The new design changes are pretty, but the experience for people with disabilities using assistive technology is still quite poor, especially for authors. Accessibility is the ability of people with disabilities to use software or consume information equally to people…
Cookie banners and accessibility
Yes, these do matter, especially if you are using a cookie banner to handle your privacy disclosures, super especially if you can be sued in California. What is a cookie? Cookies are small text files created by a website that…
Accessibility and Design Thinking don’t work together automatically
Here are some strategies to make sure PwDs are not excluded. Note that this article does not address the question “should you be using Design Thinking at all?” — there are two very distinct camps on opposite ends of the…
How to discuss accessibility during a design/UI/UX interview or portfolio review
There are a gazillion articles on how to do a good job reviewing your design portfolio. None of them talk about accessibility. Portfolio reviews are the penultimate step in the design/UI/UX interview process. It’s a chance to show your work,…
Why US law effectively mandates all software design be responsive
Your employer/client can spend a lot of time and money on lawsuits and rework if you don’t follow this one simple rule. Smashing Magazine defines “responsive design” as an approach where design responds to the user’s behavior and environment based on…
Accessibility is not an “add-on” service
It is not possible to be a “contact center” which also provides high-quality accessibility services. It just doesn’t work that way. Every week I get a handful of unsolicited LinkedIn messages from people/companies I’ve never heard of, almost always from…
ADA 30 Report Card
The ADA turns 30 on July 25th. In some areas, people with disabilities have made significant advances. In others, not so much. Unless you are someone with a disability or work in the disability/diversity/ inclusion/equality/belonging/accessibility space, you probably don’t think…
Remote user research utilizing participants with disabilities
WFH is also resulting in RFH (Research From Home). This requires adaptations for participants with disabilities Many of us are still under lockdown orders for weeks, or even longer. Second waves of COVID are well documented in states and countries…
“As Designed” is a useless bug closure status — especially for people with disabilities
Just because it was designed that way, doesn’t mean it was a good idea. As someone who started off in software testing over 30 years ago, and then transitioned into accessibility, I’ve seen some crazy bug closure statuses. Won’t Fix…
Don’t just design accessible products, build accessible experiences
Use your user journeys to map out all employee and customer touchpoints and make sure they are all accessible. Design accessible products “What the heck is offensive about that, Sheri?” you are probably saying to yourself. Followed by “Duh, isn’t…