in regulations is significant, this may trigger a full manual testing cycle followed by a new design and development cycle, followed by any necessary independent auditing 
      • At all times, Konabos will work with you to maintain an accessibility statement on your Digital property to clearly demonstrate to any auditor or legal team that your site is either fully compliant or is within a testing and development cycle to gain or re-gain compliance. This statement de-risks your legal exposure on an ongoing basis 

Accessibility Baked into Future Design and Development 

      • As long as you are subscribed to the WAasS plan, all future Konabos design and development will strictly follow the current WCAG guidance your version and level of WCAG 
      • Equally, all project deliverables will be explicitly tested for WCAG compliance by the Konabos QA team


Begin your journey to accessibility compliance here.

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Paul Williams

Paul Williams

As an advocate for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, I am passionate about creating digital solutions that are innovative, sustainable, and equally accessible to people of all abilities, everywhere.

With diverse experience in both technical and digital marketing roles, I help Konabos build engaging online experiences that turn visitors into paying customers.

Over the past 23 years, I've been involved in developing and managing all aspects of content management, digital publishing, e-commerce, online subscriptions, and community management across many different MarTech platforms.

I held significant roles at The Economist and NTT Data, including Program Manager, Director of Web Operations, and Director of Sitecore Delivery.

And now I'm excited to share my experience, passion, and innovation at Konabos!


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