When we think about accessibility in the context of web technologies, we often associate it with designing products and services for those with disabilities. Yet with digital interactions becoming increasingly common—and often critical to our lives—we should really be thinking of accessibility as a universal design necessity that serves everyone's best interests. On April 24, 2014, we hosted and moderated a UXPA Meetup, where we discussed accessibility with a specific focus on methods for advancing the practice. We were joined by speakers from SSB BART Group and Kaiser Permanente, who discussed their perspectives and experiences improving accessibility for their companies and their clients. I also presented on grassroots accessibility, focusing on tools and techniques anyone can use to move the bar within their own company, whether it be a startup or established business. I hope you enjoy my presentation as much as I did creating it.

1. GRASSROOTS ACCESSIBILITY
Driving change from the middle out
May 1, 2014

2. Photo by Matt Niemi available under CC
HOW CAN WE INCREMENTALLY
IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY?

3. 3 Grassroots Accessibility
Facets of User Experience © Semantic Studios used with permission
DEFINING USER EXPERIENCE
In 2004, Peter Morville published his seven facets
of user experience. They cover seven attributes of
design that contribute to a good, positive, satisfying
user experience.
These facets have been an invaluable asset for
helping UX professionals like myself shift the
perception of user experience from a field with a
narrow scope such as “user interface design” or
“usability” to something more nuanced and complex.
While the facets help illustrate the complexity of user
experience, the honeycomb visualization implies
they’re of equal value.
Usable
Useful
Valuable
Delightful
Findable
Credible
Accessible

4. 4 Grassroots Accessibility
DELIGHTFUL
DESIRABLE
USEFUL
USABLE
ACCESSIBLE
A HIERARCHY OF USER EXPERIENCE
In fact, user experience follows a hierarchy. Starting from Morville’s
facets, I’ve revisited some of the definitions to suit this purpose:
ACCESSIBLE
At its core, the web must be accessible so users of all abilities can
access digital products and services.
USABLE
Technology must be usable. If digital products aren’t easy to use,
they won’t succeed.
USEFUL
Technology should fulfill an actual user need.
DESIRABLE
We need to build products that connect with people on an emotional
level, so that people actually want to use them.
DELIGHTFUL
Delight is an emotional state. Many products are desirable, but few
achieve a true connection in this way.

5. 5 Grassroots Accessibility
Product
Management
Customer
Experience
Development
Quality
Assurance
Systems
Architecture
Business
AnalysisLegal
Compliance
Marketing
Customer
Service
HOW DO PRODUCTS GET BUILT?
Someone out there lies at the intersection between
all the elements you need to make a product or
service.
Whether a product manager, product designer, or
CEO, that person sets the vision, moves the project
forward, and is accountable for ensuring the entire
team works in concert to create something that
delivers against a shared goal.

6. 6 Grassroots Accessibility
Product
Management
Customer
Experience
Development
Quality
Assurance
Systems
Architecture
Business
AnalysisLegal
Compliance
Marketing
Customer
Service
HOW ACCESSIBILITY IS TYPICALLY MANAGED
Typically, accessibility becomes the domain of a few
groups across the product development lifecycle.
I’ve often observed a single champion in only one of
these groups as the person responsible for
advocating for accessible product design and
development. That person works tirelessly to raise
awareness, find tools to use, and train others—with
limited resources and in addition to official job
responsibilities.
This is neither sustainable nor scalable.

7. 7 Grassroots Accessibility
Product
Management
Customer
Experience
Development
Quality
Assurance
Systems
Architecture
Business
AnalysisLegal
Compliance
Marketing
Customer
Service
HOW ACCESSIBILITY SHOULD BE MANAGED
Accessibility must become a core part of how each
discipline does business.
Since accessibility impacts every group differently,
they must find ways to elevate awareness and
improve outcomes specific to their discipline.
These efforts should also be coordinated across your
organization so that everybody is working from the
same set of standards and sets similar goals.

