Brief
Accessibility is a major consideration for any company producing products for a mass market. Our surveys and talks with customers in Active Roles made it apparent that this was also a concern for our customers. I subsequently carried out an investigation into accessibility and why? where? and How? it could be applied to our product design systems.
I enrolled on an accessibility course on Udemy and once I had completed the course began to ideate and map where key accessibility features would be required within our own elemental material designs.
Problem-Solving
I also reviewed the data and tools for accessibility issues for software use.
Material component review
I then reviewed our specific components and checked their accessibility using a contrast checker and the information provided by my accessibility training.
Findings
The main lesson found from this journey was that accessibility is not something to make our designs work for the few or the 10%, accessible designs ensure the best user experience for all users.
My findings were then put into a presentation, and I presented them to my colleagues on the product team and then to our stakeholders. We reviewed these findings and discussed which components required immediate updating and which findings may be less urgent. The most important outcome was that a dialogue had been initiated and we were more mindful of the components and designs we were building. In the future, accessibility will become a more important aspect of our design meetings, and we ensure that we are designing to meet accessibility standards.
I am working towards creating a full guide for our Product team’s best practices for incorporating accessibility into our designs. We have regular team meetings where we ask the question ‘Is this design accessible?’ and then we have a conversation and review amongst our team on how to achieve a balance between functionality, usability, aesthetics, and accessibility. It’s most important for our team to remember that this is the start of a process and a journey. Achieving accessible products, that all our customers can use without barriers, will not happen overnight. Engaging with our customers with surveys and face-to-face talks discussions will be key in our accessibility development. We need to have an open and honest dialogue, be transparent with our customers, and listen to their specific needs. Listening and learning will enable our products to become more inclusive, intuitive, and accessible.
