A federal-scale accessibility engagement with the U.S. General Services Administration — auditing, remediating, and publishing thousands of digital assets to full WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 compliance.
The U.S. General Services Administration manages one of the largest web presences in the federal government — a sprawling portfolio of pages, documents, PDFs, and digital assets that must meet strict accessibility standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines.
My role, contracted through Schatz Strategy Group, was to serve as a Web Content Specialist embedded within the GSA content team. Day-to-day this meant reviewing new and existing web documents, testing for accessibility failures across a wide range of criteria — keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, color contrast, document structure, alt text, form labels, and more — and either remediating issues directly or coordinating remediation with content owners before publication.
Over 15 months I audited and published more than 3,000 federal web documents, identified and remediated over 400 distinct accessibility violations, and maintained a 98% on-time delivery rate across a high-volume content pipeline. I earned DHS Trusted Tester Certification (v5.x) during this engagement, becoming a subject-matter resource for the wider content team on accessibility best practices.
WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the globally recognized benchmark for web accessibility, and is legally mandated for all U.S. federal websites under Section 508. It defines how content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust — the four core principles that govern every success criterion.
At the federal level, failing to meet these standards means real people — those using screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, or other assistive technologies — cannot access government information and services they are legally entitled to. Every violation remediated is a barrier removed for a real user.
Receive new or updated content through the QA pipeline. Review the content type — web page, PDF, form, or document — and apply the appropriate DHS Trusted Tester test process for that asset type.
Run ANDI to surface structural issues — missing alt text, improper heading hierarchy, unlabeled form fields, and focus order failures. Supplement with manual keyboard navigation testing and color contrast checks using Color Contrast Analyzer.
Document each failure with the specific WCAG success criterion violated, severity, and location. Remediate issues directly where possible or raise with content owners with clear, actionable guidance for resolution.
Re-test remediated content to verify all violations are resolved. Confirm full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance before approving for publication to the live GSA website portfolio.
ANDI is a free, browser-based accessibility testing tool developed by the Social Security Administration. It inspects page elements and surfaces accessibility issues that automated scanners often miss — making it the primary tool in the DHS Trusted Tester methodology.
A desktop tool for verifying that foreground and background color combinations meet the WCAG 2.1 minimum contrast ratios — 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text at Level AA. Essential for catching failures that browser devtools may not surface on rendered pages.
The DHS Trusted Tester program is the federal government's standardized methodology for manually testing web-based software for Section 508 and WCAG 2.1 conformance. Earning this certification requires completing a rigorous training program and passing a standardized exam. I became a subject-matter resource for the GSA content team after earning this certification during the engagement.
Section 508 requires all federal agencies to ensure their electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities. This training covered the legal framework, applicable technical standards, and practical application of compliance testing across all federal content types including web pages, PDFs, multimedia, and software.
Following certification, I became a go-to accessibility reference within the GSA content team — advising colleagues on testing methodology, reviewing ambiguous violations, and helping standardize QA workflows across the publication pipeline.
Working within a federal agency content team is a different kind of challenge from commercial web work. The stakes are higher — these are public resources that people rely on to navigate government services — and the standards are legally enforced, not optional.
The volume of this engagement demanded rigorous process discipline. With thousands of documents moving through the pipeline, systematic testing workflows were the only way to maintain consistency and catch violations before publication. The DHS Trusted Tester methodology provided that framework, and earning the certification gave me a deeper, more authoritative understanding of WCAG than any commercial accessibility work had.
This experience fundamentally shaped how I approach accessibility in all my web work. Every site I build now — from WordPress landing pages to React components — is tested against the same criteria I applied at the federal level.
Whether you need a WCAG audit, Section 508 remediation, or want accessibility built in from the start — I bring federal-level standards to every project.