Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Scaling Accessibility Through Design Systems
Gold
Thursday, June 9, 2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Share the love for this talk
Scaling Accessibility Through Design Systems
Speakers: Alexis Lucio
Link:

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."

Ask the Rosenbot
Clemens Janssen
Efficiently Scaling Research as a Team of One
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Catherine Blizzard
Using Integrated Insight to Drive Growth
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Chris Geison
What is Research Strategy?
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Shipra Kayan
Emerging principles for using AI in Design: What the product design team at Miro has learned from deeply integrating AI in their workflow
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold
Harry Max
Prioritization for Leaders (2nd of 3 seminars)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Benjamin Wiedmaier
Redefining Toolkits: Unbundling to Create a Perfect Match
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Jeff Ephraim Bander
Eye Tracking Gamechanger: Why Smartphone Eye Tracking will Revolutionize Your UX Research
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Pippa Lomas
Paving the Path for Neurodiversity in Design
2023 • DesignOps Summit 2023
Gold
Nathan Shedroff
Redefining Value: Bridging the Innovation Culture Divide
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Francesca Barrientos, PhD
You Need Your Own Definition of Design Maturity
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Anna Poznyakov
Get The Most Out Of Stakeholder Collaboration—and Maximize Your Research Impact
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Jorge Arango
Meeting of the Waters: Designing for Successful Inorganic Growth
2021 • Enterprise Community
Michelle Bejian Lotia
Rolling Out a Repository: How Zapier Centralizes Insights from Across their Organization
2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Gold
Mark Interrante
AI for Prioritization (3rd of 3 seminars)
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Dan Willis
Enterprise Storytelling Sessions
2016 • Enterprise UX 2016
Gold
Tom Armitage
Day 2 Panel: Looking ahead: Designing with AI in 2026
2025 • Designing with AI 2025
Gold

More Videos

Carol Scott

"Trauma-informed design tries to prevent harm and the harm is retraumatizing or creating new trauma."

Carol Scott Melissa Eggleston

Avoid Harming Your Team and Users: Promoting Care and Brand Reputation with Trauma-Informed UX Practices

February 5, 2025

Tutti Taygerly

"The little girl I once was learned to slow down and trust her own leadership."

Tutti Taygerly

Make Space to Lead

June 12, 2021

Alexandra Schmidt

"Policy is ideally driven by values, while UX in the private sector is driven by delight and profit."

Alexandra Schmidt

Why Ethics Can't Save Tech

November 18, 2022

Victor Udoewa

"Relational research builds relationships and the knowledge automatically flows."

Victor Udoewa

Research in the Pluriverse

March 29, 2023

Uday Gajendar

"Skill boot camps don’t create a movement; they’re tactical and don’t provide a cohesive set of ideas."

Uday Gajendar Adam Richardson

From AI to Zeitgeist: Theory as the design antidote to AI hype

March 27, 2025

Saara Kamppari-Miller

"That's not a prototype."

Saara Kamppari-Miller

"Prototype" vs "Prototype"--Breaking Down and Rebuilding Our Understanding of What We Do

October 24, 2019

Lija Hogan

"The context of use framework helps teams understand that different experiences aren't bad, just different."

Lija Hogan

Contexts of Use: A Framework for Connection

December 9, 2021

Steve Baty

"Empathy makes us care, and caring is what fuels the energy to get through tedious workshops and meetings to ship ideas."

Steve Baty

Breaking Out of Ruts: Tips for Overcoming the Fear of Change

June 9, 2016

Aaron Stienstra

"Civic designers are in a privileged position; with privilege comes the power to empower the voices of those we serve."

Aaron Stienstra Lashanda Hodge

Leveraging Civic Design to Advance Equity and Rebuild Trust in the US Federal Government

December 8, 2021