Portland and the federal government

Learn about our sanctuary city status, efforts to block federal overreach: Portland.gov/Federal

Playbook

Teams often start with a solution. This playbook helps you step back and focus on the problem first. This helps reduce assumptions and risk.

A graphic illustrates the cycle of three phases: define, discover, and deliver.View full size image

Keep your service accessible

This play helps your team find and fix barriers to using your service. It covers both plain language and digital accessibility.

Use this play when creating, updating, or reviewing a website, form, or online service. The main outcome is a digital service that's easy for everyone, regardless of ability, to find, understand, and use.

This play will help you meet WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines, which is the standard at the City of Portland. A small accessibility review might take a few hours. A larger review may take several days.

What it is

This play is basically an accessibility audit. You check content, images, media, links, forms, and interface patterns to make sure they're accessible for all people.  

While this page deals mainly with digital services, it's important to consider physical accessibility where appropriate. In either case, look for anything that could create a barrier for users, regardless of ability, and make a note of it so that you can fix it.  

You'll also navigate all the information in the service and take note of anything that makes the service difficult to understand. You'll consider plain language, page structure, alt text, media formats, and general usability. 

The output of this play is a document of issues and fixes. This should get smaller with each review, until your service is as accessible as can be.

Use this play when launching new content, improving a service, or reviewing an existing experience.

Don't use it as a replacement for an accessibility audit of a standalone app. 

How to use it

Who you'll need

  • One content expert for detailed review
  • The service owner for usability decisions
  • Technical resource, if needed 

What you'll need

  • A shared spreadsheet, table, or list
  • A functional version of your service that you can test
  • Employee guidance on digital accessibility (see resources, below)
  • Finalized text from your service
  • Tools for measuring text readability 

Steps

  1. Define the review scope.

    Choose the pages and interactions to review. Include:

    • Key activities like scrolling, clicking, and tapping
    • Forms and submissions
    • Automated communications
    • Images, video, audio, and documents
    • Common interface patterns like buttons and accordions 

  2. Review the language.

    Check whether the content is clear and easy to understand. It should follow principles of plain language and read at a middle-school grade level. Include:

    • Plain words
    • Short, complete sentences
    • Clear instructions and list items, where appropriate
    • Little or no jargon 

  3. Review the content structure.

    Check whether the page is organized in a clear and accessible way. Make sure:

    • Heading order makes sense and doesn't skip levels, like from H2 to H4.
    • Link text gives context for the destination.
    • Instructions don't rely only on color or position.
    • Tables have row and column headers and aren't used merely for layout. 

  4. Review media and files.

    Check whether non-text content is accessible. Make sure:

    • All images have alt text.
    • There are no purely decorative images.
    • Video and audio have captions or transcripts.
    • Documents, if you must include them, are accessible. 

  5. Check interactions.

    Review the parts of the service people must click, open, fill out, or navigate. Make sure:

    • Form labels are clear.
    • Buttons, button text, links, and link text are usable and accessible.
    • Keyboard navigation is in logical order.
    • Interface elements (like accordion rows) work with keyboard navigation.
    • Any error messages help the user resolve the error. 

  6. Use available checks.

    Run the tools and reviews already available to your team. This includes:

    • Content checks with Editoria11y in Drupal.
    • Browser-based accessibility tools like Lighthouse.
    • Accessibility review support on Portland.gov
    • Team review of common WCAG issues.

  7. Fix issues and document follow-up.

    Fix what you can now. Make a note of what may need work. Track:

    • What you fixed
    • What still needs attention
    • Who owns each issue
    • What should be checked again before launch 

What to produce

  • A list of issues found
  • A list of fixes completed
  • A list of follow-up actions
  • A fully usable and accessible digital service 

What decisions you'll make

  • What issues must be fixed now
  • What issues can wait
  • Whether the service is ready to publish
  • Whether technical support is needed 

You're done when

  • The review is complete for the defined scope.
  • Major accessibility issues are fixed or assigned.
  • The remaining issues are documented clearly.
  • The team knows whether the service is ready to publish. 

Resources

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