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Open Source Matters is seeking a contractor to deliver Milestone 7a of Joomla's STF-funded accessibility programme, auditing and documenting Joomla's transversal features (categories, workflows, custom fields, tags, associations, versioning) and producing the prioritised standardisation plan that Milestones 7b and 7c will execute against. Before any standardisation work begins, it is essential to have a complete, evidence-based map of where each feature appears, how it behaves, and which specific accessibility barriers it creates.

Introduction and Background

Open Source Matters, Inc. (OSM), the non-profit organisation supporting the Joomla project, is selected for funding from the Sovereign Tech Fund (STF) to deliver a structured, 20-month accessibility improvement programme across the Joomla CMS. The programme covers 19 independently contracted milestones, ranging from expert audits and remediation work to documentation, testing infrastructure, and community enablement.

Parallel to this milestone, we have published two related RFPs "Transversal Features, Standardisation Phase 1" and "Transversal Features, Standardisation Phase 2" Applicants are welcome to submit a single proposal covering all milestones. This is encouraged, provided that the proposal clearly distinguishes the work packages, timelines, and deliverables for each milestone. All deliverables must be completed within the specified deadlines, regardless of whether the contractor is awarded one, two or all milestones.

This RFP covers Milestone 7a: Transversal Features, Audit and Documentation.

Before any standardisation work begins, it is essential to have a complete, evidence-based map of where each transversal feature appears, how it behaves, and which specific accessibility barriers it creates. This milestone produces that map and turns it into a prioritised standardisation plan, split into two phases, that Milestones 7b and 7c will execute against.

Milestone 7a depends on the audit findings from Milestone 1a and on the prioritised remediation backlog from Milestone 1b. Its outputs unblock Milestones 7b (Phase 1 standardisation) and 7c (Phase 2 standardisation).

Scope of Work

The contractor is required to deliver all three deliverables described below. Scope and acceptance criteria are fixed. The budget is to be quoted as a fixed price, based on the applicant's approach and team composition.

Deliverable 1: Audit and Documentation of Transversal Features

Audit and document all transversal features in Joomla core, including but not limited to:

• Categories
• Workflows
• Custom fields
• Tags
• Associations
• Versioning

For each feature, the documentation must map:

• Where the feature appears across admin views
• How the feature behaves in each location, with attention to inconsistencies between views
• Which accessibility issues from the Milestone 1a audit are caused, in whole or in part, by inconsistencies between transversal feature implementations

Deliverable 2: Prioritised Standardisation Plan, Split Into Phase 1 and Phase 2

Create a prioritised list of transversal features for standardisation, split into:

• Phase 1 (to be executed in Milestone 7b)
• Phase 2 (to be executed in Milestone 7c)

The split must be based on:

• Frequency of appearance across admin views
• Severity of accessibility impact
• Dependencies between transversal features

This split defines the scope of Milestones 7b and 7c and must be reviewed and accepted by OSM before Milestone 7b begins. The contractor must therefore deliver the prioritised list with enough lead time before Milestone 7b's start to allow OSM review and acceptance.

Deliverable 3: Documentation and Milestone Report

Maintain the programme documentation framework and produce the milestone completion report in the format agreed with OSM at kick-off.

Contract Details

Milestone reference: Milestone 7a (Cluster G: Transversal Features)

Contract type: Service agreement with OSM.

Dependency: Builds on the audit findings from Milestone 1a and the remediation backlog from Milestone 1b. The prioritised standardisation plan must be accepted by OSM before Milestone 7b begins.

Duration: 3 months (1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027).

Delivery date: 31 January 2027.

Payment terms: Full payment upon acceptance of all deliverables.

Budget: To be quoted by the applicant as a fixed price, based on the scope described.

Eligibility and Required Skills

Applicants must have experience in the following areas

• Conducting structured audits of large CMS codebases, including mapping where shared features appear and how they differ between views
• Practical knowledge of WCAG 2.2 AA, in particular the criteria most often affected by UI inconsistency (labelling, keyboard interaction, focus order, name/role/value, consistent navigation & identification)
• Producing prioritised, evidence-based work plans that downstream implementation teams can execute against
• Clear, structured technical writing suitable for both community publication and downstream contractor briefing

Skills the applicant should have

• Joomla core development or auditing, with detailed knowledge of categories, workflows, custom fields, tags, associations, and versioning
• Familiarity with the Joomla admin interface across multiple core components, not only the content component
• Understanding of the Milestone 1a audit methodology, so this milestone can extend (not duplicate) that work

Skills that would be nice to have

• Independence from the Milestone 1a contractor, to provide a second pair of eyes on the audit findings, or close coordination with that contractor where continuity is the goal
• Prior experience producing two-phase implementation roadmaps for large refactoring programmes

How to Apply

Proposals must include the following

• A brief description of your organisation or team and relevant Joomla audit and transversal feature experience
• Examples of comparable audits or standardisation plans for a CMS or comparable large web application, with links where possible
• At least one reference from a comparable project engagement
• Your proposed approach and methodology for mapping each transversal feature, identifying inconsistencies, and tying findings back to the Milestone 1a audit
• Your proposed approach for splitting the standardisation plan into Phase 1 (MS7b) and Phase 2 (MS7c), including the criteria you will use
• Identification of any potential schedule risks or bottlenecks, including any dependency on the timing of Milestones 1a and 1b
• A timeline showing how the three-month delivery period will be structured, with explicit lead time for OSM review of the prioritised list before Milestone 7b begins
• Your fixed-price proposal for the full scope

Proposals should be submitted by email to the address published alongside this RFP. The submission deadline is two weeks from the date of publication.

Selection Process

Proposals will be reviewed by a small selection committee comprising community members.

Evaluation criteria are:

• Audit rigour: depth and credibility of the proposed mapping and inconsistency-analysis methodology
• Accessibility expertise: demonstrated experience with WCAG 2.2 and with identifying accessibility barriers caused by UI inconsistency
• Prioritisation discipline: clarity and defensibility of the proposed criteria for the Phase 1/Phase 2 split
• Joomla fit: demonstrated experience with categories, workflows, custom fields, tags, associations, and versioning
• Timeline: a realistic plan for delivery within the three-month period, with lead time for OSM acceptance before Milestone 7b
• Price: value for money within the fixed contract envelope

The selected team will be asked to sign a standard OSM service agreement. Work can begin once the agreement is signed and the Milestone 1a and 1b outputs are available.

Community Support

Every milestone in this programme includes access to an experienced Joomla community maintainer if you need it. If you have questions about the codebase, about an accessibility standard as applied to Joomla's specific implementation, or about how something works within the Joomla ecosystem, you can ask. This support is funded through the project's Community Accessibility Reserve, a dedicated budget set aside to help contractors succeed. The maintainer's role is to guide and not to supervise. You are not on your own.

Questions

Questions about this RFP may be submitted by email to the address published alongside this RFP prior to the submission deadline. Answers to questions received will be shared publicly so that all applicants have equal access to information.

Submission Timeline

Terms

This RFP is published as part of the STF-funded Joomla Accessibility Programme. Submitting a proposal does not guarantee selection. OSM reserves the right to cancel or amend this RFP at any time.

• The RFP can be withdrawn at any point without reason.
• No compensation will be given to any entity submitting a proposal or working on a proposal.
• The vendor selected for this proposal will be solely at the discretion of Open Source Matters, Inc.
• Open Source Matters, Inc. reserves the right not to award any applicant if no proposal meets the expectations or requirements set by this RFP.

For all communication with OSM use [email protected] as email address.