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#A11yTO conference presentation 2021 - Susan Till
- 1. Helpmehelpyou How to find out and meet the accessibility support needs of digital teams
- 2. NAME OR LOGO Topics 1. A collaborative approach to setting up a framework 2. Steps for gaining input from digital teams 3. Advantages and what to watch out for Susan Till 2
- 3. NAME OR LOGO Which digital teams are we talking about? Design Content Dev QA Others • Project Managers • Product Owners • Vendors • Etc. Susan Till 3
- 4. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 1 Build on a solid foundation Otherwise, everything will eventually fall apart Susan Till 4
- 5. NAME OR LOGO The approach Design with, not for 5
- 6. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 2 Focus on the team members’ needs Not just on reaching your own goals as quickly as possible Susan Till 6
- 7. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 3 Remember: Each person is unique Listen to find out their own unique needs Susan Till 7
- 8. NAME OR LOGO Team needs Find out the teams’ needs ○ Send out surveys ○ Hold interviews ○ Have team sharing sessions ○ Hang out with them as they work 8
- 9. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 4 Observe, learn, and spend time with teams They may not know their needs or what might be blocking them Susan Till 9
- 10. NAME OR LOGO Current knowledge level Learn what their knowledge levels are ○ Do a diagnostic quiz ○ Note the level of their questions and commentary ○ Note how they incorporate accessibility into their work 10
- 11. NAME OR LOGO Types of resources Find out resources they need ○ Accessibility consultant ○ SME on their team ○ Checklists/ guides/links ○ Live training ○ Self-directed learning ○ Testing ○ Office hours ○ Demos ○ Etc. 11
- 12. NAME OR LOGO Committee of champions Set up a committee of champions ○ Keep them involved during development ○ Have them review the framework ○ Have them get feedback from their teams ○ Get them to help integrate the framework into processes 12
- 13. NAME OR LOGO Monitor and evolve Monitor and evolve the framework ○ Get team feedback ○ Do accessibility spot checks ○ Monitor quiz results ○ Evolve based on findings 13
- 14. NAME OR LOGO Yikes What to watch out for Information overload Resistance from teams Susan Till 14
- 15. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 5 Focus on the benefits Not the consequences Susan Till 15
- 16. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 6 Don’t just show them Get them to understand it Susan Till 16
- 17. NAME OR LOGO Yays What to celebrate Direct insights Investment Tailor-made Efficient/effective Susan Till 17
- 18. NAME OR LOGO Theme Alert 7 Care about the teams And they will care about what you’re doing Susan Till 18
- 19. NAME OR LOGO Summary 1. Take a collaborative approach to setting up a framework 2. Get input from digital teams about: • Their needs and challenges • How they work • Their knowledge level • What resources they need • The ongoing effectiveness of the framework 3. Enjoy the benefits of having them invested in their framework! Susan Till 19
Editor's Notes
- I signed up for this talk and the quote “Help me help you” fit with the topic: How to find out and meet the accessibility support needs of your digital teams. Quote is from the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire about a shark of a sports agent who learns that he can only be successful, in his career and in love, once her truly cares about the people involved Themes from the movie apply to this topic Themes were adapted from Shah Mohammed’s Eleven Business Lessons From The Movie “Jerry Maguire”
- I will be covering: A collaborative approach to setting up an accessibility framework for an organization Specific steps for gaining insights from your digital teams to help form an accessibility framework Advantages and what to watch out for when using this approach for setting up an accessibility framework
- First, by teams, I mean Designers, Content writers, Developers, QA (the testers), and anyone else who should probably know something about accessibility such as project managers, product owners or managers, vendors, etc. Maybe you’re an accessibility consultant and you’re tasked with helping these teams understand accessibility Or a member of one of these teams, say, a designer, and you’ve identified that the design team needs to get up to speed on accessibility First, yay, you Second, now what the heck do you do? You need to set up some kind of framework
- Theme alert: Build on a solid foundation When you don’t, everything will eventually fall apart So researching and building a framework takes time and energy but it’s worth it But where do you start?
