If I've convinced you to make accessibility a part of your acceptance criteria so it stops competing with features, you're likely wondering how to do just that.
Here are some ideas:
- If it's not testable, it's not done.
- Write it in the ticket, not the retrospective.
- Ask "who can't use this?" first.
- Define done with users with disabilities in mind.
- Make the accessibility check part of sign-off, not part of v2.
- Know your WCAG level. Pick one. Hold the line.
- Don't accept a design that hasn't been reviewed for contrast.
- Treat an inaccessible release like a broken build. Don't ship it.
- Budget for remediation because you likely have issues already.
- Invite someone with a disability to help you test.
- When it's flagged late, fix it anyway.
- Know the difference between "technically compliant" and "actually usable."
- Stop closing tickets as "won't fix" without a documented reason. Make it a good reason.
- Ask your engineers if they've tested with a keyboard.
- Don't let "we'll come back to it" become "we never did."
- Own the backlog. Own what's in it. Own what keeps getting pushed.
Done means done. Inaccessible ain't done.