Transparency report: where WCAG Spine data comes from, what was generated with AI assistance, and how sources interconnect. ← Back to Dashboard
Each field in master_spine.json has a different origin. The table below shows which fields come from upstream sources and which required AI assistance.
| Field path | Origin | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
automation.act |
Upstream | W3C ACT Rules (wcag-mapping.json) | Authoritative W3C mapping of ACT rule IDs to WCAG SCs |
automation.axe |
Upstream | Deque axe-core rules (GitHub) | Rule JSON files parsed for WCAG tags; falls back to compiled axe.js |
automation.alfa |
Upstream | Siteimprove Alfa rules index (TypeScript) | Parsed Criterion.of("X.Y.Z") calls; enriched by Alfa EARL report |
automation.alfa (enriched) |
Upstream | Alfa EARL implementation report | Maps Alfa rules to ACT rules; used to derive additional SC coverage |
manual.roles |
Upstream | W3C ARRM (arrm-wcag-sc.csv) | Responsibility roles per SC from W3C WAI Accessibility Roles and Responsibilities Mapping |
manual.arrm_tasks |
Upstream | W3C ARRM (arrm-all-tasks.csv) | Structured task objects with ownership, category and role URLs |
manual.tt_steps |
AI-assisted | DHS Trusted Tester v5 | Step IDs were mapped to SCs with AI assistance; requires human validation |
fpc |
Upstream | CivicActions Section 508 FPC mapping | Section 508 Functional Performance Criteria disability groups per SC |
meta.act_implementations |
Upstream | ACT Rules + Alfa EARL report (combined) | Maps ACT rule IDs to testing engine implementations (axe, Alfa, Equal Access, QualWeb) |
The authoritative Accessibility Conformance Testing (ACT) rules published by the W3C. These rules define how to test WCAG Success Criteria in a consistent, automated way.
Used for: automation.act field in each SC; also populates meta.act_implementations
Open-source accessibility testing engine by Deque Systems. Each rule file maps to one or more WCAG tags, which are parsed to derive the SC coverage.
Used for: automation.axe field in each SC
Open-source accessibility auditing framework by Siteimprove. Rules are defined in TypeScript with explicit WCAG criterion references. An EARL implementation report cross-references Alfa rules with ACT rules.
Used for: automation.alfa field in each SC; also populates meta.act_implementations.alfa
Accessibility Roles and Responsibilities Mapping — a W3C resource that maps each WCAG SC to the team roles responsible for meeting it (UX, content, development, etc.).
Used for: manual.roles and manual.arrm_tasks fields in each SC
The Department of Homeland Security Trusted Tester Conformance Test Process v5. Step IDs were mapped to WCAG SCs using AI assistance and require human validation.
Used for: manual.tt_steps field in each SC
Maps each WCAG SC to the Section 508 Functional Performance Criteria (FPC) disability groups it affects — used to filter the dashboard by disability impact.
Used for: fpc field in each SC
The normative Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 specification. SC titles, levels, principles, and URLs are seeded from the specification.
Used for: title, level, principle, and url fields in each SC
The diagram below shows how upstream sources flow through the sync pipeline into master_spine.json and the WCAG Spine dashboard.
Corrections applied to the data based on reports from upstream maintainers. Each correction records the SC, field, what changed, who reported it, and when.
Data is refreshed automatically every day via a GitHub Actions workflow. The sync script (scripts/sync_data.py) fetches from each upstream source, merges the results, and writes data/master_spine.json.
wcag-mapping.json (W3C GitHub)testcases.jsonalfa-rules/src/index.tsarrm-wcag-sc.csv) and structured tasks (arrm-all-tasks.csv)mapping-wcag-to-fpc.csv)data/master_spine.json with updated meta.generated dateAll upstream URLs recorded in the last sync of meta.sources: