How early should teams start worrying about accessibility in the software development lifecycle?
Authentic conversations so far...
This is an archive of the email messages I sent to my daily mailing list since March 12th, 2024. Enjoy!
Accessibility has never been about disabilities.
I got it wrong for a long time
Mar 18th, 2026
I spent years walking into accessibility conversations with the wrong arguments.
The relevance objection to accessibility
Mar 17th, 2026
If you think accessibility isn't relevant to your users, it's because you've never looked.
The priorities objection to accessibility
Mar 16th, 2026
Stop competing with priorities and start attaching accessibility to them.
Access Denied #89: UX personas
Mar 15th, 2026
In Issue 89 of Access Denied, Gary's personas have no disabilities.
The authority objection to accessibility
Mar 14th, 2026
The authority objection to accessibility is the most polite one you'll hear.
The responsibility objection to accessibility
Mar 13th, 2026
Responsibility is the one objection that doesn't sound like an objection.
The money objection to accessibility
Mar 12th, 2026
We don't have the budget for accessibility is rarely about the budget.
The time objection to accessibility
Mar 11th, 2026
The real problem is that nobody knows if accessibility will take a day or six months.
These accessibility objections are lies
Mar 10th, 2026
When every accessibility conversation hits a wall, the objections aren't really about accessibility.
What to put on an apron
Mar 9th, 2026
Funny things I saw in codebases.
Access Denied #88: ARIA stuff
Mar 8th, 2026
In Issue 88 of Access Denied, Gary thinks accessibility is all about adding ARIA.
Dressed for the role
Mar 7th, 2026
The label is never the thing itself.
The backlog isn't a requirement
Mar 6th, 2026
Your accessibility backlog might be doing more harm than good.
One more approach for effective accessibility
Mar 5th, 2026
Making and keeping promises to your team and customers is the most important step you're missing.
Practical approaches for effective accessibility
Mar 4th, 2026
Practical approaches for product owners to make accessibility a quality standard.
Stop prioritising accessibility
Mar 3rd, 2026
Make accessibility a part of your acceptance criteria so it stops competing with features.
Your accessibility priorities are lying to you
Mar 2nd, 2026
Rating accessibility issues 1–5 feels productive. It isn't.
Access Denied #87: Not my bug
Mar 1st, 2026
In Access Denied #87, accessibility issues bounce around until they reach the backlog.
Accessibility prioritisation is always a right-now decision.
Nobody owns the entire sandwich
Feb 27th, 2026
If nobody on your team sees the whole experience, nobody can improve it.
Accessibility isn't a single department
Feb 26th, 2026
Accessibility is a shared language, not a single department.
Running audits
Feb 25th, 2026
You can't ship accessible products by running more audits.
No cake. Just this.
Feb 24th, 2026
Today's my birthday. Do this one small thing. That's all I'm asking.
Accessibility doesn't sell - continued
Feb 23rd, 2026
You got the quick win approved. Here's how to not screw it up.
Access Denied #86: Core values
Feb 22nd, 2026
In Issue 86 of Access Denied, Gary thinks the accessibility statement makes accessibility a priority.
Accessibility doesn't sell
Feb 21st, 2026
You're selling the system around accessibility. They're just thinking about Friday.
Control your inputs
Feb 20th, 2026
Focus on the inputs you control and the outputs will follow.
Triage means being honest
Feb 19th, 2026
Rules for triaging accessibility requests honestly.
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I send out short emails like these every day to help you gain a fresh perspective on accessibility and understand it without the jargon, so you can build more robust products that everyone can use, including people with disabilities.