From proactive accessibility testing to automated digital asset management, Elda Schaffield, Manager, Student Services Information Systems, and the UC Santa Barbara WebOps Team developed open-source tools that help institutions improve compliance, strengthen web quality, and better manage digital content at scale.
Through these two open-source projects, UCSB is helping web teams build more accessible digital experiences, improve code quality, and manage large collections of digital assets more efficiently.
Together, the Drupal Accessibility and Code-quality Test Suite and the Digital Asset Inventory & Archive Management System (DAI) demonstrate how technology can support accessibility.
Building Accessibility into the Development Process
Accessibility is often addressed late in the development cycle, when issues can be more difficult and costly to fix. UCSB’s Drupal Accessibility and Code-quality Test Suite aims to shift that work earlier by giving developers tools to identify and remediate accessibility and code-quality issues before code is deployed.
Designed specifically for Drupal developers, the test suite evaluates custom themes and modules for potential accessibility concerns while also helping teams maintain coding standards and improve overall site quality. By incorporating testing into the development workflow, teams can address issues proactively and reduce the likelihood that accessibility barriers reach production websites.
The project was featured at UC Tech 2026 in the session, “Deploy Without the Drams: Automating Accessibility & Code Quality Testing,” focused on practical approaches to improving accessibility and quality assurance in Drupal development.
As a project, the test suite is available for other institutions to adopt, adapt, and enhance through community contributions. Learn more on the Drupal Site Test Suite GitHub repository (open source).
Managing Digital Assets at Scale
How do you find, review, and make compliance decisions for tens of thousands of digital assets across hundreds of websites before a federal deadline?
While accessibility begins with high-quality code, organizations also face growing challenges managing the documents, videos, PDFs, and other digital assets that populate modern websites.
To address this challenge, UCSB developed the Digital Asset Inventory (DAI), a tool that helps organizations inventory, review, and manage digital assets across large web ecosystems.
DAI was created to support compliance efforts by transforming a traditionally manual and time-intensive process into an automated workflow. The system can scan Drupal websites in minutes, identify digital assets, and map those assets to the web pages where they are used. This visibility helps content teams make informed decisions about inventory, review, remediation, and archival activities.
“The core challenge was not remediation itself, but visibility. Institutions cannot fix what they cannot see, and visibility is the first step toward compliance,” said Elda.
In addition to inventory management, DAI automates the archiving of documents, videos, and web pages. The system supports the creation and management of archive records, performs integrity checks, monitors usage, and provides ongoing public access to archived materials.
The platform is already widely used across UCSB’s Drupal websites by content editors and site builders, helping teams manage digital assets more efficiently while supporting ADA Title II compliance efforts.
DAI was highlighted as part of a UC Tech 2026 panel discussion, “Where the Wild Assets Are: Finding What’s Hidden on Your Network,” focused on strategies for managing digital assets across large organizations.
Additional information is available on the Digital Asset Inventory project website and the Drupal project page.
Open Source for the Higher Education Community
Although each project addresses a different challenge, together they support a common goal: improving digital accessibility through proactive, scalable technology solutions.
The test suite helps developers identify accessibility and code-quality issues before deployment, while DAI enables organizations to better understand, manage, and archive the vast collection of digital assets that support their websites. Both solutions were developed with collaboration in mind and are freely available as open-source projects.
By sharing these tools with the broader community, UCSB is contributing practical solutions that other universities and organizations can use to strengthen accessibility initiatives, improve operational efficiency, and advance digital stewardship.
As accessibility requirements continue to evolve, projects like these demonstrate how institutions can move beyond compliance checklists and build sustainable processes that support inclusive digital experiences from development through long-term content management.
Learn More
- Drupal Accessibility and Code-quality Test Suite
- Digital Asset Inventory Website
- Digital Asset Inventory Drupal Project
- UC Tech 2026 Accessibility Test Suite Session
- UC Tech 2026 Digital Asset Management Session
Contact
Elda Schaffield
Manager, Student Services Information Systems
Information Technology Services (ITS)
UC Santa Barbara
UC Tech Project Series
View UC Tech stories here.
Tell us about how you and your team is using AI or about a tech project in general (it does not have to involve AI) your team has completed, is working on, or is preparing to work on. Your story, if accepted for publication, will be shared out on the UC Tech News site, in the UC Tech News newsletter (room/timing permitting), and on the UC Tech News LinkedIn page. Please use the UC Tech News blog intake form to submit your UC Tech Project story: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/be650a2cf625471684bd94d18122d17b
Accessibility Matters Series
View Accessibility Matters stories here.
Accessibility affects everyone! Would you like to tell us how you and your team are incorporating accessibility into your projects? Your story, if accepted for publication, will be shared out on the UC Tech News site, in the UC Tech News newsletter (room/timing permitting), and on the UC Tech News LinkedIn page. Please use the UC Tech News blog intake form to submit your Accessibility Matters story: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/be650a2cf625471684bd94d18122d17b
Questions? Email us at UCTechNews@ucop.edu.
