5 Steps for an Agile Approach to Accessibility

Staying agile is necessary for any product or program manager tasked with navigating the complexities of creating accessible digital products. Balancing functionality with inclusivity requires more than just meeting Americans…

The post 5 Steps for an Agile Approach to Accessibility appeared first on TPGi.


This content originally appeared on TPGi and was authored by Melissa Morse

Staying agile is necessary for any product or program manager tasked with navigating the complexities of creating accessible digital products. Balancing functionality with inclusivity requires more than just meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) — it demands a flexible approach.

Agility empowers you and your team to swiftly adapt to new requirements and requests, incorporate user feedback, and continuously improve your offerings. This adaptability is essential when it comes to integrating accessibility into your product workflows, as it allows you to seamlessly incorporate inclusive practices into your development processes.

Practical Ways to Integrate Accessibility into Your Product Development

By incorporating accessibility testing from the start, you can consistently mitigate barriers throughout the development lifecycle without disrupting your current workflows. However, you most likely have existing projects that have not been reviewed for accessibility. With the right approach, you can build accessibility tests into your workflows seamlessly. Here’s how:

  • Initiate Automated Testing: Begin by integrating automated testing into your workflows, focusing on key areas to quickly identify and address accessibility issues. Use free web accessibility testing tools to understand your current status and define clear, achievable goals.
  • Provide Role-Based Training: Encourage designers, developers, and QA teams to engage in self-paced, on-demand learning to prioritize accessibility throughout the product lifecycle. Using ARC Tutor resources can streamline this process by providing comprehensive, role-based training, allowing your team to learn at their own pace.
  • Conduct Manual Audits: Incorporate manual audits by accessibility experts to uncover nuanced issues that automated tools might miss. Focus these audits on critical user flows and functionalities; this way, you have a comprehensive assessment of your product’s accessibility.
  • Monitor and Iterate: Continuously check your products for accessibility issues and iterate based on feedback and new insights. Make accessibility a part of your regular updates and maintenance cycles.

Developing a strategic and agile approach to reducing the accessibility barriers on your site and your risk will enhance your customers’ experience. Plus, you’ll avoid the pitfalls of ad-hoc and reactive measures and save your team time and money.

Get Agile with Accessibility: 5 Steps to Build a Robust Accessibility Program

From setting up organizational commitment to using innovative accessibility tools, these five steps will guide you through building a robust and agile accessibility program for the long haul.

1. Set up Organizational Commitment

Accessibility should be embedded as a fundamental value within your organization. Start by gaining dedicated support from top leaders, ensuring that accessibility is championed at the highest levels.

Find and engage key stakeholders — including executives, project managers, and team leaders — and clearly define their roles and responsibilities in driving accessibility initiatives.

To reinforce its importance, integrate accessibility into your performance metrics by showing it as a key performance indicator (KPI), which will help support focus and accountability across the organization.

Action Items:

  • Create an Accessibility Governance Structure: Set up a dedicated team or committee responsible for overseeing accessibility efforts. This team should include representatives from key departments (e.g., design, development, legal) for comprehensive coverage.
  • Promote an Inclusive Culture: Encourage employees across all levels to become advocates for accessibility within their teams. Launch initiatives that empower staff to find and champion accessibility improvements in their daily work, creating a network of internal accessibility leaders who drive ongoing progress.
  • Incorporate Accessibility into Performance Reviews: Integrate accessibility goals into individual and team performance reviews to reinforce accountability and support a continuous focus on accessibility.

2. Assess Current Website Accessibility Through Audits

Start with a comprehensive accessibility audit of your existing products and services. Evaluate your current processes and standards to understand their effectiveness. This assessment will provide a baseline and help you prioritize your efforts.

Action Items:

  • Conduct a Thorough Audit: Use a combination of automated tools and manual audits by accessibility experts to uncover both obvious and subtle issues. Make sure the audit covers all major user pathways and functionalities.
  • Map User Journeys: Create detailed maps of critical user journeys on your site and highlight potential pain points at each stage. Use this information to prioritize fixes and enhancements that improve overall usability for your customers.
  • Create an Accessibility Roadmap: Develop a comprehensive action plan based on audit findings and user journeys, prioritizing issues by severity and impact. Outline specific remediation steps, timelines, and responsible team members.

