By Yasmine Elglaly — Accessibility is still often viewed as a niche area in software development, where only a select few individuals—such as user researchers and front‑end developers—are expected to have knowledge and expertise in this field. These individuals may be tasked with not only identifying and addressing accessibility issues but also with educating other team members about accessibility, advocating for accessibility, and fostering an inclusive culture. Additionally, they may encounter resistance from team members who are skeptical about the importance of accessibility, which can make their job even more challenging. However, this approach is problematic for two key reasons. Firstly, this places a heavy burden on those with accessibility experience to build a mini‑ mum level of accessibility foundation into their teams, which takes away from their ability to focus on technical tasks such as running usability studies with users with disabilities. Secondly, accessibility is a team effort and cannot be the sole responsibility of a few individuals. It is not practical to ask one person to handle accessibility for the entire software development process, from design to implementation to testing. Every software engineer, regardless of their role, should be aware of what current tools and technologies have to offer in terms of accessibility support, as well as what is still lacking in this area.
The decisions made during the early stages of software development can greatly impact the accessibility of the software. It is crucial for software architects to have a strong understanding of the accessibility support offered by various frameworks and tools, so that they can make informed decisions on how to create accessible software. Additionally, recognizing the limitations of current frameworks and tools can help guide appropriate actions at various stages of the software development process to address potential accessibility issues.
Product owners should understand that accessibility is an essential factor that should be considered throughout the product creation process. Therefore, every user story should be checked for accessibility before it is deemed done. When accessibility is considered at the beginning of the project, the timeline will be more realistic, avoiding the unfair outcome that making software accessible is “too much work” or will take “too much time.” Neglecting accessibility during project planning often leads to finding accessibility bugs during the testing phase, and making changes at this point can be time‑consuming and expensive for production.
Quality assurance engineers should realize that complying with accessibility laws is not enough to ensure high‑quality software for people with disabilities. Focusing solely on compliance often results in software that is challenging for users with disabilities to use. Accessibility is not just about meeting legal requirements; it is about creating software that is easy to use, enjoyable, and inclusive for all users. To ensure that software is accessible to users with disabilities, it is important to test the software with various types of assistive technology and to gather feedback from users with disabilities. By testing software with assistive technology, developers can ensure that the software can be used with screen readers, magnifiers, and other assistive devices. Additionally, testing with users with disabilities provides valuable feedback on the usability and accessibility of the software, allowing developers to make necessary improvements to ensure an inclusive user experience.
As such, it is important to build a culture of accessibility within software development teams, where everyone is encouraged and empowered to play a role in making software more accessible to all users. This requires education and training for all team members, as well as ongoing communication and collaboration throughout the development process. By involving everyone in the process of creating accessible software, teams can create more inclusive and equitable products that serve the needs of all users.
From Horton, S., & Sloan, D. (2024). What Every Engineer Should Know About Digital Accessibility. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
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