digital-accessibility-assurance-method

# Digital Accessibility Assurance Method ## Purpose and authority Produce a reproducible evidence pack for qualified review. This Skill never converts incomplete evidence into permission, safety, compliance, diagnosis, release, filing or operational authority. - Do not silently change production code/content, run unauthorized scans, create accounts, collect disability data or expose personal information. - Do not certify WCAG/Section 508/legal conformance, approve an exception, claim an automated scan is complete, or replace testing with disabled users. - Accessibility lead, disabled-user research owner, design/content/engineering, product/release and legal/policy owners retain decisions. ## Freeze the review baseline Before analysis, freeze: - product, route/screen/document, user journey, build/commit, content locale and viewport/device matrix - WCAG edition/level or other policy source as supplied, technology/platform and assistive-technology/browser versions - test accounts/data/privacy, automated tool/rule-set versions, manual protocol and evidence cutoff - accessibility lead, disabled-user research owner, design/content/engineering, legal/policy and release authorities Give every source, object, event, observation and decision question a stable ID. Record source owner, exact locator, source version, effective/retrieval/observation dates, applicability, unit and denominator, evidence cutoff, privacy/license boundary and qualified reviewer. If two branches use incompatible identity, period, unit or source versions, stop reconciliation rather than normalize silently. ## Domain evidence method 1. Inventory complete user journeys and component/content states before sampling. Bind each observation to route/screen/document, build, locale, state, viewport/input modality and evidence locator. 2. Map findings to the exact criterion/version and technique/failure source as a review hypothesis, not an automatic conformance verdict. Automated tools provide observations only and cannot establish full conformance. 3. Test programmatic semantics, name/role/value/state, structure, language, forms/errors/status messages, keyboard order, visible focus, traps, pointer alternatives and assistive-technology output with reproducible steps. 4. Review contrast, color dependence, zoom/reflow, spacing, orientation, target size, motion, timing, flashing, audio/video alternatives, captions/transcripts and cognitive consistency using controlled versions and measured evidence. 5. Trace remediation from finding to design/content/code change, build, retest method and result. Preserve regressions, partial fixes, third-party constraints, exceptions as supplied and disabled-user feedback separately. Maintain five states: `observed`, `supplied_interpretation`, `derived`, `hypothesis`, and `decision_not_made`. Every derived value records formula, inputs, units, denominator and computation version. Every conflict retains both source records and a qualified resolution owner. Absence, silence and failed retrieval are never positive evidence. ## Parallel branches and join ### Accessibility Scope Inventory Analyst Freezes journeys, states, builds, locales, technology, standards/policy sources and test matrix. - route/screen/document inventory - journey and state coverage - build/locale/device/input matrix - criterion/policy source and test authority Reconcile: - scope covers critical paths - build and content versions resolve - sampling gaps are explicit Stop when: - unbounded production scan - test authorization absent - personal data exposure ### Accessibility Semantics Keyboard Assistive Analyst Produces semantic, keyboard, focus, form, status and assistive-technology evidence. - structure and accessible names - role/value/state and forms/errors - keyboard order/focus/traps - screen-reader and platform accessibility output Reconcile: - steps reproducible on named versions - DOM/AX observation and user effect separated - automated/manual evidence distinguished Stop when: - test environment unstable - assistive version missing - production mutation requested ### Accessibility Visual Media Cognitive Analyst Measures contrast, reflow, visual presentation, motion, timing, media alternatives and cognitive consistency evidence. - contrast/color/spacing - zoom/reflow/orientation/target - motion/flashing/timing - captions/transcripts/audio description and consistency Reconcile: - measurements include method/unit - content/state versions explicit - criterion applicability remains review question Stop when: - measurement basis missing - media source unavailable - health/disability inference requested ### Accessibility Manual User Remediation Verification Analyst Traces manual protocols, disabled-user evidence as authorized, remediation versions, retests, regressions and exceptions. - manual task protocol - authorized user-research evidence - finding-to-change trace - retest/regression/third-party/exception status Reconcile: - privacy/consent boundary clear - fix build differs from finding build - retest reproduces original path Stop when: - consent/privacy absent - fix not deployed to test environment - exception/conformance approval requested ### Digital Accessibility Assurance Review Owner Joins scope, semantic/keyboard, visual/media and manual/remediation evidence into a qualified accessibility review pack. - scope and criterion coverage - automated/manual/user evidence separation - remediation and regression trace - conformance/exception decision queue Reconcile: - all findings map to build/state/evidence - coverage gaps remain visible - conformance/legal decisions remain decision_not_made Stop when: - critical journey untested - evidence versions conflict - authorized accessibility owner absent Run the root branches independently. The join starts only after all roots return or explicitly stop. It reconciles stable IDs, versions, dates, units, denominators, cross-branch dependencies, duplicate evidence, contradictions and missing owner assignments. It cannot upgrade evidence, accept risk, sign off or perform an external action. ## Reusable assets - `assets/accessibility-scope-journey-build-test-matrix.md`: Freeze accessible-product scope and test coverage. Required domain fields: product_route_document, journey_task, state, build_commit_content_version, locale, viewport_device_input, AT_browser_version, criterion_policy_source. - `assets/semantic-keyboard-assistive-evidence-ledger.md`: Preserve structure, form, focus and assistive evidence. Required domain fields: finding_id, element_component, criterion_hypothesis, name_role_value_state, keyboard_steps_focus, AT_output, tool_protocol_version, user_effect_hypothesis, evidence_locator. - `assets/visual-reflow-media-cognitive-evidence-register.md`: Record measured visual/media/cognitive observations. Required domain fields: finding_id, content_state, contrast_or_dimension_value_unit, zoom_reflow_orientation, motion_timing_flashing, caption_transcript_audio_description, consistency_error_prevention, method_version. - `assets/accessibility-remediation-retest-regression-register.md`: Trace finding through controlled remediation and verification. Required domain fields: finding_id, owner, design_content_code_change, change_commit_build, retest_protocol, retest_result, regression_scope, third_party_constraint, exception_as_supplied. - `assets/digital-accessibility-qualified-review-pack.md`: Present coverage, evidence, remediation and reserved conformance decisions. Required domain fields: scope_baseline, criterion_coverage, automated_manual_user_evidence, critical_journey_gaps, remediation_status, exception_questions, decision_not_made, accessibility_owner. Read each selected asset before producing output. Preserve its fields and reconciliation checks; extend it only with source-backed domain fields. Every asset must identify version, source/date, applicability, owner, qualified reviewer, assumptions, uncertainty, status, evidence pointer, decision not made and stop reason. ## Stop and escalation Stop on identity conflict, missing authority, incompatible versions, unresolvable units or denominator, unverifiable source, unauthorized personal/confidential data, material evidence contradiction, or any request for a reserved action. Escalate immediate safety or clinical concerns through the operator's approved human channel; do not improvise a response. ## Sources and adaptation boundary Read `references/SOURCE-PROVENANCE.md` and `references/PRIMARY-SOURCES.md` before relying on a method or current requirement. Bounded MIT adaptation of criterion mapping, automated/manual separation, keyboard/semantics/visual checks, reproducible evidence and remediation verification from alirezarezvani/claude-skills@aa8d778811a557a2c28ccadda4cf3d0bd028a4cc engineering-team/a11y-audit/skills/a11y-audit/SKILL.md. Autonomous codebase mutation, fixed severity scoring, production changes, UI automation, conformance and legal conclusions are excluded. Primary sources establish method anchors only; current applicability and controlled requirements must be supplied and approved for the actual task.