Accessibility program development - Quantive

Overview

At Quantive, the absence of a structured approach to accessibility created significant barriers for users with disabilities. As a Senior Product Designer and then Design Lead, I recognized the crucial need to champion accessibility initiatives to ensure an inclusive user experience across our products.

Company

Quantive

Objective

To create and implement a comprehensive accessibility program that ingrains inclusive design principles, fosters awareness, and drives tangible improvements in product accessibility at Quantive Results.

The problem

Upon joining Quantive, I encountered a pervasive absence of structured accessibility measures, leading to significant hurdles for users navigating our products with diverse needs. Issues stemming from inaccessible design decisions and insufficient support for assistive technologies underscored the urgent need for change. Users encountering barriers due to these limitations highlighted the critical necessity for implementing a comprehensive accessibility program within our organization.

The goal

Our primary objective was twofold: first, to significantly improve the overall user experience for individuals with disabilities, ensuring inclusivity across our product; and second, to align our practices with recognized accessibility standards, particularly focusing on meeting the criteria outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and then 2.2. To measure success, we aimed for training and education of all designers, product managers, and front-end developers in the first six months, full accessibility compliance of our main user flow (Create objective, Create key result, Update key result), and its supporting functionalities in the first six months, and creating a framework to incorporate accessibility in our product development lifecycle from the initial phase in the first year.

These metrics served as tangible indicators of progress toward cultivating a more inclusive and accessible software environment.

Responsibilities

1. Conduct accessibility audits: Perform comprehensive audits of existing products, websites, and applications to identify accessibility gaps and compliance issues with recognized standards (e.g., WCAG).

2. Develop accessibility guidelines: Create detailed accessibility guidelines and best practices tailored to the company's specific design and development workflows. Ensure these guidelines align with industry standards and regulations.

3. Provide training and awareness: Conduct training sessions and workshops for cross-functional teams (design, development, product management) to raise awareness about accessibility principles, guidelines, and the use of assistive technologies.

4. Integrate accessibility in processes: Integrate accessibility checkpoints and validation processes into the product development lifecycle, ensuring accessibility considerations from design ideation to final implementation.

5. Collaborate with teams: Collaborate closely with design, development, and product teams to address and resolve accessibility issues in current and future projects. Advocate for inclusive design principles during project planning and execution.

6. Implement accessibility tools: Identify, evaluate, and implement tools and software that aid in assessing, testing, and validating product accessibility. This includes automated testing tools and assistive technology simulators.

7. Lead accessibility initiatives: Lead the design and implementation of initiatives aimed at improving accessibility, such as redesigning UI components, implementing accessible user flows, and ensuring accessible content.

8. Stay updated on regulations: Stay abreast of evolving accessibility laws, standards, and best practices to ensure ongoing compliance and alignment with industry advancements.

9. Advocate for accessibility: Act as a champion for accessibility within the company, advocating for the importance of inclusive design practices and fostering a culture that values accessibility.

10. Measure and report progress: Establish and track key metrics to measure the effectiveness of accessibility initiatives. Generate progress reports, highlighting improvements and areas needing further attention.

11. Engage with user feedback: Analyze user feedback related to accessibility issues and work towards addressing these concerns in collaboration with relevant teams.

12. Create documentation and resources: Develop documentation, resources, and internal guidelines that aid teams in implementing and maintaining accessibility standards across projects.

13. Collaborate with external partners: Collaborate with external accessibility experts, organizations, or consultants to gain insights, guidance, and support in enhancing accessibility initiatives.

14. Promote continuous improvement: Continuously review and refine the accessibility program, incorporating feedback, emerging technologies, and best practices to ensure ongoing improvement and innovation.

Approach

Assessment and strategy development

Assessing accessibility and crafting a strategy for an accessibility program necessitates a methodical approach. Initially, conducting comprehensive audits forms the bedrock, involving both automated tools and manual testing to scrutinize web content and applications. Engaging real users, particularly individuals with disabilities, through usability testing is pivotal for gaining direct insights into their experiences. Additionally, evaluating compliance with recognized accessibility standards like WCAG or Section 508 helps in assessing current adherence levels and identifying areas for enhancement, including reviewing existing documentation and guidelines for accessibility considerations.

