One thing I'm against is design by committee. It rarely yields the best result.
And people seem to interpret this as if design is a one-person job. It's not.
And neither is accessibility. Or better yet, especially accessibility.
Because accessibility is all about people, having everyone on the team feel heard will increase the chances of success significantly. Collaboration and feedback from all stakeholders is critical.
I had to learn this the hard way, yes. But now I always start a project by creating the space for an open dialogue where developers, designers, executives and product owners all share their perspectives early in the process.
Developers usually have concerns about technical challenges. Designers raise creative concerns. Product owners are worried about timeline constraints and executives bring up the budget.
If I do my job right, all these roadblocks show up early on and we have the chance together to figure out what we can do about them.
Feedback is equally important.
Before starting the work, I ask questions like, “Does this timeline work for everyone?” or “How can we make this easier to implement?” This show that we have a chance to decide everything as a team and I'm open to adjustments.
My goal is to build trust and ensure the final plan is realistic and achievable.
And most important of all is feedback from end-users. Their firsthand experience usually reveals issues I have not considered during planning.
It's this sense of a shared ownership that makes it all possible. And worthwhile.