WebFOCUS Business Intelligence Products Section 508 Compliance Statement Part 1194 Response

Information Builders is committed to providing high-quality products and services that are both useful and accessible to the largest population of users possible; this includes those users that have disabilities.

Information Builders' WebFOCUS products work on most computing platforms in current use. Many features in our products that can affect a statement of total compliance depend on features built into the platforms on which they run.

Accessibility is our goal, but the responsibility for completing all accessibility compliance is shared by many hardware and software vendors with whom we interoperate.

Regarding Section 508 accessibility, the plan for Information Builders' WebFOCUS products is as follows:

	To provide full disclosure as regards the Section 508-compliant accessibility of our products in full compliance with all accessibility legislation. Information Builders is testing our products for compliance with these standards.
	To maintain Section 508-compliant features in our product release cycles, Information Builders will make necessary changes to any products that do not already comply with the standards so that they will be compliant in their next releases. Accessibility of end-user tools may be accomplished in phases over several releases. It might not be possible to correct older products and products not in general use.
	Make sure that the Information Builders Consulting division develops and maintains applications built with Information Builders' WebFOCUS products that are accessible according to the standards dictated by Section 508. Information Builders will continue to educate our consultants in these standards to provide the highest quality of service to our customers.
	To provide access to resources, documentation, and other information that will help our customers both develop and remediate their applications for accessibility.

In each section below, general design accessibility guidelines are stated for Information Builders' WebFOCUS products. As we continue a general audit of all our products, any exceptions to these statements will be scheduled to be fixed in future WebFOCUS product releases.

Any statements appearing below apply to Information Builders' products as they are shipped by Information Builders to our customers. Our products are developer tools. We make no warranty or provision to correct any changes made in the course of application development by customers or their agencies.

Note: For the responses to the following, statements exclusively cover WebFOCUS applications, technologies, and tools that originate from Information Builders. Any exceptions to these statements will be scheduled to be fixed in future WebFOCUS product releases.

A) When software is designed to run on a system that has a keyboard, product functions shall be executable from a keyboard where the function itself or the result of performing a function can be discerned textually.

Since WebFOCUS is a set of language-based products, WebFOCUS applications and tools that originate from Information Builders currently provide direct keyboard functionality for access to all functions.

B) Applications shall not disrupt or disable activated features of other products that are identified as accessibility features, where those features are developed and documented according to industry standards. Applications also shall not disrupt or disable activated features of any operating system that are identified as accessibility features where the application programming interface for those accessibility features has been documented by the manufacturer of the operating system and is available to the product developer.

WebFOCUS business intelligence products do not disrupt or disable accessibility features on any platform or operating system on which they function. WebFOCUS works with all features inherent on each platform on which it runs.

C) A well defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes.

WebFOCUS HTML, Java™, and Windows end-user tools use operating system and browser functionality to indicate the focus in any context. Should the operating system or Web browser not support displaying the current focus, the user would need to upgrade to an operating system or browser that does correctly display the focus.

D) Sufficient information about a user interface element including the identity, operation, and state of the element shall be available to assistive technology. When an image represents a program element, the information conveyed by the image must also be available in text.

WebFOCUS HTML, Java™, and Windows end-user tools satisfy either one or both of the following: (1) Provide descriptive keyboard equivalents to every graphically accessible function, (2) Provide screen-reader compliant alternative text labels for all graphical elements.

E) When bitmap images are used to identify controls, status indicators, or other programmatic elements, the meaning assigned to those images shall be consistent throughout an application's performance.

WebFOCUS uses images consistently throughout all functions inherent in a particular functional area. For example, a "New" icon consistently indicates creating a new program element, object, or data-display element. All user interface components within Information Builders' WebFOCUS products currently provide full textual narrative via pop-up "tool-tips." Any purely graphical components shall have intrinsic text equivalents in a future release.

F) Textual information shall be provided through operating system functions for displaying text. The minimum information that shall be made available is text content, text input caret location, and text attributes.

In every case, WebFOCUS uses operating system or platform (e.g., Java AWT and Windows GDI) facilities to display textual elements.

G) Applications shall not override user selected contrast and color selections and other individual display attributes.

As a code-based environment, WebFOCUS business intelligence products allow a high degree of user customization. Display colors in HTML, Windows, and Java end-user applications are configurable via operating system or platform color configuration functions.

H) When animation is displayed, the information shall be displayable in at least one non-animated presentation mode at the option of the user.

