Skip Maine state header navigation
A Publication Featuring The Information Services
Technology of Maine State Government
| Volume VII, Issue 10 | October 2004 |
|
|
September 3, 2004
Re: Kudos for Accessible Systems Development
Gold stars are deserved by the Bureau of Information Services’ (BIS) Electronic Discharge Monitoring Reports (eDMR) application development team, and especially to programmer analyst Rob Williams! Information Technology (IT) accessibility was incorporated into the design and is being built into the system as a requirement like all other requirements.
During the early stages of development, eDMR was tested for navigation with screen readers, and this project is the first Web application developed in Maine state government, that I’m aware of, that is building skip navigation links into its core.
It has become nearly standard to display a series of navigation links on most Web pages for each new page of content. Usually shown at the top of a page, developers provide links to move around throughout the Web site. This practice presents a unique problem for voice output screen readers. When a new page arrives, a screen reader must start at the top of the page where it can follow the active cursor. So, for example, to get to the content for the new page, it is necessary to tab or down-arrow all the way through the standard links at the top of each page. You can imagine how inconvenient it is to thumb through many (possibly hundreds) of common links at the top of each page to finally arrive at an on-line newspaper’s content!
A skip navigation link allows a screen reader (or other voice recognition software tool) to, upon selection, drop directly to the first line of content.
Rob researched and developed the skip navigation link into the eDMR system at a grid level so that it only had to be built once and can be used for every page in the application. Total time for this effort took about two hours including the testing to insure that it worked. As with all IT accessibility efforts, this is time well spent. Good job.
Floyd White, a Systems Analyst BIS, is a member of the State’s Accessibility Committee. See http://www.maine.gov/portal/accessibility.html for additional information.
September 10, 2004
Re: IT Changes at DHHS
Dear Mary,
Thank you for your excellent piece on DHHS IT (information technology), in the September 2004 issue of the Maine IS Technology newsletter. What impressed me most was that, even though I used to be a part of this organization, I did not have a clear picture of its structure until your article. Having disclosed my connection to DHHS IT, it follows that I cannot be an unbiased referee on this article.
That said, I think DHHS IT is indeed heading in the right direction under Craig's leadership. Streamlining of IT procurement yields both short-term and long-term returns, and that is rightfully the first sweet spot for an IT shop seeking higher efficiency. Better project management of new high ticket applications is the second sweet spot, and that is where Craig's initiative of collaborating with the CIO's Project and Portfolio Management policies will yield returns. The returns on better project management are never as immediate as those from streamlined procurement, but are just as tangible.
Among others you mention in your piece, I have had the good fortune of working under both Joe Radziszewski and Brian Snow. These are exactly the right leaders to actualize a smooth structural migration. From my past life in the corporate world, I know first-hand the pitfalls of such an endeavor; therefore, hats off to the DHHS IT team for all they have accomplished so far. Given the Governor's regionalization initiative, coupled with the tight budget projection, it is reasonable to presume a high level of public interest in the DHS-BDS merger, and its downstream consequences.
Those of us in state IT owe you a debt of gratitude for keeping us informed on this. I am looking forward to your next installment on DHHS IT, when the time comes. Regards,
B. Victor Chakravarty
Applications Team Lead
Computer Services Unit
Maine Department of Environmental Protection
Victor.Chakravarty@Maine.Gov
207-287-7893
