How the VPAT form emerged
"VPAT" is an acronym for "voluntary product accessibility template." This is a standard form that was developed by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) in partnership with the General Services Administration (GSA) to deepen the web accessibility resources of information and communication technology (ICT) products and services.
Vendors and manufacturers of ICT products and services use the VPAT form to document how their products and services conform to the established accessibility standards and guidelines.
The development of the VPAT followed Congress’ substantial amendment to Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act to require that the federal government procures, creates, uses, and maintains ICT that is accessible to people with disabilities, regardless of whether or not they work for the federal government.
The VPAT 2.4 template
The VPAT 2.4 template is the latest iteration of the VPAT form. This version of the VPAT document was introduced in February 2020, and what makes it a hack is that it basically includes Europe and Australia’s EN 301 549 standard and other very minor changes when mirrored against the previous version of the template.
Only pros will detect that, like the original VPAT, the VPAT 2.4 template has a column for recording conformance to each provision in the standards regarding the accessibility of a product or service.
As can be deduced from this VPAT 2.4 example, this iteration of the VPAT form requires vendors and manufacturers of ICT products and services to indicate the level of conformance associated with their products or services by simply choosing one of four probable options. The options are "supports," "partially supports," "does not support," or "not applicable."
Any pro will tell you that the conformance level "partially supports," as captured in the VPAT 2.4 form, replaced the conformance level "supports with exceptions," as was in the previous version of the VPAT form. The VPAT 2.4 form also has something that VPAT industry pros have lauded: it does not include a date! For starters, the inclusion of a date in the previous version of the VPAT form brought confusion between this date and the date of the VPAT report. The VPAT 2.4 template has a new feature that allows the date to be integrated into the file name.
The distinguishing features of the VPAT 2.4 template
A review by pros indicates that the VPAT 2.4 template has the distinctive feature of version-specific instructions. It also has new table headings as well as significant updates with regard to the EU VPAT 2.4 edition.
Many VPAT pros intimate that the fact that declaration of the website ada compliance test of a product or service can be made by simply choosing one of the provided options: "supports," "partially supports," "does not support," or "not applicable," hacks!
That is because it limits their creativity for providing finer details about how a product or service is superior to others so as to help buyers make better choices. However, for people who are not so experts in VPAT accessibility, this is great because completing the document doesn’t have to wait for an expert to do it.
Probably, what VPAT pros say hacks with regard to the VPAT 2.4 template is fodder for ICT buyers and procurement officials who do not need to be accessibility experts. The fact that conformance is demonstrated through four compliance options helps them to easily compare the accessibility of similar products and services.
What VPAT pros like about the VPAT 2.4 template
While the VPAT 2.4 template limits VPAT professionals' ability to be creative when filling out the VPAT by limiting the conformance levels to four, most pros agree that the template relieves the pressure that comes with VPAT testing by directing the audit to focus on whether the features a product or service has align with the four conformance levels.
Get VPAT consulting support in filling out your VPAT 2.4 template
Whereas filling out the VPAT 2.4 template appears easy, it requires expert assistance to ensure that the accessibility conformance report created at the end of the VPAT certification process is accurate and trustworthy.
You can learn how to complete the template by reviewing a VPAT 2.4 example filled out by VPAT experts such as ADACP. Alternatively, you can Call Our Consultant Today to learn about how you can be helped to complete your VPAT 2.4 form clearly and accurately.
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