Publishing Workflow Advisory
Pubrica provides independent publishing workflow advisory for publishers whose titles repeatedly need accessibility remediation. Our publishing workflow specialists profile your published output, trace each recurring defect, such as untagged tables, image-based equations or reading order problems, to the step in your workflow where it is introduced, and recommend the changes that will prevent it. You receive a workflow assessment, born-accessible design recommendations, an XML-first assessment and a sequenced, costed implementation plan.
- Advisory rather than production. We do not sell conversion services, so our recommendations are independent of any production contract
- Born-accessible workflow design: accessibility built into authoring and composition rather than added at the end
- XML-first assessment: whether structured authoring is worthwhile for your list, and what it would cost
- Each defect traced to its source, which is usually a template, a conversion step or an unclear author instruction
- A sequenced implementation plan, because publishing workflows are changed incrementally rather than all at once
Workflow assessment and defect tracingIncluded
Born-accessible design recommendationsIncluded
XML-first assessmentIncluded
Sequenced implementation planIncluded
Building or running the pipelineCarried out by your vendor
Output → traced → diagnosed → designed → sequenced
- Defects traced to where they start
- Independent of your production vendor
- Costed recommendations
- Changes sequenced rather than made all at once
- Measured against your own published output
Deliverables
Four Components of Every Workflow Assessment
Every assessment covers four components. The diagnosis is based on the files your workflow actually produces.
From the traceTables are untagged across the list.Traced to the Word template supplied to authors, which has no table styles, so composition inherits the missing structure. One template change removes the defect from every future title.
From the assessmentFor a list with long-lived titles, multiple editions and several output formats, it is usually worthwhile. For a short-run monograph list it often is not, and the assessment states this clearly.
From the designDesigning accessibility into the workflow is a one-time cost per workflow, whereas remediation is a recurring cost for every title.
From the planWholesale workflow replacement projects have a high failure rate. A sequence that delivers early, visible improvements is more likely to fit within a production schedule.
The samples shown are illustrative and anonymised. Hover over a sample to replay it.
Compliance and Standards
Publishing Workflow Accessibility Standards
We assess your workflow against your own output and the standards your buyers apply.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (level AA)
The standard that procurement requirements refer to, and therefore the level your workflow must produce without a separate remediation step.
EPUB Accessibility (with EPUB 3.3)
Conformance and discoverability requirements that cost far less to meet during production than afterwards.
Structured content standards (ANSI/NISO Z39.96)
We assess where structured authoring is worth adopting and what downstream systems can do with properly structured content.
Quality management (cert. H3CR9TCU20251212INDQM10N)
Our certified system for running, recording and releasing project work and maintaining confidentiality.
Responsible Use of AI
Our Approach to AI Use and Disclosure
AI tools support specific, checkable tasks. Editorial judgement, final wording and sign-off remain with Pubrica subject specialists.
Why We Do Not Publish an AI Accuracy Figure
Accuracy figures for AI tools are usually reported by the companies that sell them.
Pubrica therefore does not quote a self-generated accuracy figure, because it would carry the same conflict of interest. Instead, we tell you which tool was used on your project, at which stage, and what a specialist changed afterwards.
Our Process
Publishing Workflow Advisory Process
We start with your published output rather than your process documentation, because the two often differ.
Output profiling
We profile a representative sample of published files for structure, accessibility and metadata defects and record how often each one occurs.
Tracing defects to source
We trace each recurring defect back through composition, conversion and authoring to the step that introduces it.
Designing the changes
We specify template changes, composition rules, QA gates and, where appropriate, a structured authoring route, each with its cost.
Implementation Sequencing
We order the changes by cost, dependency and benefit, so that the first change can be made within a normal production cycle without a separate project.
Our Experts
Your Publishing Workflow Advisory Team
A named team of subject specialists stays with your project from scoping to delivery. Your project coordinator introduces each team member by name before work begins.
Reviews the scientific content for accuracy and confirms that each conclusion is supported by the evidence. Each expert is matched to your field.
Reviews content for accuracy, pedagogy and conformance with the applicable curriculum, assessment or accessibility standard.
Checks the finished work independently against the agreed scope and the applicable checklist. Findings are logged and resolved before delivery.
Manages the timeline, keeps you informed at each stage and coordinates the team so that questions are answered and deadlines are met.
Packages
Publishing Workflow Advisory Packages
Pricing depends on list size, workflow complexity and the number of production routes you run.
Workflow assessment
For publishers with recurring remediation costs
Quoted per projectBased on list size and workflow complexity
Delivery By scope
- ✓Output sample profiled for actual defect rates
- ✓Defects traced to where they are introduced
- ✓Born-accessible recommendations
- ✓Independent XML-first assessment for your list
- ✓Sequenced plan with costs
This assessment is independent of your production vendor.
Deliverables Request a quoteStanding advisory
For publishers implementing workflow changes
Quoted per projectBased on engagement length
Delivery By arrangement
- ✓Support through implementation
- ✓Templates and QA gates reviewed
- ✓Vendor specifications drafted on your behalf
- ✓Output re-profiled to confirm that the defect has been removed
- ✓Defect rates measured before and after
Re-profiling after implementation provides evidence that each change has worked.
Deliverables Request a quoteSend ten published files and we will profile them free of charge and show what proportion of your remediation spend goes on the same three defects.
FAQs
Publishing Workflow Advisory FAQs
If your question is not listed here, ask an expert. No quote is required.
A vendor that sells conversion has a commercial interest in recommending conversion.
We audit, validate and advise, and we do not sell the production pipeline we may recommend, so our advice is independent.
No. It is cost-effective for lists with long-lived titles, multiple editions and several output formats. For a short-run monograph list it often is not.
The assessment provides figures for your list. In some cases, the recommendation is to fix the templates and leave the rest of the workflow unchanged.
It changes where accessibility work takes place. Instead of remediating each title after production, the authoring templates, composition rules and QA gates produce conformant output by default.
Designing accessibility into the workflow is a cost per workflow, whereas remediation is a recurring cost per title.
The assessment takes weeks. Implementation time depends on how the changes are sequenced, and sequencing is recommended because wholesale workflow replacement projects have a high failure rate.
We aim for a first change that can be made within a normal production cycle, which helps to secure support for the later stages.
Related Services
Related Accessibility and Publishing Services
Workflow advisory addresses the source of the defects that remediation, validation and conformance reporting deal with later.
1CURRENT REMEDIATIONexisting files
PDF remediationTagging, reading order and structure for PDF files. MathML remediationEquations rebuilt as accessible MathML.2MEASUREMENTbefore and after changes
EPUB accessibility validationConformance and metadata validation. Digital production QAQuality checks before publication.3EVIDENCE FOR BUYERSconformance documentation
VPAT and conformance reportTested and evidenced conformance reporting. Accessibility complianceDocuments and media made conformant with WCAG 2.2.Request a Free Profile of Ten Published Files
The profile shows what proportion of your remediation spend goes on the same three recurring defects.