The Central Information Technology Office (CITO) is a publicly owned company established by the Government of Jamaica in 2001. CITO’s mandate is to contribute to the increase of national wealth and the e-powering of Jamaica.
CITO first engaged RealDecoy in early 2006 when the Government of Jamaica began the process of adopting the Government of Canada’s Common Look and Feel (CLF) guidelines. RealDecoy had previously presented at a seminar in Jamaica on accessibility standards and the possibility of implementing such standards across the country. As a result, in late 2006, CITO approached RealDecoy to develop web accessibility guidelines and a CLF for the Government of Jamaica’s websites.
RealDecoy provided CITO with an appropriate set of accessibility requirements and CLF guidelines.
THE CHALLENGE
Out-of-date accessibility standards
After meeting with CITO and doing some initial research, RealDecoy concluded that the accessibility standards being used in Jamaica were out of date—and that websites across various government departments were being managed differently. RealDecoy had to find a way to bring together these disparate strands with a clear set of guidelines for accessibility on the web. RealDecoy set out to develop a standard accessibility and CLF template and structure for Government of Jamaica websites. This was challenging because the Government did not have any standard branding in place that resembled the Federal Identity Program in Canada. RealDecoy had to develop templates basically from scratch, using the Government of Canada’s CLF standards as a guide.
Indifference to web standards
Getting other government departments in Jamaica to buy into having web standards was challenging. RealDecoy hosted government workshops to show the benefits of having a CLF but few people showed interest in what we had to say. We had to find a way to increase interest within the Government.
Building web capacity in Jamaica
RealDecoy was also tasked with standardizing training at technical colleges so students would be qualified to address accessibility and CLF standards in Jamaica. Finding qualified training sites was a challenge as many colleges weren’t even up to World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards.
OUR SOLUTION
Making accessibility relevant to Jamaica
RealDecoy investigated the most relevant accessibility requirements and modified the Government of Canada’s CLF guidelines to lower the barriers to implementation in Jamaica. The Government of Jamaica’s standards didn’t have to meet the same stringent requirements as those in Canada, but they did have to reflect the latest thinking and technologies.
Ultimately, RealDecoy established a standard visual identity for the Government of Jamaica—its departments, ministries and agencies.Developing a testing guide and curriculum
RealDecoy also developed a testing guide to allow webmasters within the Government to determine if sites meet the new standards. In addition, we produced a training curriculum for various colleges in Jamaica to promote the training of students on proper web standards.
Promoting widespread adoption
RealDecoy is now producing a government director site and working on standards-compliant websites for the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Tourism, Education and Culture.
