Skills
Design
As the industry says, Accessibility is best achieved when we "Shift Left." I've found most success when I integrate myself into the following touchpoints throughout a product lifecycle.
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Problem kickoff meeting
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This is when I can begin to establish what requirements need to be met based on the problem looking to be solved.
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Research
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This is my opportunity to make sure we are considering all of our potential users.
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Design
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I typically provide my feedback and guidance around accessibility notations during design critiques, accessibility office hours, or through 1:1's with the designer.
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Implementation
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I can keep an "open door" with engineers to reach out with any implementation questions.
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QA
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Along with the QA team, I make a point to manually audit new features to verify they pass the bar we've set before they become customer-facing.
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Accessibility evaluation
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I begin by understanding the paths a user must take to complete critical actions.
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I evaluate the accessibility of the existing experiences through a combination of automated and manual testing.
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I report back my findings in a user-centric report that includes a prioritized list for remediation. I've found that practitioners are most responsive to making changes when they understand how and why the issues are affecting others.
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I work with Project Managers to scope out the phases of updates.
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I work directly with the designers, developers and QA to ensure the issues are being resolved as intended.
Coaching
Accessibility is everyone's job. No matter what role you hold as a product practitioner, it's fundamental to understand the responsibility and control you have in making or breaking an experience for your users. I use a combination of methods to instill this in my colleagues.
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Creating self-guided training
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Holding regular office hours
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Attending critiques and retrospectives
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Hosting an accessibility communication channel
Validation
But does it work? Does it make sense? Is it implemented in a way you would want to use it?
These are questions I often find myself asking others. Accessibility goes beyond checking a box. It involves truly thinking through an experience to make sure sure it's equally delightful and easy-to-use for all of your users.
A fantastic way to answer these questions is by working alongside User Research, encouraging them to include users with various disabilities in your usability studies.