Summary
The outcome of designing at scale won't be accessible products unless accessibility practices scale in parallel with design. There are six primary challenges to scaling accessibility: 1) Reliance on human testing which is especially complicated for large/dynamic products. 2) SaaS/Native app "release whenever you want" timelines. 3) Third party code/content managers. 4) Achieving "substantive WCAG conformance" 5) Closing the feedback loop by getting defects/feature requests from people with disabilities into the backlog. 6) Shifting the focus to an accessible experience, not just an accessible product.
Key Insights
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Accessibility encompasses both visible and invisible disabilities.
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About 30% of most user audiences require some form of accessibility.
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Permanent, temporary, and situational disabilities all need to be considered.
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Automated testing and machine learning can assess some accessibility requirements, but much still requires human review.
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Sustaining accessibility is more complex than achieving it initially, requiring ongoing process changes.
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Executive support is crucial for prioritizing accessibility within organizations.
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Accessibility discussions should be integrated into product development cycles, including MVPs and definitions of done.
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Accessibility style guides help ensure consistency across products.
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Recruiting and retaining employees with disabilities fosters a culture of inclusion.
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Treat accessibility defects with the same urgency as any other product bugs.
Notable Quotes
"I have a multidisciplinary background, including degrees in computer science, law, and business."
"At the end of the day, either you need accessibility now or you will need accessibility in the future."
"Accessibility isn't just about visible disabilities; it's about invisible disabilities too."
"Accessibility at scale can put you into something that we call the VUCA world: volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous."
"Getting something accessible is a straight line; it's a check-up engineering problem."
"Keeping something accessible requires process change and quite a bit of process change across large swaths of the organization."
"Accessibility teams historically are fairly small, but larger teams can create more sustainable change."
"Everything you buy, use, or build must be accessible."
"Accessibility defects should be treated the same as any other defects."
"If you build it, they will come. Accessible products attract users."
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