![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Aug. 22nd, 2001 11:05 pmHonestly, I understand the need for Section 508. Section 508 is the government mandated accessibility standards for web sites. It's just that...that...we're writing courseware for currently enlisted military personnel. It's so unlikely that you'd have a sight-disabled active duty soldier, let alone one taking a course on Intellligence Photography...
Esther, the second-in-command of the Farm team, has done some fabulous research on Section 508 and was charged with starting a committee to discuss/develop in-house standards to address Section 508. She was given little guidance and had a great deal of trouble trying to whittle things down to the nitty-gritty. What resulted was almost 300 Xeroxed pages given to each committee member. I think we all blanched when these huge documents were handed out! I had been told I was a member of this committee, since my boss is on sabbatical for the next few months. Told, not asked to be. Esther REALLY, REALLY wanted Robin on the committee as well. I had totally (and conveniently) forgotten about the meeting, but Esther made a point of going from office to office to round us up. As I went out the doorway, Esther turned and said, "You can come to this, too, Robin!" Robin had that deer in the headlights look. "Oh, that's okay." Esther then proceeded to cajole, plead, and otherwise try to coherce Robin into going. Standing behind Esther, I had my arm up behind my back and was doing a charade of "arm twisting." :) Robin was trying very hard not to look at me. :)
When Esther opened the first document and appeared prepared to read all 132 pages of it, point by point, we all started frantically wracking our brains for a way out. Jared, the programming representative, mentioned that his department had already taken the initiative to address web accessibility issues. That was the wedge I needed! Being one of the laziest people I know, a talent I have developed over the years is the ability condense, simplify, and otherwise distill the bare essentials needed to get the job done. I suggested a simplified approach to the research, then further refined it to limiting our current scope to the priority items to meet Section 508 compliance. There was visible relief in the room and everyone was quick to jump on the bandwagon. Jared and I were able to further amplify on each other's points and strengthen the case of WHY it wasn't necessary to discuss each criteria in excruciating detail. I'm not sure of Esther's reaction...she loves standards and having everything spelled out explicitly. On one hand, I detected relief that some of the burden of winnowing out important info had been taken out of her hands. On the other hand, I felt a great deal of defensiveness that her baby, her huge magnum opus, had been relegated to the irrelevant. We all made a point of praising all the hard work and pointing out what a valuable reference she had created.
Esther, the second-in-command of the Farm team, has done some fabulous research on Section 508 and was charged with starting a committee to discuss/develop in-house standards to address Section 508. She was given little guidance and had a great deal of trouble trying to whittle things down to the nitty-gritty. What resulted was almost 300 Xeroxed pages given to each committee member. I think we all blanched when these huge documents were handed out! I had been told I was a member of this committee, since my boss is on sabbatical for the next few months. Told, not asked to be. Esther REALLY, REALLY wanted Robin on the committee as well. I had totally (and conveniently) forgotten about the meeting, but Esther made a point of going from office to office to round us up. As I went out the doorway, Esther turned and said, "You can come to this, too, Robin!" Robin had that deer in the headlights look. "Oh, that's okay." Esther then proceeded to cajole, plead, and otherwise try to coherce Robin into going. Standing behind Esther, I had my arm up behind my back and was doing a charade of "arm twisting." :) Robin was trying very hard not to look at me. :)
When Esther opened the first document and appeared prepared to read all 132 pages of it, point by point, we all started frantically wracking our brains for a way out. Jared, the programming representative, mentioned that his department had already taken the initiative to address web accessibility issues. That was the wedge I needed! Being one of the laziest people I know, a talent I have developed over the years is the ability condense, simplify, and otherwise distill the bare essentials needed to get the job done. I suggested a simplified approach to the research, then further refined it to limiting our current scope to the priority items to meet Section 508 compliance. There was visible relief in the room and everyone was quick to jump on the bandwagon. Jared and I were able to further amplify on each other's points and strengthen the case of WHY it wasn't necessary to discuss each criteria in excruciating detail. I'm not sure of Esther's reaction...she loves standards and having everything spelled out explicitly. On one hand, I detected relief that some of the burden of winnowing out important info had been taken out of her hands. On the other hand, I felt a great deal of defensiveness that her baby, her huge magnum opus, had been relegated to the irrelevant. We all made a point of praising all the hard work and pointing out what a valuable reference she had created.
