Daily emails so far...

Decision records need a way to handle questions without turning their authors into a help desk.

In Issue 118 of Access Denied, Gary misses the point of accessibility decisions.

A decision record only helps if someone can find it while doing the work.

Scope a decision around the problem it solves and the conditions it needs.

A practical decision-record template: capture the choice, its reasoning and its limits without making the next team read every conversation.

A rule tells the next team what to do, but the decision behind it helps them work out why and how to do it.

When one team's accessibility decisions never reach the next, the company keeps paying to solve the same problem.

Each delay is another choice about the people who still rely on a workaround.

In Issue 117, Gary makes time for accessibility fixes.

Audit fixes need room in the product plan. That means deciding what moves, rather than hoping the team finds spare time.

An accessibility audit identifies problems, you still need to decide what to fix and when.

Before relying on a workaround, check whether it works and who has to do the extra work.

"Is it done" can mean missing evidence, unclear expectations or permission to ship unfinished work.

Accessibility belongs in the definition of done. There is no definition of good enough.

A lack of complaints tells you little about whether people can actually use your product.

In Issue 116 of Access Denied, Gary looks on the plus side of missing keyboard navigation.

A long accessibility backlog needs more than a priority label.

A shrinking accessibility backlog can signal progress, but you also need to know what was fixed and how.

Understanding whether accessibility is improving means looking at what patients can actually do.

Unanswered product questions become hidden development work.

New information helps teams decide what needs to change and what can stay.

A good handover makes it easy to revisit earlier decisions without putting everyone in every meeting.

In Issue 115 of Access Denied, Gary fixes the calendar but not the experience.

Polished designs can hide unanswered questions. Making those questions visible helps teams plan the work before development starts.

An accessible component helps, but teams also need to check whether people can complete the task without unnecessary effort.

Technical choices belong with the people doing the work. Choices that change who can use a feature need a wider conversation.

Accessibility issues found late often start with earlier product decisions.

Accessibility can belong to the whole team, but each decision still needs someone responsible for moving it forward.

When accessibility depends on one person speaking up, product quality changes with every team and every release.

In Issue 114 of Access Denied, Gary thinks opening tickets for accessibility is a good default.