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
"Mobile interaction with gestures and touch was revolutionary for accessibility."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
September 8, 2022
"The fastest way to break down 'us versus them' is to ask people to do something they’ve never done before."
Nova Wehman-BrownWe've Never Done This Before
June 4, 2019
"The hardest skill to recruit for is someone who can consult and ask the right questions to uncover what the request really is."
Janelle EstesUX Research Trends
January 28, 2021
"Doing this tagging manually would have taken me around 10 hours of mind-numbing work."
Jorge Arango[Demo] How to re-categorize content at scale using LLMs
June 5, 2024
"People often fill gaps in communication with their own anxieties, so clear communication is key."
Bassel Deeb Will OsbornDo More With Less: Equip and Lead Design Orgs Through Adversity
October 2, 2023
"A formal critique often carries tension; focusing on people rather than work is a pitfall we must avoid."
Joseph MeersmanSweating the Pixel: Scaling Quality through Critique
June 10, 2021
"That night at 11:59 PM the entire nation of New Zealand would move into what was called a level 4 lockdown."
Brendan JarvisFraming Tomorrow by Questioning Today
June 8, 2022
"Our goal is to automate routine tasks so designers can focus more on research, creativity, and innovation."
Farid SabitovAutomatization for Large Enterprise Teams
January 8, 2024
"Changing culture is hard because we’re willing to change actions but resistant to changing beliefs."
Peter MorvilleThe Architecture of Understanding
May 13, 2015
