Case Study: Intellezy

Intellezy, an award-winning change management and learning and development (L&D) firm, was looking to improve the accessibility of its training videos and user platform. It had received informal requests for information on how it handled accessibility as well as RFP’s (request for proposal) requiring a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Intellezy’s user base swelled considerably, and it saw accessibility as an even higher priority. However, once stakeholders began researching how to improve the company’s accessibility and create a VPAT, it became clear that it would require outside assistance.

The firm engaged TPGi to create a VPAT and to begin testing and monitoring its web content for accessibility using TPGi’s ARC platform. Due to its partnership with TPGi, Intellezy can now:

• Supply an updated VPAT enabling them to bid on RFPs that require one
• Enjoy reduced legal risks
• Offer access to their products to a much wider user base.

In addition, employee morale and customer satisfaction has also increased now that they offer more inclusive products.

As a business offering paid web-based content, Intellezy’s legal risk resulting from inaccessible content was high. The company had also become gradually more aware of the benefits of accessibility and was receiving more and more informal requests about the accessibility of its products.

In addition, Intellezy had existing and prospective government-associated and regulated clients that were formally pushing for further work in accessibility—they too were under increasing pressure to meet legal requirements. The team had received requests for a VPAT as part of the normal bidding process in multiple RFP’s.

All of this, in combination with a desire to offer inclusive products, led Intellezy to start prioritizing accessibility. It needed to benchmark compliance, correct issues where it did not comply with the accepted and required standards, and bid on RFP’s that required a VPAT.

However, the company faced some significant barriers. First, no one had ever created a VPAT. Furthermore, they had little understanding of accessibility best practices or even the current state of their products with regard to accessibility and conformance to the WCAG guidelines. They had no idea where to start.

Once the company decided to prioritize accessibility, stakeholders began conducting research. However, their unfamiliarity with Section 508, WCAG, and success criteria—along with no knowledge of accessibility testing and general confusion over the VPAT document—led to a lack of confidence in the output.

Then when they attempted to build a VPAT internally using information they had acquired through research, no one was equipped with the tools or knowledge to verify that what they had found was even fully accurate.

“I researched tirelessly for guidance, templates, and resources on how to create a VPAT, but there wasn’t a lot of information readily available.” – John Dukarski-French, Manager – Platforms & Special Projects

John Dukarski-French, one of the key stakeholders tasked with improving Intellezy’s accessibility, began the search for an external partner. Along with members of the C-Suite, developers, various resellers, and others, he and his team began interviewing vendors, finally narrowing the selection down to three.

TPGi’s speed, accuracy, price, and credibility were huge factors in why John chose TPGi. It could provide exactly what he was looking for (VPAT and initial scans to surface accessibility errors the team could remediate) and had unparalleled credentials in the industry.

TPGi’s work with Intellezy was an immediate success:

• Intellezzy no longer faced any barriers responding to RFPs requiring VPATs and could be confident in its level of accessibility.
• When vendors asked for information on product accessibility, Intellezy could share it with pride.
• It is now well-positioned, well-prepared, and conformant on accessibility laws, rules, and best practices or actively working on areas that can be improved.
• The company now has formal documentation to back up its claims in the form of a VPAT.
• Intellezy has mitigated one of its perceived bigger risks for fiscal years 2020/2021 by being conformant and having action plans in place.
• Intellezy’s level of accessibility and formal documentation provides it a competitive advantage in its industry and the team currently uses the VPAT as an additional sales tool.
• Intellezy and its employees are now proud of creating inclusive products that everyone, regardless of ability, can benefit from.

Contact TPGi today to learn how we can help your organization achieve its accessibility goals.

If you want to learn more about Intellezy services, visit them at www.intellezy.com.