Projects

Open Source Matters is seeking a contractor to deliver Milestone 7b of Joomla's STF-funded accessibility programme, executing the Phase 1 standardisation of Joomla's highest-impact transversal features (as defined by Milestone 7a) onto the Milestone 2b design system. Standardising these features once means the accessibility improvement automatically applies wherever they appear, multiplying the benefit across dozens of admin views in core and across the entire extension ecosystem.

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, Audit and Documentation" 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 7b: Transversal Features, Standardisation Phase 1.

Standardising the highest-impact transversal features in this phase means that an accessibility improvement only needs to be implemented once and automatically works everywhere the feature appears. This is one of the highest-leverage changes in the programme. Each fix multiplies across dozens of admin views in core and across the entire extension ecosystem. Starting with the most frequently used features (Phase 1\) ensures the largest number of users benefit as early as possible.

Milestone 7b depends on the prioritised Phase 1 list produced and OSM-accepted in Milestone 7a, on the stable design system from Milestone 2b, and on the test protocols and acceptance criteria established in Milestone 1a.

Scope of Work

The contractor is required to deliver all four 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: Standardisation of Phase 1 Transversal Features

Standardise the Phase 1 transversal features (as defined and accepted in Milestone 7a) so that each feature uses:

• The design system components from Milestone 2b
• A consistent coding pattern across all admin views where the feature appears

The standardised implementation must ensure that keyboard navigation, focus management, ARIA attributes, and screen-reader behaviour work the same way everywhere the feature appears.

Deliverable 2: Removal of Outdated Code and Legacy Patterns

Remove the outdated code and legacy patterns for the Phase 1 features that:

• Block accessibility improvements, or
• Prevent the design system components from being applied

Removals must be documented (what was removed, where, and why) so that downstream contractors and the wider community can follow the same pattern in Phase 2 (Milestone 7c) and in their own extensions.

Deliverable 3: Validation of Each Phase 1 Feature

Validate each Phase 1 transversal feature against the test protocols from Milestone 1a in at least three admin views where it appears. Validation must:

• Use the AT/browser combinations defined in Milestone 1a (minimum matrix: NVDA + Chrome, JAWS + Edge, VoiceOver + Safari)
• Record results against the acceptance criteria from Milestone 1a
• Categorise any remaining issues by severity and map them to the relevant WCAG 2.2 success criterion

Deliverable 4: 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 7b (Cluster G: Transversal Features)

Contract type: Service agreement with OSM.

Dependency: Builds on the OSM-accepted Phase 1 list from Milestone 7a, on the stable design system from Milestone 2b, and on the test protocols from Milestone 1a.

Duration: 3 months (1 May 2027 to 31 July 2027).

Delivery date: 31 July 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

• Refactoring legacy code patterns at scale without regressing existing functionality
• Building accessible administrative interfaces in accordance with WCAG 2.2 AA and WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices
• Integrating a design-tokens-and-components system into existing core code, without re-introducing parallel framework-specific styling
• Accessibility validation with assistive technologies (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) and with automated tools such as axe-core
• Clear technical writing, in particular for documenting removed patterns and their replacements so that downstream contractors and the community can follow the same approach

Skills the applicant should have

• Joomla core development, in particular with the transversal feature set (categories, workflows, custom fields, tags, associations, versioning) and how it appears across multiple admin components
• Familiarity with the Milestone 7a audit and prioritised list (the contractor will be expected to read and apply it directly)
• Understanding of the design tokens and components from Milestones 2a and 2b

Skills that would be nice to have

• Continuity with, or direct collaboration with, the Milestone 7a contractor
• Prior experience executing large refactoring programmes in an open-source CMS

How to Apply

Proposals must include the following

• A brief description of your organisation or team and relevant Joomla refactoring and accessibility experience
• Examples of comparable refactoring or standardisation work across an admin codebase, with links where possible
• At least one reference from a comparable contracted engagement
• Your proposed approach and methodology for executing the Phase 1 standardisation onto the Milestone 2b design system
• A clear description of how you will read, accept, and act on the Milestone 7a prioritised list, including how you will handle any disagreement with that list
• A clear description of how you will validate at least three admin views per Phase 1 feature
• A coordination plan for the parallel window with Milestone 5a (and where applicable Milestones 3b and 3c), to avoid conflicting changes to admin views
• Identification of any potential schedule risks or bottlenecks, including any dependency on the timing of Milestones 7a and 2b
• A timeline showing how the three-month delivery period will be structured
• 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:

• Technical quality: depth and rigour of the proposed standardisation and refactoring methodology
• Accessibility expertise: demonstrated experience with WCAG 2.2, WAI-ARIA Authoring Practices, and assistive-technology testing
• Design-system fit: a credible plan for migrating Phase 1 features entirely onto the Milestone 2b design system
• Coordination capability: a credible plan for the parallel window with Milestones 5a, 3b, and 3c
• Timeline: a realistic plan for delivery within the three-month period
• 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 7a and 2b 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.