Building the Design Team

Select a process design leader who is knowledgeable about the current process and will be a good facilitator.
Choose key people who will help you understand the existing process. This includes representatives from all affected district/college personnel (e.g., managers and the employees who do the work).
Schedule a set of team meetings.

Example: Form a team of district/college people knowledgeable about the district's existing procurement process. The district procurement manager leads a team that includes an IT purchase reviewer and purchase requesters.

Use the Accessibility Process Design Template to record the design team’s findings during the initial process design discussion.

Identify the Objective

In the context of process design, an objective is a clear and specific statement outlining the desired outcome or goal the process aims to achieve. It provides direction and purpose for the process design efforts, ensuring all activities and improvements align with achieving the expected outcome.

To help determine the objective, consult the Accessibility Capability Maturity Model (ACMM) Goals and Milestones. Refer to ACMM Milestone 5.1.1 Develop a process to obtain vendor-provided accessibility documentation. (This documentation typically consists of an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), also known as a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), for each product being considered for acquisition.)

For the example used throughout this course, refer to the CCCAC Accessibility Process Design: A Case Study for Obtaining the ACR companion course.

Example: Accessibility Process Design (APD) Team

APD Team Objective: Develop a process for requesting, obtaining, and retaining Accessibility Compliance Reports (ACR) for Information Communication Technology (ICT)purchases.

APD Team Expected Outcome: Every ICT purchase has an ACR stored in central storage or has approval that the ACR requirement has been waived.

Map the Current State

Before accessibility procedures can be added to a process, it's essential to have a clear and comprehensive understanding of how the process currently works. This includes knowing each process step, its inputs and outputs, and identifying decision points. Planning a route to where you want to be is challenging without knowing where you are starting from.

Engage the team by using a visual aid to:

List the steps in the existing process.
Include inputs, outputs, and decision points.
- Inputs are the resources, data, or materials required to start a process. They are what is consumed or used to produce an output.
- Outputs are a process's results, products, services, or outcomes. They are passed on to either the end-user or another process.
- Decision points are specific stages within a process or workflow where a choice or decision must be made, often impacting the direction, outcome, or next steps of the process.

Example:

Input: A purchase requester contacts a vendor to make an ICT purchase.
Output: The vendor replies with purchase information.
Decision Point: After reviewing the purchase information, the requester decides whether to proceed with the purchase or not.

Analyze and Identify Gaps

Analyzing and identifying gaps is an essential step in process design. It ensures that the new process is aligned with the objective, inclusive, and efficient. Gathering feedback from a wide range of individuals, including those not directly on the design team but involved in or impacted by the process, may call attention to previously missed gaps.

Engage the team by using visual aids.
Invite other employees involved in the process but not on the team to join the analysis.
Thoroughly evaluate each step in the existing process against the objective.
Identify the gaps in the process where accessibility procedures must be added.

Example:
Recognizing that the purchase requester is not responsible for requesting the ACR highlights a significant gap in ensuring that purchased ICT products meet accessibility standards.

Step 1 Resources

Accessibility Process Design Template