I get it! Accessibility is hard! You don't have the time to worry about that on top of everything else you have this release! Deadlines are a pain and there's no pleasing stakeholders who want everything sooner, better, faster.
All that is no excuse to completely ignore users that need keyboard navigation or colour contrast or image descriptions.
So I'll give you the easiest way to integrate accessibility into your workflow without blocking ongoing work. It'll only take a modicum of effort and the more you do it, the easier it'll get. Like a flywheel.
What's a flywheel?
Imagine a wheel that spins and keeps momentum going. A bicycle wheel that keeps spinning after you stop pedaling is a good example. It's more difficult to get going at first. But each new push of the pedal gets easier and easier.
In accessibility, it's a metaphor for a self-reinforcing cycle where each action creates energy for the next. As you build momentum, you grow more efficient over time.
How to design a flywheel to integrate accessibility
A good accessibility flywheel has three parts to it:
1. Choose
What do you want to do? Think of something you've always wanted to do, but always found excuses not to do it. It needs to be one discrete thing, like "ensure AA colour contrast."
Pick something you care about, that's easy enough to do and impactful enough to matter.
2. Practice
Now go do it! Every new feature you build, every design, every code change, do what you wanted to do if applicable. Don't let that slip through the cracks, come what may.
This is why it's important to pick something small enough so that you can't use lack of time as an excuse.
3. Review
Periodically review your work to make sure nothing slipped by. Once you've done it enough times, it'll become second nature, always in the back of your mind.
Ask yourself, does it really take as much time as you thought? Is it difficult to just do it without resistance? Is it energising or draining? Do you want to keep doing it, or is it too much and maybe you should scale back a bit?
Be honest with yourself. No use lying. Maybe you did try to do too much. No shame in scaling back or trying something else first. That's the whole point of the flywheel. It should get easier the more you do it.
Just remember CPR.
- Choose what to practice.
- Practice what you chose.
- Review what you practiced.
What's next?
Keep doing the thing. And pick something else as well. Go through the same motions as before. Continue adding small discrete things to your flywheel. Thank me later.