Accessibility Roadmap Development

It will be official on Monday that the Title II deadline for digital accessibility is being extended by a year. Now 2027 for cities over 50,000 and 2028 for cities under 50,000. I am of two minds on this. The first reaction is blunt. Once again, the government signals that people with disabilities don't matter. Extensions rarely land as neutral. There are delays, and delays have a personal cost. I expect the same pattern we saw when Title III timelines slipped. Confusion, uneven adoption, and a spike in litigation when expectations and reality collide. Let me make it perfectly clear: The requirement to be accessible is NOW. The only thing that is delayed is the implementation of a standard by which that accessibility is being measured. The second reaction is more practical. Most organizations were not ready. Not close. This gives them time to get organized. After sitting with it, here is where I land. Deadlines do not create accessibility. Decisions do. An extra year can help, if it is used to improve the situation. Use it to put governance in place. Define who owns accessibility and how progress gets measured. Train designers, developers, QA, and product owners so they can make the right calls upstream. Fix procurement language so you stop buying inaccessible products and increasing your tech debt. Build an inventory of websites, applications, and documents so you know what actually exists. Most municipalities do not have a complete list. If that work happens, the extension has real value. If the year turns into waiting for legal guidance or hoping some magic solution like AI or an overlay will solve it, nothing changes except the date on the calendar. The organizations that invested early are not the ones asking for more time. They built programs. They funded the work. They integrated accessibility into design systems and development workflows. They will use this year to refine and scale. Everyone else now has a clear signal. You have time, and you have no cover. For cities with over 50,000 residents, that means showing measurable progress within a year. Not a plan. Not a statement. Evidence. Accessible templates in production. Staff who know how to build and test. Procurement language with enforcement behind it. A testing program that runs continuously. For cities under 50,000, the timeline is longer, and resources are tighter. That makes prioritization non-negotiable. Start with the services people rely on every day, especially if you rely on third parties. Payments. Permits. Public safety information. Then expand. The litigation risk does not go away with an extension. It compresses. When the new deadline hits, expectations will be sharper, not softer. Take the year and treat it like the last one you will get. Because eventually, it will be. https://lnkd.in/gvSvuT5r #Accessibility #TitleII #WCAG #Disability

Accessibility Strategy for Organizations Just Starting: ➤ Begin with 3 simple accessibility actions each week. ➤ Ensure 1 of them involves feedback from people with disabilities—whether it's testing a product, evaluating a service, or reviewing communications. ➤ Engage with people from the disability community every day—whether online or within your team—listen, learn, and ask for honest feedback. Once you start building momentum: ➤ Scale up to 5-7 actions weekly. ➤ Make 3 or more of them proactive accessibility improvements—like adding captions, improving site navigation, or hosting accessible events. ➤ Keep community engagement and accessibility-related discussions ongoing, just like you’d maintain customer relations or team communication. That’s really all you need to start building an inclusive culture. Remember: Don’t overcomplicate it. Accessibility is a commitment. It’s about making sure everyone can engage fully—your customers, your employees, and your stakeholders. Keep it simple, keep it human, keep it accessible.

Accessibility case study: Spotify When we talk about accessibility leaders in the Nordics, most people think of IKEA. But there’s another name worth celebrating: Spotify. ✨ A few highlights: ▷ Accessible by default: their design system, Encore, has an “Encore x Accessibility” track. Many components come with accessibility built-in, and for edge cases, designers get clear, practical guidance. In other words: devs don’t need to reinvent the wheel — accessibility is baked in. ▷ Guidelines that scale: Spotify even shares their Accessibility Guidelines for Developers openly. They’re structured into “quick wins,” “medium-term wins,” and “intensive wins.” It’s a roadmap teams can actually use, not just a wish list. ▷ Research that listens: when they redesigned Your Library, they didn’t just crunch numbers. They combined quant data (how people use the app) with qual feedback (interviews, beta testing) to understand the “why” behind the struggles. That balance is rare, and it shows in the end product. ▷ Nothing about us without us: Spotify partnered with Fable, a community of people with disabilities, to test their products and shape their upcoming Accessibility Plan. Over 100 people with lived experience gave feedback across vision, hearing, mobility, cognition, and speech. That’s accessibility grounded in reality, not theory. 🚀 Why does this stand out compared to others? Lots of companies are still at the stage of “raising awareness” or “appointing an accessibility officer.” Spotify is already embedding accessibility into the tools, workflows, and research methods that shape their everyday product decisions. That’s the shift: from side project to core practice. ⚠️ Gaps & real-world limits: ▷ Scale + legacy product complexity: large platforms must balance many priorities; rolling out accessibility universally across all surfaces (mobile apps, web players, embedded widgets, third-party integrations) takes time. Public work shows progress but also ongoing work. ▷ Content ecosystem challenges: user-generated content (podcasts, artist uploads, social clips) creates variability — captioning and metadata quality depend heavily on creators and tooling. This is an industry-wide gap, not unique to Spotify. 🔎Lessons for companies: ▷ Start with people, not checklists. Invest in user research with people who actually use assistive tech; let the data drive product choices. ▷ Make accessibility social inside the company. Run regular meetups, internal talks, and learning series so the knowledge spreads beyond a single team. ▷ Partner early with specialists & communities. External partners bring lived experience, accelerate learning, and reduce the risk of misguided solutions. ▷ Plan for content & ecosystem complexity. Where creators supply content, invest in creator tools (easy captioning, templates) and moderation/quality flows. ▷ Measure & be transparent. Track accessibility metrics and be honest about scope and remaining work — transparency builds trust.