- We always talk about the importance of designing with, not for Designing with the input of PwDs, not for them That applies here too Design with the teams you’re supporting, not for them It’s team members that are the ones you’re creating this framework for Not you (well, maybe you too if you’re part of the team, but not ONLY you)
- Theme alert: Focus on the team members’ needs Not just on reaching your own goals as quickly as possible Otherwise, you will end up having to go back and invest more time and energy anyway First, you need to gather information from the teams Get input both from the individuals on the teams and from the team managers Find out the specific gaps and areas of opportunities that they identify in their processes, knowledge, etc. Find out what they feel the issues and problems are
- Theme alert: Remember that each person is unique Truly listen to find out their own unique needs Be ready to not have one solution for all teams Don’t just learn what they need but how they feel about what they need The emotional side (are they feeling overwhelmed? Lost? Excited? Dedicated? Challenged (in a good or bad way)? This is where real investment in what you’re doing happens – when you tap into the emotional side Also how you build a deep, lasting connection You’ll end up with a stronger, more sustained relationship with your teams
- So what are some specific ways you can find out those teams’ needs? Send out surveys – SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms Hold interviews – Interview team managers and leads Have team sharing sessions that you facilitate Ask lots of questions but mostly listen Do not direct or comment or judge Ask more questions to get deeper understanding but don’t say “no” to anything Open to what they have to say or what they need to express emotionally You want to show you are there for them Hang out with them as they work Let them walk you through their work You need to understand what approaches they take What their processes are Do all this before you advise on incorporating inclusive design best practices
- Theme alert: Remember that each person is unique Truly listen to find out their own unique needs Be ready to not have one solution for all teams Don’t just learn what they need but how they feel about what they need The emotional side (are they feeling overwhelmed? Lost? Excited? Dedicated? Challenged (in a good or bad way)? This is where real investment in what you’re doing happens – when you tap into the emotional side Also how you build a deep, lasting connection You’ll end up with a stronger, more sustained relationship with your teams
- Learn what their current knowledge levels are: You could do a diagnostic quiz to find out what the knowledge levels are of the teams—and to find out the range of knowledge - Be careful! This can turn people off/scare them Better approach is to get an idea of knowledge as you hold those interviews and sharing sessions – the level of their questions and commentary will give you an idea As you get to know how they work, note how they incorporate accessibility into their work processes and the maturity of that
- Learn what types of resources they need: Ask what types of resources, training, and support they think would work best for them to gain understanding You may need to give suggestions for options: A dedicated accessibility consultant to support every projects A team member who gets trained-up to be the SME on their team Checklists/guides/links to existing resources Live training – exercises, hands-on workshop Self-directed learning Will any of the training include testing? Office hours Demos (screen reader demos, other assistive technology demos) AT lab – when back to the office! Etc.
- Once you’ve gathered this information, the next step is developing the framework. Depending on the size of the teams, it might be a good idea to set up a smaller committee of champions - a few reps from each team including the manager of each team Keep them involved during development of the framework Have them review it and provide suggestions And once the framework is ready to be launched and shared: Celebrate! And also: Ask the committee members to get feedback from their teams on the effectiveness of the resources, training, etc. Get them to help with integrating the framework into team processes: roadshowing it making it part of team onboarding making it required training etc.
- Once the framework is out there and in use, remember your job is not done! Monitor its effectiveness by getting feedback from the teams Monitor its effectiveness yourself by doing accessibility spot checks – are the gaps in knowledge closing? Monitor by quiz results, if you went that route And then (important!) evolve the framework based on what you find and what the team feedback is – where are there still gaps? Also, stay on top of any updates that happen based on new requirements, technology, etc. – This can be done by you or the dedicated consultant or the trained-up expert in each discipline
- So you’ve got a strong process for developing and maintaining a framework. You took this approach of involving the teams in the framework. Now the yikes and the yays of this approach. First the yikes. What you should watch out for when using this approach to building out a framework: Don’t get bogged down with feedback overload from the teams A lot to take in and try to draw conclusions from – use the data but don’t try to meet every individual’s needs Balance the information you gathered with your own learnings and conclusions At some point, you’ll have enough information Trust yourself too You can always pivot and rework the framework What if the team is reluctant or downright resistant to being involved in this framework? How do you get their support and involvement? Getting buy-in is a whole other talk. But, in brief: Uncover why there’s resistance- there’s history there – this is where the information gathering in a safe environment is so important - find out the pain points – tell them the framework is meant to fix these pain points Present the reasons why it’s important (this is not an exhaustive list): Enables people with disabilities to accomplish the same tasks as everyone else, which is just the right thing to do Results in a better experience for all users because it’s easier and simpler Can result in some cool innovations And, yes, it also meaning reaching a wider audience, which could mean more hits/sales/etc. And, yes, it’s also legally required
- Theme alert: Remember that each person is unique Truly listen to find out their own unique needs Be ready to not have one solution for all teams Don’t just learn what they need but how they feel about what they need The emotional side (are they feeling overwhelmed? Lost? Excited? Dedicated? Challenged (in a good or bad way)? This is where real investment in what you’re doing happens – when you tap into the emotional side Also how you build a deep, lasting connection You’ll end up with a stronger, more sustained relationship with your teams
- Theme alert: Remember that each person is unique Truly listen to find out their own unique needs Be ready to not have one solution for all teams Don’t just learn what they need but how they feel about what they need The emotional side (are they feeling overwhelmed? Lost? Excited? Dedicated? Challenged (in a good or bad way)? This is where real investment in what you’re doing happens – when you tap into the emotional side Also how you build a deep, lasting connection You’ll end up with a stronger, more sustained relationship with your teams
- Now the yays. What can you celebrate about the approach of involving teams in developing the framework? You gained valuable insights from the actual teams whom this framework will support They will be more invested because they were part of the process – they feel like they own it It’ll be the tailor-made for them - targeted support, training, and resources for those teams It’ll be the most efficient and effective route possible to get to understanding of accessibility...because they helped build the road!
- Theme alert: Remember that each person is unique Truly listen to find out their own unique needs Be ready to not have one solution for all teams Don’t just learn what they need but how they feel about what they need The emotional side (are they feeling overwhelmed? Lost? Excited? Dedicated? Challenged (in a good or bad way)? This is where real investment in what you’re doing happens – when you tap into the emotional side Also how you build a deep, lasting connection You’ll end up with a stronger, more sustained relationship with your teams
- To summarize: Take a collaborative approach to setting up a framework Get input from digital teams about: Their needs and challenges How they work Their knowledge level What resources they need How they feel about the effectiveness of the framework as time passes Enjoy the benefits of having them invested in their framework!
- And that’s all, thank you. If you want to follow me on Twitter, it’s @Susan_Till. Come and say hello!