We sense a paradigm shift from technical accessibility towards accessible user experience. We’ve seen the benefits that inclusive design can contribute to product usability and desirability, and we’ve been shown a more inclusive approach to UX by Whitney Quesenbery and Sarah Horton in their book “A Web for Everyone.” But shifting from a conformance approach to accessibility to integrating it holistically into the design process is a logistical, organizational and technical challenge for UX professionals and their colleagues. Hear our Manifesto for Accessible UX, in which we set out an approach to delivering accessible UX in the real world, based on our own many years of experience in the field. Have the opportunity to contribute to developing the Manifesto into something the profession can use to create genuinely inclusive high-quality digital experiences. This workshop is relevant to a wide range of roles, including designers, developers, user researchers, usability specialists, product managers, policy makers, strategists, and leadership. Attendees should come with a commitment to accessibility, a desire to apply a holistic and sustainable approach to accessibility, and a readiness to discuss what's needed to make it so. In other words, this workshop picks up at the "how" and not the "why" of Accessible UX. Attendees will leave the workshop with some immediate actions and resources, so that together we may move Accessible UX forward.

1. Developing a Manifesto for
Accessible UX
David Sloan, Léonie Watson, Sarah Horton
The Paciello Group

2. Welcome

3. Who we are
• David Sloan: @sloandr
• Léonie Watson: @LeonieWatson
• Sarah Horton: @gradualclearing

4. What we plan to do
• Identify challenges a manifesto for Accessible UX
must address
• Discuss how to use a manifesto as a vehicle for
change
• Create a draft manifesto to use as a starting point

5. What we hope to accomplish
• Understand the obstacles that make AUX challenging
• Appreciate the role of a manifesto can play
• Create an alpha version of an AUX manifesto

6. What you were invited to do
• Think about the purpose of a manifesto
• Identify common components make up a manifesto
• Inventory challenges the manifesto must address

7. Context
• We believe accessibility and UX are part of the same
objective
• TPG is advancing how we work with clients from
evaluating output towards improving process
• But advocating and implementing AUX is difficult
• Can a manifesto—a shared articulation of AUX—
help us reposition accessibility in UX?

8. Introductions

9. Activity: About us as a group
• Your name
• How far you traveled to get here
• Your biggest AUX challenge

10. What we know about you

11. Level of experience
We represent all experience levels. Most people have
some to many years of experience involving disabled
people in UX activities, closely followed by people who
are just starting out or who are uncertain how to
categorise their experience.

12. Type of experience
Almost everyone is involved in AUX at the practical
level, either through research, design, development or
QA testing. Some people also deal with AUX at the
strategic/policy level, or in an advocacy/educational
capacity.

13. Most challenging aspect
Most people feel that project execution is a big
challenge point for AUX, although far fewer identified
project planning as a problem. No one feels that
project management is a challenge.

14. Biggest obstacle
People were evenly split between lack of knowledge
and lack of practical guidance as obstacles to AUX.
Lack of awareness wasn’t considered to be an
obstacle at all.

15. Meaning of AUX
Most people believe that AUX means that everyone
including people with disabilities can use a
product/service, and that the UX should be
pleasant/enjoyable for all. People acknowledged that
AUX must take into account people with different
disabilities, and others noted that accessibility
guidelines make a good starting point/contributing
factor of good AUX.

16. Who we are—together
• We represent a range of familiarity and experience
• We see the greatest challenge as getting accessibility
in the process
• We believe this is due to a lack of accessibility
capacity on project teams
• We share the goal of making user experiences
enjoyable for everyone

17. Word cloud with responses to the
“Meaning of AUX” question

18. Sharing Observations from the Field
Mapping challenges and obstacles for AUX

19. Activity: Identifying the challenges
• Discuss challenges you face with your neighbor
• List them
• Report back

20. Activity: Mapping the obstacles
• Review list of challenges
• Sort them into categories

21. Creating a Shared Vision
Using a manifesto as a vehicle for change

22. Activity: Defining a manifesto
• List manifestos
• Discuss what manifestos are intended to accomplish
• Share how you would use a manifesto

23. Break

24. Activity: Making a manifesto
• We believe…
• We recognize…
• We will…

25. Activity: Using a manifesto
• Discuss how we can make use our Manifesto for AUX

26. Wrap up