About the recommendations
The Website Product Owner role is the minimum recommended role for successful agency website management. This document outlines the responsibilities recommended for all state agencies to provide trustworthy, equitable, and user-friendly state websites.
We recognize that each team is different and we encourage you to fit this role into your team as you find appropriate. However, it is highly recommended that the role and responsibilities are explicit in a position description and not “nice to have” or added to a position as “other duties as needed.” You may also find that there is another title that fits your agency's needs better than “Website Product Owner.”
Role description
The Website Product Owner manages the agency's online experience and addresses customers' needs to create valuable results for the agency and a successful experience for users.
The Website Product Owner has overall responsibility for strategy, quality assurance processes, publishing and management of online content, and management of the CMS vendor relationship as well as maintaining a user-friendly experience.
Responsibility examples
- Maintaining a website inventory, including decommissioning out-of-date websites.
- Creating and maintaining a website strategy and a continuous improvement process plan.
- Providing centralized resources for agency website roles, including accessibility resources.
- Creating and reinforcing quality assurance guidelines and standard operating procedures regarding websites.
- Championing the user experience and advocating for all users.
- Assessing and implementing accessibility and security standards compliance.
- Tracking automated and manual testing results and implementing a remediation plan.
- Monitoring the accessibility support channel (e.g., email address included in Accessibility Statement) and immediately respond to requests for support.
- Managing vendor relationships regarding accessibility compliance and website requirements outside of OIT’s responsibility.
- Working with OIT/TAP (IT/accessibility) teams to establish and continue communication around accessibility needs.
Additional Resources
- Teach Access Accessibility Skills Hiring Toolkit, Teach Access
State Agency Planning Resources
IT Accessibility Planning Guide
The IT Accessibility Planning Guide website is made available only to state agencies for the purpose of providing guidance, tools and updates that are relevant only to state agencies and their unique statutory requirements. The Technology Accessibility Program team (TAP) has made every effort to provide similar, relevant resources available to local government entities (see Local Government Resources).
Contact: oit_accessibility@state.co.us
Local Government Planning Resources
Accessibility Planning for Local Government, 2023 (Google Slides)
This presentation is designed to help local government teams understand their responsibilities and provide basic guidance for planning and operationalizing accessibility. Similar guidance can be found on the Accessibility Planning Core Criteria webpage.
- Colorado Laws for Persons with Disabilities
- Planning tools and guidance
- Links to more information and resources
Contact: oit_accessibility@state.co.us