Scaling Accessibility Through Design Systems
Summary
Incorporating accessibility can be seen as a daunting task, especially for products that have already been released. Alexis Lucio, Senior Accessibility Lead at Splunk, will share her journey in making accessibility a first-class citizen within Splunk Design System. Topics include: how to advocate for accessibility, utilizing use cases to optimize design and dev, how to utilize user input, and ideas on how to collaborate with cross-functional partners.
Key Insights
-
•
Accessibility should be integrated early ('shift left') in the design and development process to reduce tech debt and remediation costs.
-
•
Automation tools catch about 30% of accessibility defects and cannot replace human audits and discernment.
-
•
Accessibility is often mistaken as limiting creativity, but it is actually a driver of innovation and inclusivity.
-
•
Unique naming for components like message bars is critical to avoid confusion for assistive technologies when multiple instances exist.
-
•
Breadcrumb navigation must not rely on color alone to convey meaning; it should be accessible through keyboard and screen readers and consider interactive behaviors.
-
•
Documenting accessibility decisions in design systems helps maintain consistency and educates users of the system.
-
•
Accessibility requires ongoing education and advocacy to get buy-in from diverse teams including designers, engineers, and product managers.
-
•
Small incremental changes to accessibility are better than no changes; it’s an ongoing journey rather than a one-time fix.
-
•
Accessibility levels range from inaccessible to legally compliant, usable, and ultimately innovative; compliance alone does not guarantee good UX.
-
•
Cross-functional collaboration and shared resources like accessibility one-pagers and bug-triaging spreadsheets improve scalability of accessibility efforts.
Notable Quotes
"Accessibility is innovation and this statement could potentially be some unchecked ableism."
"Automation only catches maybe 30% of all your a11y defects and even then we still receive a lot of false positives."
"I help you unlearn and relearn patterns so that you can build better products."
"If you’d rather exclude a group of people from using your product than do accessibility, then think about the impact you’re making."
"You can have a single page that’s got inaccessible, compliant, and accessible experiences all in one."
"No design system will ever be fully accessible because new features and permutations are always being introduced."
"Accessibility is a key component of user experience that has been neglected and requires specialists to close the gap."
"Small incremental changes are better than no changes at all from both the process and technical view."
"We’ve been taught to build fast and break things, and we often play accessibility on the back burner."
"Unique names for components like message bars are crucial, especially when multiple instances are shown at once."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"We have eight million prototyping tools but not many tools that help us spend more time in the problem space."
Andrea GallagherThe Problem Space
May 16, 2019
"Our mentorship program went from seven people spending 56 hours monthly manually matching to two people spending six hours monthly with automation."
Kate SternScaling Learning for the Future
September 9, 2022
"The core thesis is that saving time with AI and reallocating it into research itself unlocks the true potential of the field."
Mujtaba HameedThe new horizon of ethnography: using AI to unlock the full potential of in-person research
March 11, 2026
"We want to increase trust and engagement among end users by helping non-technical stakeholders participate in model evaluation."
Joel BranchHumanizing AI: Filling the Gaps with Multi-faceted Research
March 11, 2021
"Wayfair’s design team is design thinking led, inspiring other functions to form communities and grow together."
Rusha SopariwalaRemote, Together: Craft and Collaboration Across Disciplines, Borders, Time Zones, and a Design Org of 170+
June 9, 2022
"Sometimes it's more fulfilling to help organizations build their UX maturity rather than only joining mature ones."
Louis RosenfeldCoffee with Lou
January 11, 2024
"Our agile project process lets us look six months ahead to prevent overload and support human dignity."
Chelsea MauldinLet's Talk About Money
November 17, 2022
"You have to look two or three steps ahead so you're not chasing what's right in front of you — avoid target fixation."
Tricia WangSCALE: Discussion
June 15, 2018
"Designers have to become savvier in understanding the people and the politics to influence effectively."
Ryan RumseyBusiness Influence Without Losing Your Soul
January 14, 2021