Shifting Norms Around Disability - from labels to lived access What does it take to shift a norm that’s baked into daily life - like how society sees disability? During Session 1 of #BehavioralScienceMadeEasy yesterday with Cohort 4, Basirat Razaq-Shuaib, PhD, ACA put a tough question on the table: how do we actually move attitudes and behaviors on disability acceptance when discrimination shows up everywhere - in schools, workplaces, streets, and even in the words we use? One moment stuck with me. Ifeanyi Nsofor shared how the United Arab Emirates officially refers to people with disabilities as people of determination. It’s not just a nicer phrase. In behavioral terms, it’s a prompt that reframes identity and expectation. Language can be an early move that nudges descriptive and injunctive norms - what we see others doing and what we believe others expect of us. But language alone is never enough. As Elizabeth Chiyende reminded us, disability inclusion lives across the social ecological model - individual, interpersonal, community, institutional, and policy levels. We need environmental change - accessible sidewalks, transit, signage, buildings, and services that make inclusion real rather than rhetorical. If you’re a practitioner or donor wondering where to start, consider a ladder that couples language shifts with visible access gains: 1) Rename to reframe -Adopt people of determination or locally resonant alternatives in all communications. -Update forms, websites, and signage within 30 days. - Pair language with stories of capability - not pity. 2) Make norms observable -Publish monthly accessibility wins - ramps added, curb cuts fixed, routes mapped. -Highlight role models in workplaces and schools. -Use trusted messengers - faith leaders, pharmacists, teachers - to show approval of inclusion. 3) Change the choice architecture -Default to accessibility in procurement templates and building approvals. -Tie grantee and vendor reporting to accessibility indicators. -Add quick prompts at decision points - checklists for events, clinics, and classrooms. 4) Lock it in with rules - Enforce existing accessibility laws with spot checks and public dashboards. - Tie budget releases to demonstrated compliance. - Create rapid-response micro-grants to fix the top 10 physical barriers . 5) Measure what matters - Norms: % reporting most people in my community approve of accessible design and inclusive hiring. - Behavior: people of determination reporting they can attend school, reach clinics, and use transit independently. Labels can open the door - law and lived design invite people in. If you’re in government, civil society, or philanthropy, pick one near-term action at each level this month - language, visibility, design, enforcement, measurement - and make it real. Norms shift when people can see, feel, and repeat the change. #behavioralscience #socialnorms #behavior #DisabilityInclusion #Inclusion #AfricaBehavioralScienceNetwork

