Background

EN 301 549 is the European standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services. The latest published version, 3.2.1, can be downloaded here.

It was originally written as a standard to be used in the context of ICT procurement, but it was updated to also allow it to be used means of showing conforming to the essential requirements of European Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies. It is expected that EN 301 549 will be further updated to allow it to be used in other contexts and to ensure that it is based on the latest best practice. To ensure coherence of the updated EN 301 549, all changes must be done in a way that is consistent with the design principles that apply to the document.

The purpose of this site

This site has been created to help to enhance and broaden participation in deciding on what future updates should be made (although final decisions on what is and what is not implemented will continue to rest with a CEN/CENELEC/ETSI Joint Working Group (JWG) on “eAccessibility”).

How the site is organised

Issues

Each proposal for a potential change or addition to EN 301 549 starts off as an "Issue". Issues can be accessed by selecting "Issues" in the main (side) menu. Each issue will have one or more "labels" assigned to it to show the context of the suggested change and to assist in filtering changes to only view a subset. If an issue proposes a way to resolve the issue, the proposed solution must be consistent with the design principles that apply to the document.

A threaded discussion can take place for each issue. Issues can contain links to other resources including "Snippets".

Snippets

Rather than trying to follow the evolution of proposed resolutions to the issues across multiple comments in the discussion thread, a "Snippet" is associated with each thread that proposes new or changed content for EN 301 549. The snippet will show what the revised parts of EN 301 549 could look like, within the constraints of the Markdown or html formatting that they support.

A link to the relevant snippet is usually contained in the initial definition of an issue.

Snippets can either be accessed via a link in a comment on an "issue" or they can all be viewed under the "Snippets" heading in the main (side) menu. Snippets should normally contain a link back to Issue with which it is associated.

Word documents

A snippet will allow a very realistic looking facsimile of how the proposed revised text will look when formatted according to the ETSI Word templates. However, to ensure that everyone is clear on the exact appearance of a proposed revision/addition, a correctly ETSI formatted Word document will also be created before any final decisions are made. This will also be linked to the relevant issue during the final stages of agreeing the changes.

How to participate

• All the activity on the site can be viewed by anyone who has a link to it.
• Anybody can send a proposal for an issue or a comment on an issue to HFsupport@etsi.org. Emails received will be checked and then submitted by a member as a new issue and assigned an appropriate "Label". Please ensure that any proposed ways to resolve an issue are consistent with the design principles that apply to the document.
• • Anyone who has an ETSI EOL account can directly create and comment on issues within GitLab.
• Whether directly input or submitted by email, each issue should cover a single simple proposal.
• If you wish to submit multiple proposals then please making them separate issues or submit each one as a separate email.
• If you want more information,or wish to comment on using the site send an email to HFsupport@etsi.org.