This journey began years ago with acknowledging the need for remediation work in ScholarOne and will continue with our current initiative to update and modernize the platform: ScholarOne NextGen.
Identifying Accessibility Gaps in ScholarOne
As we were planning the ScholarOne NextGen effort and collecting client and user feedback in 2022, we had the opportunity to analyse the input more broadly. It became evident that ScholarOne has significant accessibility barriers preventing authors from submitting manuscripts seamlessly (as rightfully pointed out in a recent Scholarly Kitchen article on accessibility as a critical aspect of equitable access).These barriers originate from legacy design choices made 20 years ago that were not aligned with current accessibility standards. In a positive light, this disparity highlights how fast digital offerings have evolved regarding inclusiveness.
We wanted to deliver a more inclusive experience to our authors and beyond. Still, we needed a comprehensive plan that involved remediating the product, changing our internal processes, and enhancing our team's understanding of accessibility. Understanding accessibility and adopting an accessibility-first mindset requires new behaviours and new skills, and we were determined to pursue it.
The Path Toward Accessible Access
To help develop the process for addressing these gaps, we partnered with Deque, a renowned organization providing digital accessibility solutions. They have leaned on their expertise to guide us through the different remediation phases:- Internal audits to identify remediation scope: An extensive internal audit of ScholarOne was performed to identify accessibility gaps. This audit allowed us to define the scope of remediation needed to meet the accessibility standards.
- Support and internal training: We also invested in internal training focusing on accessibility best practices. This was very important, so we equipped our developers' teams with the mindset required for inclusive product development. Our support teams also gained the knowledge needed to handle any query in a timely manner regardless of disability.
- Collaboration with reputable stakeholders: We discussed our insights and shared them with knowledgable stakeholders and other organizations such as AFB (American Foundation for the Blind) to demonstrate our commitment to accessibility and to gather valuable feedback from leading accessibility experts.
- Remediation updates for a barrier-free submission process: Deciding how to proceed was challenging because we were committed to making smart decisions on the legacy ScholarOne platform while also having already begun developing ScholarOne NextGen offerings. Our focus on the modernization project prevented us from fully remediating the entire legacy platform, so we had to narrow the scope to only authors when submitting. Through these efforts, we have implemented remediation updates in ScholarOne, ensuring authors can submit manuscripts without facing as many accessibility barriers as in the past. These updates included improvements in keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility, color contrast adjustments, and more. These changes have significantly improved the user experience, allowing users to submit manuscripts using a keyboard, navigate most of the submission process using a screen reader, zoom in up to 200% using browser tools, and read the screen's contents with standard accessible color contrasts.
- Level A and Level AA of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1)
- Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act for features and functions.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- EN 301 549 – V3.1.1 – Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services
- Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
Looking Ahead: ScholarOne - Next Generation and Accessibility
While we have made substantial progress with legacy ScholarOne and ScholarOne Conferences, we are committed to creating an even more inclusive product that complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act in the US.Our goal is for ScholarOne NextGen to be a model for accessibility in digital publishing.
To achieve this, we will also incorporate:
- Compliance with Future Standards. We are actively working to ensure the modernized platform complies with the forthcoming European Accessibility Act. This new legislation will require digital products and services to meet specific accessibility requirements in the EU by June 2025. We want to align our product strategy to these new upcoming legislations, so we are monitoring those closely to provide our users with a full inclusive experience.
- Inclusive Design Practices: The ScholarOne NextGen offerings are being designed with an inclusive-first mindset. This means embedding accessibility at every stage of the product development lifecycle, from research and design to testing and future deployment. We will provide our customers with new accessibility tools and checkers to monitor compliance.
Our Journey to Inclusivity
The journey from ScholarOne-to-ScholarOne NextGen reflects our commitment to inclusivity. The remediation work already applied to ScholarOne has been a significant learning experience for us.We acknowledge that this is an ongoing process and are dedicated to continuous improvement regarding inclusivity. By partnering with experts for guidance and support, engaging with relevant stakeholders for valuable feedback and testing validations, and always planning with a focus on the future, we are building and developing products that reflect our values, meet the needs of all our customers and lead inclusivity into the scholarly publishing landscape.
We look forward to continuing this journey and making ScholarOne an example of what is possible when accessibility is at the heart of product development.
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“A submitting author and a screen reader user had submitted her paper to one of JVIB’s competing journals, which has a new publisher. She said: “Their forms didn't read what I was supposed to put in each form field when filling them out. So, on accessibility, SAGE is one step ahead.” —Rebecca Burrichter, Senior Editor of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness (SAGE) and American Foundation for the Blind member on the effects of our first steps toward accessibility