Today is day three of a challenge I’m doing called 75 Healthy. One of the parts of the challenge is to take 10 minutes a day for your own professional development. For today's professional development, I took Christina Mallon’s LinkedIn Learning Course, Making a Case for Accessibility in Your Organization. I feel like I can always do more to advocate for accessibility. From my notes, here are my takeaways: Begin with Culture: Foster awareness of accessibility among your employees. Understand its impact and provide necessary resources. Develop a Strategic Approach: Integrate accessibility into your business strategy. Tailor this to your organization's unique needs. Implement an Accessibility Maturity Model: Track progress and set benchmarks using models like Microsoft's Accessibility Evolution Model Invest in Tools and Processes: Focus on creating and maintaining accessible tools. Start with leadership buy-in and prioritize high-impact tools. Build Momentum with Good Habits: Embed accessibility in everyday practices like email signatures and social media posts. Test and Validate: Regularly check your products and services for accessibility compliance. Scale Accessibility Sustainably: Train all employees and integrate accessibility into your marketing and product development. Enhance the Ecosystem: Work with third-party suppliers to ensure accessible deliverables. Create Inclusive Experiences: Be proactive in making meetings and events accessible to everyone. Incorporate into Product Development: Include accessibility as a critical component in every stage of product development. Focus on Usability: Go beyond technical standards to enhance user experience for all. Storytelling for Impact: Use storytelling to make accessibility relatable and tangible. Highlight personal experiences and successes. Accessibility is not just a compliance checkbox; it's a commitment to inclusivity and a reflection of your company's values. Anyone else want to commit to the 75 days of professional development with me? If so, use #75daypdchallenge. Also I'd love to know in the comments, how do you advocate for accessibility at your organization?

Accessibility is not a choice, it's our responsibility. New accessibility requirements in the US are making it even more urgent for teams to educate themselves about what they can do to meet the needs of people with disabilities. → WCAG Guidelines should be familiar to modern product teams, so what's new about these requirements? → Accessibility audits on older sites might reveal an iceberg of issues. When do teams need to be ready to meet the updated guidelines? → The internet is a big place. Do these new requirements apply to everyone or are they focused on specific websites and services? 📚 I spent some time digging around ADA.gov to learn what these new requirements mean for designers and product teams. Take the deep dive yourself when you have a chance: https://lnkd.in/gxCuvX6V 1️⃣ What: ADA Title II states that all state and local government websites need to meet the WCAG 2.1 Level A or AA accessibility guidelines. The new law will make sure that all public services are accessible to people with disabilities, including all programs, and activities offered online and through mobile apps. 2️⃣ When: It turns out the timeline for implementation is flexible based on the size of the local populations served. Jurisdictions with populations over 50K have two years while those with less than 50K have three years, with everyone needing to be compliant by 2027. 3️⃣ Who: It turns out that within state and local government, this includes not only municipal bodies such as state and local city departments but also entities like public schools, museums, and libraries. The last big note is that third-party software vendors and contractors who serve these entities are also on the hook (that probably means you too!) 💎 As much as that might sound daunting, there are things you can start doing right now to get prepared: → Run an accessibility audit. You don’t know how much work you have to do until you take a look and see what’s really going on. A simple tool you can use to get a quick sense of things is the WAVE tool from WebAIM. This tool allows you to get a page-by-page snapshot of common accessibility issues. https://wave.webaim.org/ → Educate yourself and your team. The contents of an accessibility audit won’t make much sense until you level up your team to be able to process the severity of the issues you have and allow your team to think strategically about what to prioritize. A simple class that I encourage for newcomers is a free class from Google on Udacity. https://lnkd.in/gdCFJ2-C → Get expert advice from a consultant. Exygy has spent years developing our thoughtful process toward accessibility, which includes bringing in people with lived experience to provide their insights and expertise. We balance these partnerships with technical expertise to help you create a strategic roadmap. Get in touch and let’s get to work! https://lnkd.in/gvUwmWVr #accessibility #a11y