3. Develop an Ongoing Accessibility Strategy

Develop a comprehensive ongoing accessibility strategy that clearly outlines your goals, and the actionable steps needed to achieve them. Set specific, measurable benchmarks for all websites and digital applications, ensuring that they align with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.

Your strategy should detail timelines, allocate necessary resources, and prove accountability measures to track progress and execution.

Make sure that your plan not only supports your organization’s broader goals but also stays adaptable to evolving challenges and regulatory changes, allowing you to stay proactive and responsive in your accessibility efforts.

Action Items:

  • Set SMART Goals: Define Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) accessibility goals. For example, aim to achieve WCAG 2.1 AA conformance for all new features within six months.
  • Partner with Accessibility Audit Consultants: Collaborate with professional accessibility audit services for regular assessments and expert guidance. These partnerships can provide continuous monitoring and in-depth evaluations and support your ongoing efforts to maintain and enhance accessibility across all digital products.
  • Develop a Flexible Plan: Create a plan that not only outlines how you will adapt to changes in regulations or emerging best practices but also includes strategies for leveraging insights from your accessibility audit partners. Regular consultations with these experts can help you stay ahead of industry trends, refine your approach, and implement necessary adjustments swiftly.

4. Enhance Your Team’s Skills and Knowledge

All relevant team members must have the necessary skills and knowledge to support accessibility. This includes project managers, product managers, content authors, developers, QA testers, and user researchers.

Provide regular accessibility training and access to resources such as webinars, workshops, and industry conferences. Encourage your team to embrace a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Action Items:

  • Implement Ongoing Training Programs: Offer regular, structured training sessions on accessibility principles, tools, and techniques. Include both general accessibility education and role-specific training.
  • Create a Knowledge Hub: Develop a central repository of accessibility resources, such as guidelines, tutorials, and best practice documents. For a more comprehensive solution, leverage TPGi’s ARC Knowledge Center — widely recognized as one of the most robust libraries of accessibility resources available.
  • Encourage Certification and Professional Development: Support your team in obtaining accessibility certifications and taking part in industry webinars and conferences.

5. Involve People with Disabilities

Incorporate the perspectives of people with disabilities from the earliest stages and throughout the entire development process. This engagement should encompass user research, usability testing, and continuous feedback loops. Their insights are crucial for finding real-world challenges and ensuring your solutions address actual accessibility needs.

By integrating user feedback into every phase of design and development, you can create products that not only meet regulatory standards but also deliver meaningful and inclusive user experiences.

This approach helps align your solutions with both business goals and the diverse needs of your users, driving higher quality and effectiveness in your accessibility efforts.

Action Items:

  • Establish Advisory Panels: Create a dedicated advisory panel composed of users with disabilities who can provide ongoing feedback and strategic guidance throughout the development cycle.
  • Conduct Accessibility Workshops: Organize interactive workshops featuring users with disabilities to observe their interactions with your products and gather hands-on insights into accessibility challenges.
  • Utilize Real-World Scenarios: Develop testing scenarios that simulate real-world use cases and environments experienced by people with disabilities to double-check that your products perform effectively in practical situations. By taking these steps, your digital products will not only stay conformant with accessibility standards but also provide a seamless and inclusive user experience for all your customers. Leverage testing services to continuously improve your site’s accessibility and stay ahead of evolving regulations.

By taking these steps, your digital products will not only stay conformant with accessibility standards but also provide a seamless and inclusive user experience for all your customers. Leverage testing services to continuously improve your site’s accessibility and stay ahead of evolving regulations.

Want to learn more about taking an agile approach to accessibility and the return on investment it will have on your organization? Download our exclusive guide, Maximize Product ROI By Prioritizing Accessibility now!

The post 5 Steps for an Agile Approach to Accessibility appeared first on TPGi.


This content originally appeared on TPGi and was authored by Melissa Morse


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