{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Introducing Accessibility for Teams |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Introducing Accessibility for Teams",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2018/07/10/introducing-accessibility-for-teams/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Introducing Accessibility for Teams","deck" : "A guide to making products more accessible for everyone","summary" : "A quick-start guide for embedding accessibility and inclusive design into a team’s workflow.","date" : "2018-07-10T16:38:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"maya-benari" : "Maya Benari"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "design" : "Design",
            "research" : "Research",
            "user-experience" : "User experience"
            },"featured_image" : { "uid" :
  "accessibility-for-teams-2", "alt" :
  "Colorful graphic of a group of handicapped symbols" },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2018-07-10-introducing-accessibillity-teams.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2018/07/2018-07-10-introducing-accessibillity-teams.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2018/07/2018-07-10-introducing-accessibillity-teams.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2018/07/2018-07-10-introducing-accessibillity-teams.md","slug" : "introducing-accessibility-for-teams","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2018/07/10/introducing-accessibility-for-teams/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eAccessibility is a crucial part of government product design. First, \u003ca href=\"https://www.access-board.gov/the-board/laws/rehabilitation-act-of-1973#508\"\u003eit\u0026rsquo;s the law\u003c/a\u003e. Federal agencies face legal consequences when they don’t meet accessibility requirements. Second, it affects us all. Whether you have a motor disability, you sprained your wrist playing dodgeball, you need a building to have a ramp for your wheelchair or stroller, or you literally just have your hands full, we all find ourselves unable to do certain things at different points in our lives. Accessible products are better products for everyone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut accessibility is hard: It comes across as a set of complex rules that are hard to follow. Not everyone feels confident that they’re doing it right. It’s difficult to prioritize alongside other work and project needs. How do you make sure you’re building products that are accessible and inclusive?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Accessibility Guild in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/federal-acquisition-service/technology-transformation-services\"\u003eTechnology Transformation Services\u003c/a\u003e (TTS) at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.gsa.gov/\"\u003eU.S. General Services Administration\u003c/a\u003e (GSA) set out to understand how people in different roles practice accessibility. We asked designers, developers, and product managers across our organization to share their accessibility practices, from self-testing to asking for help. We heard about the barriers that can stand in the way of making products more accessible, from lack of knowledge to lack of buy-in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe distilled what we learned into a \u003ca href=\"https://accessibility.digital.gov/\"\u003equick-start guide for embedding accessibility and inclusive design\u003c/a\u003e into a team\u0026rsquo;s workflow.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEach person on a team, whether you’re a manager, designer, or developer, has a role to play. Your responsibilities are different depending on your role. So that’s how we structured the guide, with a separate section for each of five roles:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduct management\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eContent design\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003euser-experience design\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVisual design\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFront-end development\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis guide provides:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn overview of how each role can contribute to a product’s accessibility\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA framework for thinking about accessibility and inclusive design in your role\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn understanding of the human need behind accessibility practices, introduced with clear questions and \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/2015/04/06/using-personas-to-better-understand-customers-usa-gov-case-study.md/\"\u003epersonas\u003c/a\u003e that describe people who would experience particular accessibility issues\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n        src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/accessibility-keyboard-access.png\"alt=\"A screen capture of the keyboard access page.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe’ve shared the guide with accessibility practitioners across government, and we’ve incorporated their feedback.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe all have a part to play in building accessible products. We hope this guide can help you understand your role.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCheck out the guide at \u003ca href=\"https://accessibility.digital.gov/\"\u003eaccessibility.digital.gov\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e. Let us know if it’s helpful and how we can improve.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe’d like to thank everyone who contributed and provided feedback (apologies for leaving anyone off):\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDavid Stenger, Carolyn Dew, Victor Zapanta, Kate Saul, Nikki Lee, Andrew Maier, Atul Varma, Corey Mahoney, Andre Francisco, James Hupp, Julia Sultan, Michael Torres, Jen Thibault, Leah Bannon, Michelle Hertzfeld, Rebecca Piazza, Nick Bristow, Jeremy Zilar, Dan Williams, Micah Taylor, John Yuda, Aviva Oskow, John Sullivan, Kathy Eng, the Accessible Design \u0026amp; Dev Technical Guidance Workgroup, the Section 508 listserv and Accessibility Coordinators.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThis DigitalGov Guide is maintained by the Accessibility Guild in TTS at GSA. In the government, accessibility isn’t a nice-to-have, \u003ca href=\"https://www.access-board.gov/the-board/laws/rehabilitation-act-of-1973#508\"\u003eit’s the law\u003c/a\u003e. Find out more about \u003ca href=\"https://section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies\"\u003eSection 508\u003c/a\u003e of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a law that requires all information and communications technology released by the government to be accessible to anybody with a disability. Learn about the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/2018/01/30/updated-it-accessibility-standards/\"\u003eSection 508 Refresh\u003c/a\u003e that went into effect in January 2018.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}