8. 8 Grassroots Accessibility
SO, HOW DO
WE GET THERE?
Photo by Henry M. Diaz available under CC

9. 9 Grassroots Accessibility
FIND YOUR CHAMPIONS
Don’t be a hero. Find others who are
passionate and can help advance the cause
within their practice.
Referring back to our discussion on how
products get built, we should start with those
who can exert the greatest influence across the
product design lifecycle. Most often, this means
your product managers.
Starting in the center and working your way
outward, seek allies to help you execute.
Photo by Matt Niemi available under CC

10. 10 Grassroots Accessibility
CREATE NEW CHAMPIONS
Work within functional groups to increase
awareness, set goals and create a culture of
accessibility champions.
Empower others to make the changes they deem
necessary to move the bar within their discipline.
The creation of standards, guidelines, and
document templates is a great place to start.
Photo by 1UpLego available under CC

11. 11 Grassroots Accessibility
BUILD A BUSINESS CASE
Remember: the business benefits are clear. By
improving your accessibility you:
o Reduce the cost of development and maintenance
o Reduce your exposure to legal risk
o Increase your conversion/sales rates
o Drive consistency and standardization of design
patterns
o Improve your SEO
o Demonstrate corporate social responsibility and
inclusiveness
Beyond all this, it’s just the right thing to do.
The W3C provides valuable metrics to help you
build your business case.
Photo by Matt loves kicks available under CC

12. 12 Grassroots Accessibility
DON’T BE PARALYZED BY
SCALE OR SCOPE
The path ahead may seem insurmountable, but
even small steps make a huge difference.
Start with the basics—arm your team with the
knowledge and tools they need to improve right
now.
Identify and prioritize the work that needs to be
done.
Photo by daverugby83 available under CC

13. 13 Grassroots Accessibility
TAKE STOCK OF WHERE
YOU ARE
By conducting an accessibility audit of your site
or product, you can get a great sense of where
you currently stand.
Use the WCAG Success Criteria levels (A, AA,
AAA) to rate your compliance.
The tools use for your audit can be reused by
designers, developers, and QA to test in real-
time.
This spreadsheet provides a great head start as
an auditing tool.
Photo by a.drian available under CC

14. 14 Grassroots Accessibility
CREATE A PLAN
Acknowledge up front what can be reasonably
accomplished with your given resources, and
work within those constraints.
A great place to start is to ensure all new
products and features meet or exceed your
standards where possible.
Severe roadblocks may need their own projects to
fix. This is where your business case comes in
handy.
If significant updates to a page are made, make
accessibility upgrades part of those projects.
Photo by Todd Ehlers available under CC

15. 15 Grassroots Accessibility
COMMUNICATE TO AND
TRAIN OTHERS
Make accessibility a consistent and continuous
part of the conversation by communicating up,
out and down.
Ensure that your message is consistent and
clear starting with the business case and
requirements through QA test plans.
Establish forums, training, events, and briefings.
Webcasts and “lunch & learn” events can be
effective ways to spread the word and find
other advocates.
Photo by alphadesigner available under CC

16. 16 Grassroots Accessibility
PRINCIPLES YOU CAN USE
RIGHT NOW
PEOPLE FIRST
Designing for differences
CLEAR PURPOSE
Well designed goals
SOLID STRUCTURE
Built to standards
EASY INTERACTION
Everything works
HELPFUL WAYFINDING
Guides users
CLEAN PRESENTATION
Supports meaning
PLAIN LANGUAGE
Creates conversation
ACCESSIBLE MEDIA
Supports all senses
UNIVERSAL USABILITY
Creates delight
Principles by Whitney Quesenbery & Sarah Horton used with permission
Photo by Auntie P under CC

17. 17 Grassroots Accessibility
PERSONAS YOU CAN USE
RIGHT NOW
TREVOR
High school student with autism. Poor reading
skills and poor social skills; difficulty with visual
comprehension.
EMILY
Has cerebral palsy and uses a computer for
communication. Uses a scooter for mobility and
has minimal use of her hands.
LEA
Uses a split keyboard and dictation software.
Copes with fatigue and weakness from fibromyalgia.
MARIA
Uses computer translations, needs clearly written
information. Immigrant family is Spanish/English
bilingual.
Download the full set here
Personas by Whitney Quesenbery & Sarah Horton used with permission

18. 18 Grassroots Accessibility
TOOLS YOU CAN USE
RIGHT NOW
Many tools are available for your team to use:
Chrome’s Accessibility Developer tools
Snook Color Contrast Checker
WCAG 2.0 Standards
WAVE Tool
Resources list by WebAIM
Complete list of tools from the W3C
Photo by noinkstains available under CC

19. THANK YOU
Chief Creative Officer
mark@comradeagency.com
510.277.3400 x712
www.comradeagency.com
MARK OPLAND