Championing for Accessibility at Your Company
Date
September 12, 2024
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To enhance your commitment to diversity and accessibility, you can initiate the Accessibility Champions Team (ACT). This team consists of representatives from various departments who are dedicated to ensuring our products and services are accessible to all users, fostering a more inclusive and empathetic company culture.
Objectives
The primary goal is to embed accessibility into your daily operations through a grassroots approach by:
- Establishing a team that can swiftly identify and address accessibility issues and embed the team into other departments or scrum teams.
- Adding, ideally, one champion per scrum team and one project manager for the entire ACT initiative.
- Encouraging consideration of all customers by sharing informative media.
- Promoting inclusive UX research and design.
- Maintaining updated accessibility documentation.
- Integrating accessibility considerations into your projects and products from the outset.
Strategy
Select team members who were eager to take on additional responsibilities and have a good understanding of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Each department nominates one or two mid-level employees who demonstrate enthusiasm and teamwork capabilities.
Implementation
- Kick-off: Introduce the ACT with a kick-off meeting to discuss the fundamentals of accessibility and its importance to user experience. Decide on the next steps and the who, what, when and where: decide on where your documentation will live. Decide your minimum requirements: A, AA, or AAA.
- Document: Each champion creates documentation for their team. Ensure the documentation is both informative and practical, designed with the end-users in mind.
- Set up Communication Channels: Setup internal and external communication channels, one to coordinate building the material and one to provide ongoing support and share the material with your company.
- Training and Documentation: Initial meetings focused on educating the champions about WCAG and preparing them to document and consult on accessibility.
- Keep the momentum going: Schedule regular meetings once a quarter to reinforce accessibility practices.
Tools and Methods
- Champions use tools like screen readers and color blindness simulators to better understand user challenges.
- Documentation is centralized using platforms like Google Docs for easy access and updates.
Impact
- Proactive Identification: With champions in every team, accessibility issues will be identified earlier in the development process.
- Cultural Shift: The initiative will cultivate a proactive approach to accessibility, starting from the ground up rather than as a response to external pressures.
- Enhanced User Experience: Your products become more accessible, significantly improving user satisfaction and broadening your market reach.
The ACT is instrumental in transforming how you integrate accessibility into your workflow. This initiative not only improves your product offerings but also strengthens your company culture, making you a leader in inclusive practices in your industry.
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