Accessibility statement for Project Athena

We know some parts of this app are not fully accessible:

• The text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window and pinch to zoom has been disabled.
• The missions in the game are hard to use and understand for screen reader software users.
• Some controls are not keyboard operable and keyboard focus is not always visible, making the app difficult to use for keyboard-only and screen reader software users.
• Some controls do not have accessible names. That means that for screen reader software users the purpose is hard to identify. Voice recognition software users may not be able to operate those controls easily.
• Some screens contain an animated video that cannot be stopped or paused. If you are able to change the display settings in your operating system to reduce motion, this may help.
  
   

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this app. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us here.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

The Royal Navy is committed to making Project Athena accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This app is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances are listed below.

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

• Some images and controls do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
• Some video content does not have captions, so people who cannot hear the narrative track cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (captions pre recorded).
• Headings have not been used to identify sections of pages. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
• Some controls that reveal content do not have aria-expanded attributes to inform screen reader software users about the functionality. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
• Some input elements do not have accessible names to identify their purpose. This makes them difficult to understand for screen reader software users, and to operate for voice recognition software users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.3 (label in name).
• The app is effectively a single page application. No mechanism has been provided to announce to screen reader software users when a new screen has been loaded. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships).
• Several screens contain modal windows. These have not been coded in such a way as to identify them properly and send and trap keyboard focus within them. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 (focus order)..
• In Project Athena, some elements are in a canvas tag. The contents are not exposed to screen reader software users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (info and relationships). Page | 3
• On the Into the Deep mission, some instructions are provided that rely solely on visual location. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.3 (sensory characteristics).
• There is no mechanism to pause or stop the background audio in the app. It is non-essential and some users may find it distracting. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.2 (audio control).
• Some controls cannot be operated using just they keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard navigation).
• Some screens contain an animated video in the background that cannot be stopped or paused. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard navigation).
• Some pages do not have meaningful, plain English titles. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (page titled).
• Project Athena is effectively a single page application. Focus order is not always consistent when a new screen has been loaded. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 (focus order).
• Some input elements do not have persistent visual labels. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (labels or instructions).
• Some controls are not correctly identified as buttons or links, and/or they do not have meaningful alternative names. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role, value).
• Project Athena only works in portrait mode on mobile devices. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.4 (orientation).
• When using the browser Zoom tool on a desktop, some components on some screens are no longer visible in the viewport. Pinch-to-zoom has been disabled on mobile devices. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (resize text) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.10 (reflow).
• Some components do not provide sufficient contrast and can be hard to read or to see for users with low vision. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (colour contrast) and success criterion 1.4.11 (non-text contrast).
• It is not possible to see keyboard focus on some controls. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 (visible focus).

The perceived user impact within the recruitment space is very low. The majority of users affected by the accessibility limitations of this application would unfortunately not meet the employment regulations required to join the Royal Navy. Therefore, we have deemed that the cost to update the application in the accessibility areas specified holds a disproportionate burden to the expected outcome and usage within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. 

This statement was prepared on 07.03.2024 when it was first published. It was last reviewed on 07.03.2024.

This app was last tested in September 2023. The test was carried out by Ascendant Digital.

We used this approach to decide on a sample of pages to test:

1. The app is an online game, so we navigated through all the possible paths to identify all the screens that exist.
2. For each page, we created an inventory of all the content types, such as text boxes, password fields, radio button groups, checkboxes, status indicators, etc.
3. We then identified the minimum representative subset of screens that contained at least one example of each type of content.
4. We conducted a manual WCAG audit on the representative subset of screens.