Action Step 2: ASSESS
A key step in ensuring an accessible workplace is to assess the information and communications technology (ICT) that you already have in place. This is an ongoing process that involves taking inventory of your existing technologies and making a plan to address any accessibility issues—either by working with the vendors who created the solutions you use or with your own internal IT developers.
It's also important to assess your accessibility efforts at large, and PEAT offers a powerful tool to help you do that called TechCheck. TechCheck helps you evaluate your organization's technology accessibility efforts and find resources to help you develop them further. Whether you have a formal accessible technology initiative or not, TechCheck can help. The tool will help you understand the current state of your accessible technology policies, the goals you want to reach, and what steps you might take to reach them. In addition, TechCheck will provide an overall picture of how well developed your initiative is.
Of course, evaluation and testing go hand in hand with assessment. So be sure to check out the measurement resources in Action Step 4 for more information on testing.
To help you conduct a thorough assessment of your existing workplace technologies, use these PEAT resources:
- TechCheck—An interactive tool to help employers assess their accessible workplace technology practices and find resources to help develop them further.
- Taking Stock of Your Workplace Technology—Learn how to get started with an accessible technology assessment, as well as some of the key variables to consider.
- Technical Standards for Workplace Technologies—Explore the key technical standards associated with technology accessibility, from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to Section 508.