Creating an effective accessibility strategy involves setting clear objectives and establishing a roadmap with achievable goals. This roadmap should delineate short-term and long-term objectives, specifying actionable steps and assigning responsibilities across teams. Resource allocation, including budget, tools, and personnel, is crucial to support these initiatives. Educating and training cross-functional teams on accessibility guidelines, principles, and best practices is imperative to foster a culture of inclusivity within the organization. Integration of accessibility checkpoints into various processes, coupled with regular monitoring and evaluation, ensures ongoing progress and the identification of necessary adjustments to the strategy. Engaging stakeholders and leadership to garner support and emphasize the significance of accessibility initiatives is vital. Lastly, staying updated with evolving standards and user needs and adapting strategies accordingly helps in maintaining an effective and impactful accessibility program over time.

Establishment of accessibility guidelines and best practices

Establishing comprehensive accessibility guidelines and best practices within the company is pivotal to fostering a culture of inclusivity and ensuring that products cater to a diverse user base. The process began by consolidating insights gathered from audits, compliance evaluations, and user feedback into a cohesive set of guidelines. These guidelines served as a blueprint, outlining specific requirements, design principles, and development standards that prioritize accessibility at every stage of the product lifecycle. Drawing from recognized accessibility standards such as WCAG, Section 508, and other relevant industry benchmarks, these guidelines encompassed various aspects, including but not limited to color contrast, keyboard navigation, semantic HTML structure, and proper labeling of elements.

Crafting these guidelines involved collaboration across multidisciplinary teams, amalgamating the expertise of designers, developers, and accessibility specialists. The guidelines aimed not only to address existing accessibility gaps but also to anticipate and preemptively mitigate potential barriers in future product iterations. They served as a unifying framework, providing a shared understanding and reference point for all team members involved in product creation. Furthermore, these guidelines underwent continuous refinement and evolution in response to technological advancements, changing user needs, and updates in accessibility standards. Regular reviews and iterations ensured that the guidelines remained relevant and adaptable, serving as a living document that reflected the organization's commitment to accessibility excellence.

Beyond mere documentation, integrating these guidelines into the organizational workflow was imperative. This involved incorporating accessibility checkpoints and validation processes into design and development methodologies. Tooling and infrastructure were established to support the implementation of these guidelines, including the adoption of automated accessibility testing tools, plugins, or extensions that aided in identifying and rectifying accessibility issues. Training programs and workshops were conducted to disseminate knowledge about these guidelines, ensuring that all stakeholders, from designers to developers, were equipped with the necessary skills and understanding to effectively implement accessibility best practices in their respective roles. Ultimately, the establishment of these guidelines fostered a shared responsibility and commitment across teams, ensuring that accessibility remained a central tenet in all facets of product creation.

As a result, I created a framework of accessibility guidelines for designers, product managers, developers, and quality assurance engineers, cross-referencing requirements to paint the picture of the need for collaboration at a bigger level. WCAG, Section 508, and EN 301 549 were used as a base.

Training and awareness initiatives

Training and awareness initiatives serve as pivotal catalysts in fostering a culture of inclusion and understanding across diverse teams. These initiatives encompass comprehensive educational programs and workshops designed to equip employees, spanning from designers to developers and beyond, with the necessary knowledge, tools, and empathy to integrate accessibility seamlessly into their workflows. The training sessions delved into the fundamentals of accessibility, elucidating key principles, guidelines, and best practices outlined in recognized standards such as WCAG. By showcasing real-world examples, hands-on exercises, and simulations using assistive technologies like screen readers or voice control software, these sessions aimed to cultivate a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by users with disabilities. Moreover, these efforts extended beyond basic awareness, emphasizing the intrinsic value of inclusive design and the tangible impact it has on enhancing user experiences for all individuals interacting with the company's products. During the first 3 months of the program, I led 12 internal seminars for designers, front-end developers, and product managers. I led 7 additional seminars and workshops to train the teams on particular and complex accessibility topics. Additionally, I’ve trained a select group of designers and developers one-on-one to prepare them for their roles as accessibility champions.