Except where such animation is provided through default operating system or platform behavior, WebFOCUS HTML, Java, and Windows end-user tools do not use animated display. If animation is displayed as part of operating system or platform functionality, any changes needed to provide alternate display would need to be configured via the operating system or platform.

I) Color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.

WebFOCUS provides the ability to use color as an option, but does not require the use of color. For example, data graphing capability gives the user the ability to use color as a dimension for data. But in every case where color is used in this way, there are alternative ways to display data dimensions. Information Builders' WebFOCUS products currently allow a high degree of user and application developer customization, which permits users to choose how data is emphasized.

J) When a product permits a user to adjust color and contrast settings, a variety of color selections capable of producing a range of contrast levels shall be provided.

Where color is used for data graphing capabilities, WebFOCUS provides the ability to adjust color within a wide variety of values. Information Builders WebFOCUS products currently allow a high degree of user and application developer customization, which permits users to choose how data is emphasized.

K) Software shall not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements having a flash or blink frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

In no Information Builders WebFOCUS product or tool set are flashing, moving, or blinking texts used, and such use is not required in any application built with our products.

L) When electronic forms are used, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

If a WebFOCUS business intelligence product uses an electronic form (example, an HTML form), the form uses all accessibility features permitted by the browser, operating system, or platform.

Note: For the responses to the following, statements exclusively cover WebFOCUS applications, technologies, and tools that originate from Information Builders. Any exceptions to these statements will be scheduled to be fixed in future WebFOCUS product releases. Where any statement reads as "N/A (not applicable)," compliance to the standard resides with the Web application developer and not with the Information Builders product.

A) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).

WebFOCUS business intelligence products do not require the use of multimedia extensions (e.g., sound, animation, or filmic presentation). Any such presentations represent additions to these products from user customization.

B) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.

Features intrinsic to WebFOCUS business intelligence products do not require the use of multimedia extensions (e.g., sound, animation, or filmic presentation). Any such presentations represent additions from user customization.

C) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.

Web pages intrinsic to WebFOCUS business intelligence products do not use color to convey information critical to product functioning. Any such uses of color represent additions from user customization.

D) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.

N/A.

E) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.

N/A.

F) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.

Where WebFOCUS business intelligence products use image maps, two statements apply: (1) WebFOCUS permits alternative ways to represent data dimensions than graphing functions. (2) Client-side image maps are always used.

G) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.

HTML output intrinsic to WebFOCUS business intelligence products identifies row and column headers in output data tables.

H) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.

N/A.

I) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.

Where Web output intrinsic to WebFOCUS business intelligence products uses HTML frame sets, frames are clearly labeled.

J) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.

N/A.

K) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a Web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

N/A.

L) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.

N/A.

M) When a Web page requires that an applet, plug-in, or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(A) through (L).

WebFOCUS business intelligence products do not require plug-ins or external applets to interpret their content.

N) When electronic forms are designed to be completed online, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.

If a WebFOCUS business intelligence product uses an electronic form (example, an HTML form), the form uses all accessibility features permitted by the browser, operating system, or platform.

O) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.

N/A.

P) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.

Information Builders' WebFOCUS products currently do not rely on "time-sensitive" functionality, except where that functionality is required for application security. In these cases, timeouts are always customizable by our users for their environments.

Microsoft Windows

Information Builders provides many tools that are based on Microsoft's Windows technology. All Windows tools are currently built using standard operating system "hooks" that permit access for Windows-standard accessibility options.

For example, Narrator is a screen reader that intercepts calls to the Windows standard Graphical Display Interface (GDI) textual display features. WebFOCUS Windows products implement calls to the GDI to display text.

Java™

Information Builders provides many user front-end tools based on Java technology. All Java tools shall be built using development environments that implement JavaSoft's Accessibility API, which gives assistive products and technologies access to the information in the Java front-end objects.

For example, JAWS is a screen reader that uses the Java Accessibility API. Deployment of Information Builders products on accessible-aware tool kits ensures applications will interoperate with assistive technologies.

HTML

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed and is promulgating accessibility guidelines through its Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Section 508 incorporated some WAI guidelines in its final standards. These standards can be referenced via the following URL: http://www.w3.org/WAI/

Section 508 currently defines three priority levels for conformance to these guidelines (Required, Recommended, and Discretionary).

Information Builders is incorporating Section 508 requirements into all HTML content in upcoming releases of its software.

*Java and all Java-based marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.