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Creating a culture of accessibility

Creating a culture of accessibility

Martin takes us through the things he has done at Sage to create a culture of accessibility, and give us some top tips for how we might do similar in the organisations we work in; large, small, or somewhere in between.

tempertemper

July 20, 2023
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  1. @tempertemper@mastodon.social What my role involves • Leading a small team

    of accessibility specialists • Working with designers and developers to make their work more accessible • Helping product owners prioritise work • Accessibility audits • Training sessions and presentations • Community building
  2. @tempertemper@mastodon.social What I’ll be covering 1. What is accessibility? 2.

    Why a culture of accessibility is important 3. Where to start? 4. What I’ve done at Sage
  3. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Making things usable for everyone • Accessibility is about

    including everyone • “Everyone” includes people with disabilities or impairments • Motor • Visual • Auditory • Cognitive
  4. @tempertemper@mastodon.social — Me “Accessibility is the thing that prevents us

    only building things for people who experience the world like we do”
  5. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility is not a checkpoint • Accessibility should be

    woven into the fabric of your team’s work • Consider accessibility as early as possible • Ask for accessibility critique little and often • Inter-team accountability is the goal • If ‘ready to dev’ is your checkpoint, you’re too late • If quality assurance testing is your checkpoint, you’re way too late
  6. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility is not a checklist • The goal is

    accessible • Accessible goes beyond WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliance • Use your products with assistive technology • Test with disabled people www.tempertemper.net/blog/accessibility-doesnt-stop-at-wcag-compliance
  7. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility is hard • Raising accessibility bugs requires empathy,

    tact, and good relationships • There are battles to be had: • To fi x existing accessibility bugs • To integrate accessibility in design/development processes • There’s a lot to learn and a lot that can be missed • Change can be very slow
  8. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility is exciting • People like doing the right

    thing • There are lots of hidden accessibility champions or specialists • Share wins • Harness and nurture that enthusiasm!
  9. @tempertemper@mastodon.social User researchers • Ensure you are testing with people

    that represent your potential user base • Push for budget if your actual user base doesn’t re fl ect the potential • In the interim, test with willing colleagues and friends with disabilities or impairments
  10. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Designers • Use accessibility tools/plugins • Teach yourself a

    bit of HTML • Design mobile fi rst, always www.freecodecamp.org
  11. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Developers • Learn HTML and a bit of ARIA

    • Check your work with the keyboard and a screen reader • Add axe-core to your build pipeline www.freecodecamp.org
  12. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Quality assurance testers • Build accessibility testing into your

    test protocol • Consider an accessibility issue a blocking defect • Dig your heels in when needed
  13. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Managers, etc. • Find time and budget for accessibility

    learning/training • Make a published commitment to accessibility
  14. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Make friends in high places • The people that

    make overarching company or business unit decisions • Directors, executives, etc. • Project managers • Not always easy to get hold of • Very few in number
  15. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Focus on the people that make things happen •

    The real power lies with: • User researchers • Designers (service, content, interaction) • Developers and quality assurance testers • Product owners • Much easier to reach • Lots of them
  16. @tempertemper@mastodon.social ― Mike Monteiro, How Designers Destroyed the World “Every

    time you make a conscious choice … rather than just letting things happen or accepting what is handed to you by others … you are ful fi lling your responsibility” youtu.be/J0ucEt-La9w
  17. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Attend design huddles • Accessibility starts with research and

    design • Sit in on as many as possible • Contribute to discussion • Arrange deep-dive sessions when needed webaim.org/blog/accessibility-lipstick-on-a-usability-pig/
  18. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Encourage collaboration • Often a divide between design and

    developers/quality assurance testers • Developers know how a design will be coded • Testers know how to use assistive technology better than most
  19. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Organise regular accessibility presentations • Monthly event • 1

    hour • Presentation or workshop • Q&A • Different presenter each month
  20. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Regular accessibility clinic/surgery • Weekly drop-in session with a

    specialist • 10 minutes per person • Ask an accessibility question • Get help with an accessibility challenge • Offer advice to others • Sit back with a coffee
  21. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Asynchronous chat channels • Slack or Teams • Post/read

    an article every day • A place to ask questions (and have them answered) • Somewhere to have a grumble!
  22. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Mark accessibility events • Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)

    • International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) • Purple Tuesday
  23. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Introductory presentation • What accessibility is • Why accessibility

    is important • Examples of common accessibility issues (and some solutions) • How to get started
  24. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility Champions • Accessibility Champions channel • Training course

    license • Advice and help with IAAP certi fi cation • Of fi cial Accessibility Champion status!
  25. @tempertemper@mastodon.social Accessibility ‘hub’ • SharePoint, Con fl uence, etc. •

    Central place where everyone can fi nd out about all the community things • Instructions on how to request an accessibility audit • Resources, for example: • Getting started with assistive technologies • Helpful software • Testing methods
  26. @tempertemper@mastodon.social • Build relationships • Encourage sharing and learning •

    Be visible and available • Gather a posse • Be persistent • Be resilient • Be in it for the long haul