Integration with the development lifecycle

Integrating accessibility seamlessly within the development lifecycle is a strategic imperative that ensures inclusive design principles are ingrained in every stage of product creation. This integration commenced by establishing accessibility checkpoints and validation processes at key milestones, starting from the conceptualization and design phase through to development, quality assurance, and eventual deployment. By weaving accessibility considerations into the initial ideation and wireframing stages, teams can proactively address potential barriers and design products with inclusivity in mind. As the development progressed, continuous collaboration among design, development, and quality assurance teams became pivotal, emphasizing the importance of accessibility compliance and user testing with assistive technologies. Leveraging automated accessibility testing tools at various stages aided in identifying and rectifying issues promptly, ensuring that products adhere to recognized accessibility standards like WCAG. This holistic integration of accessibility within the development lifecycle instilled a shared responsibility among cross-functional teams, fostering a culture where creating inclusive products becomes an intrinsic part of the company's ethos, ultimately leading to the delivery of more accessible and user-centric solutions.

Embarking on a multifaceted approach to accessibility, our journey unfolded along three interconnected paths, each vital in reshaping our product landscape into one that champions inclusivity and user-centric design. Firstly, our pursuit involved a meticulous overhaul of application modules, strategically dividing them into user flows. This endeavor entailed the meticulous cleaning of code and redesign of screens, liberating it from legacy constraints. Migrating these modules to a new Angular version was not merely a technical update but a concerted effort to embrace best practices in accessibility. This meticulous transition allowed us to infuse the core of our application with enhanced user value, ensuring that the end-user experience is not only intuitive but inclusive. The first user flow that went through this revision process was Create objective - Create key result - Update key result, as we recognized it as a core one.

Simultaneously, we prioritized consistency through the development and distribution of a comprehensive design system. These meticulously crafted components serve as beacons of uniformity, offering a cohesive blend of stylistic integrity and behavioral coherence. By streamlining the distribution of these components, we reinforced a standardized language of accessibility across our interfaces, nurturing a harmonious user experience that transcends individual elements. With a forward-looking approach, accessibility became an intrinsic part of our developmental ethos, guiding all new feature developments from inception to execution. Our goal was to achieve full accessibility compliance right from the initial release, ensuring that inclusivity is not an afterthought but a foundational principle upon which every enhancement is built.

During the first year, I developed a framework for annotating accessibility as a way to support design handoff and ease design-developer collaboration. It was adopted quickly and became the default mechanism of communicating expectations when it came to accessibility.

Collaboration and continuous improvement

Fostered a culture of collaboration by establishing a cross-team accessibility working group. Regular meetings, knowledge-sharing sessions, and feedback loops were established to continuously improve our approach.

As a continuation of the strategy, I created the accessibility statement and VPAT for Quantive Results.

Outcomes

Improved accessibility metrics

WCAG 2.1 compliance went up by 23% in the first year. Applying accessibility principles resulted in cleaner code which resulted in fewer bugs overall. Keyboard and screen reader support went up by 31% during the first year and continued to improve steadily after that. Almost all color contrast problems were addressed during the first year, the unaddressed ones were planned as improvements.

Enhanced product understanding and adoption

Increased awareness and understanding of accessibility considerations among team members, resulting in more inclusive design decisions and faster resolution of accessibility issues. Created frameworks and processes to support accessibility as an organic part of the software development lifecycle.

User satisfaction and feedback

Positive user feedback highlighting the improved usability and accessibility of our product came from our clients such as Adobe and Nike, leading to increased user satisfaction and loyalty.

Lessons learned

• You need partners - accessibility is a team sport.

• For many companies, starting an accessibility program is a green-field project so it’s essential to have a Sprint Zero, to have good planning accounting for the onboarding time of different team members. Set the trade-offs.

• Accessibility depends heavily on the quality of the code and if there are any legacy issues with the codebase, it will be a barrier and it needs to be factored in.

• Accessibility is an ongoing journey. Continuous iteration and refinement of processes are essential to address emerging challenges and stay aligned with evolving standards.

• Compliance culture is a thing and it’s crucial to fight it. Accessibility doesn’t end with a checklist, it’s a continuous effort towards a better experience for everyone.