Overall Performance Category Findings and Recommendations: Moderate Maturity Categories

Moderate Maturity - Very Low Conformance

Highlighted Category Statistics:

• 14 of 27 reporting entities in this bracket (52%) indicated they require annual Section 508 awareness training on a regular basis, and feedback loops are established to refine and update training content regularly .

• Only 3 of 27 of reporting entities (11%) said ICT accessibility is not included in any policies or directives. The other 89% include accessibility language to some degree with 7 of 27 of reporting entities (26%) who include consideration for ICT accessibility in their policy or directive creation, review, and management process.

• All reporting entities in this category reported they had at least some process to ensure formal communications are Section 508 conformant with 18 of 27 (67%) indicating they regularly or frequently do so.

• 22 of 37 reporting entities (59%) said they did not manually test any internet pages.

• 13 of 35 reporting entities who tested (37%) indicated they had 50% or less conformance for all of the web pages they tested during the reporting period.

Overall Recommendations

Reporting entities in the Moderate-Very Low category are more mature than the trend in several areas including Training, Acquisitions and Procurement, and Communications. Reporting entities in this category should focus on improving accessibility testing as a first investment because of their low maturity in this area, the relatively lower conformance scores, and the lack of resources to test for the documents and web pages, requested by the Assessment.

Moderate Maturity - Low Conformance

Highlighted Category Statistics:

• Only 4 of 37 reporting entities (11%) said they had not defined any ICT accessibility-related goals or objectives, with the other 33 stating that they intend to include accessibility goals within the next five years or much sooner. 18 of 37 of the reporting entities (48%) reported that ICT accessibility core values have been included in the reporting entity DEIA or mission-related strategic plan, and leadership regularly communicates this core value .

• All but one reporting entity in this bracket (97%) said they include instructions for filing a Section 508 complaint on at least their intranet or internet.

• Only two(6%) of reporting entities in this bracket never include Section 508 requirements in ICT governance. The other 35 (94%) include these requirements at least sometimes or with greater frequency.

• Almost half of the reporting entities reported that they did not have resources to test documents and videos.

Overall Recommendations

Reporting entities in the Moderate-Low category performed on trend across almost all dimensions except Human Capital, Culture, and Leadership. An effort to incrementally improve all dimensions would be prudent since one particular dimension or specific criteria did not immediately stand out when reviewing the maturity responses. However, although Testing maturity was good (rated Moderate on average), actual conformance was relatively low. GSA recommends focusing on more effective implementation of testing programs.

Moderate Maturity - Moderate Conformance

Highlighted Category Statistics:

• Only 1 reporting entity in this category (4%) said they do not provide instructions for filing complaints to employees or the public, while 9 of 23 (39%) of respondents selected the highest response for this question, which means they provide information on filing complaints on their internet and intranet, depending on which they support .

• All reporting entities in this category reported they sometimes include Section 508 requirements in ICT governance.

• Only 2 of 23 of reporting entities (9%) in this bracket indicated they do not have a formal Section 508 program or equivalent, with the others having a program in development or have already established a program .

• All reporting entities in this category reported they test internet web pages, with 13 of 23 (56%) reporting 80% or higher conformance.

Overall Recommendations

Reporting entities in the Moderate-Moderate category performed as expected with the trend across all dimensions. An effort to incrementally improve across all maturity dimensions would be prudent as one particular dimension or specific criteria did not immediately stand out when reviewing the responses. Additionally, as about 33% of reporting entities said they did not have resources to test the digital content requested for this Assessment, GSA recommends that entities increase their testing capacity and/or capability.

Moderate Maturity - High Conformance

Highlighted Category Statistics:

• All of the reporting entities in this category said that widely accepted test processes are at least sometimes used.

• Only one reporting entity had the lowest rating for only one question in the IT Accessibility Program Office dimension, indicating at least some maturity for every reporting entity in this dimension.

• 75% of reporting entities in this category frequently or almost always include Section 508 requirements in solicitations.

• All reporting entities in this category test internet pages, with all reporting over 80% of pages fully conformant.

• 7 of 8 reporting entities in this category (88%) provided results for the digital content conformance questions (Q78-81 (See FY23 Data Dictionary (XLSX))), with relatively high conformance on average.

Overall Recommendations:

Reporting entities in the Moderate-High category performed as expected on trend in most dimensions, but underperformed expectations in Acquisitions and Procurement. Reporting entities in this category should focus on improving the maturity of their training and human capital considerations . Additionally, a concentration on improving maturity in general is suggested as conformance across reporting entities in this category was relatively high.

Moderate Maturity - Very High Conformance

Highlighted Category Statistics:

• 4 of 6 of reporting entities in this category (67%) chose the top response with respect to the functionality of the Section 508 Program or equivalent, and they frequently provide support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions.

• All reporting entities in this category only sometimes provide or do not have the capacity to provide training for employees.

• All reporting entities in this category reported that they test their web pages, with 75% or more conformance.

• 5 of 6 of reporting entities (83%) reported that their telework agreement form fully conforms to all applicable Section 508 standards.

• All reporting entities either do not create mobile applications (2) or custom developed desktop software or native mobile applications fully conform to all applicable Section 508 standards (4).

Overall Recommendations:

Reporting entities in the Moderate-Very High category performed well below trend in Training. Reporting entities in this category should consider investing in training in the first instance and then in other maturity dimensions incrementally, particularly as conformance results within the category were relatively high.

Reviewed/Updated: December 2023