🚀 The Finish Line is Just the Starting Line: Advancing Disability Employment Beyond NDEAM! 🚀 NDEAM may be over, but the essential work of building truly inclusive and innovative workplaces for persons with disabilities is a year-round mission. Michelle Krefft of DirectEmployers Association recently had a great conversation about integrating disability into organizations. We laid out a clear roadmap for employers—especially federal contractors—to move beyond compliance and unlock the transformative power of disability-driven innovation. 🗺️ Your Roadmap for Advancing Disability Inclusion Must Include: Elevate Disability from Compliance to Innovation: View legal requirements not as a checklist, but as the foundation for innovation, stronger culture, and business success. Acknowledge and embrace that disability is intersectional and that virtually everyone will encounter disability in their lifetime, including roughly 20% of your current employees who may not be disclosing their disability. Invest in Psychological Safety: This is the most crucial ingredient for an innovative culture. A psychologically safe environment allows employees to bring their best, most authentic selves to work without fear of judgment, encouraging them to share ideas and give constructive feedback. Normalize the Reasonable Accommodation Process: We all use "reasonable accommodations" every day—from dual monitors to leaving early for a doctor's appointment. When accommodations for disability are treated as an exception or a favor, it creates a burden that makes employees less likely to advocate for a raise or even participate in brainstorming. Normalizing the process for everyone improves productivity and strengthens culture. Audit for Accessibility and Simplify Processes: Your hiring and supply chain vendor processes may be inaccessible due to complexity, not just poor design. Ensure your job postings are accessible, your interview questions don't inadvertently screen people out, and you aren't overly reliant on cookie-cutter, wordy job descriptions that don't fit the skillset. Forge Authentic Community Partnerships: Genuine commitment means building relationships with organizations like vocational rehabilitation (Voc Rehab) and community-based groups that provide a vital talent pipeline. Show up at job fairs with employees who identify as disabled to truly represent your organization. 💡 Your Call to Action: Start Today The best way to begin this journey and advance the employment of persons with disabilities is simple: Start talking about disability. As a leader, you control how your organization sets up its cultural mindset. By authentically creating space for the conversation, you empower employees to be their most productive selves and organically build a more resilient, innovative culture. 🎙 Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/gxQZspkB #DisabilityInclusion #TalentPipeline #Innovation #DiversityAndInclusion #PsychologicalSafety #FutureofWork

Mallarie finally got her handicapped placard and she was over the moon. Her school denied her physical therapy for 3 years even though she struggles to walk, and getting the placard felt like a basic win we should not have had to fight for. That small win exposed how broken daily access really is. → Half the “accessible” spots are blocked or too narrow. → People park in handicapped spaces like the sign is a suggestion instead of the law. → Many buildings have one accessible space for an entire facility and it sits nowhere near the entrance. I have advocated for accessibility in theory for years. Living it every day is a different game with real stakes and real fatigue. Here is the food industry connection that keeps me up at night. Many food plants are not truly ADA compliant end to end. Many plants were built before 1990 when ADA became law, and we have had 35 years to retrofit. Instead, I keep seeing the same failures. → No elevators or platform lifts to production floors and mezzanines. → Parking lots optimized for trucks and forklifts, not for people who use canes, walkers, or wheelchairs. → Workstations, restrooms, and break rooms that ignore basic accessible design. → Doorways, thresholds, and stair-only routes that cut off talent from entire areas. We obsess over HACCP, FDA rules, and audit scores, and we let accessibility slide. We can engineer sterile environments and trace contamination back to a single valve, so we can engineer access. Start fixing it now. → Do a full route audit with a wheelchair and document every barrier from parking to production to break rooms. → Add lifts or platform elevators to multi-level areas and make every critical zone reachable without stairs. → Re-stripe lots with compliant access aisles and place accessible spaces at each staffed entrance. → Install automatic doors and low-force hardware, and remove high thresholds that stop wheels and walkers. → Build adjustable workstations for seated and standing work, with clear floor space and reachable controls. → Assign one accountable leader with budget and publish quarterly progress for employees to see. This is about safety, dignity, and the talent we say we want to hire. We are losing skilled people because a staircase blocks the job. That is wrong and it also hurts the business. Time to do better.

Stories about leading an #accessibility department. I was asked a question about how to hold people and departments accountable for accessibility. #Accessbility and #DisabilityInclusion is about both compliance and culture change. But let's start with measurement. 1. It's hard to be more accessible if you don't know how accessible you are. Using an enterprise Accessibility Maturity Model is very useful to measure progress over time. I advice folks to customize it to your organization. You can use the results to talk to different leaders about their responsibility and the opportunity, build a roadmap of what work needs to be done, and identify the resources needed to do the work. 2. Compliance. There are laws and regulations across the world. It's complicated but take the time to know them. You can reduce your organization risk by understanding your compliance and tracking it. A data driven approach coupled with legal compliance can be very motivating.

🧠 Ever feel like you're carrying the accessibility banner… alone? ✅ You care about inclusion. ✅ You’ve raised awareness. But leadership still sees accessibility as “extra.” Sound familiar? I’ve just published a new article for every manager who’s ever asked: “We need accessibility… but where do I even start?” The truth? 📌 Advocacy isn’t a strategy. 📌 Hope won’t move your roadmap. 📌 And shouting louder doesn’t shift priorities. But aligning accessibility with what your C-suite already values? That changes everything. 👉 In this article, I break down the 4 motivators that actually move executives to action—plus the 10 questions you should answer before you make your pitch. Because here’s the thing: Your execs already want to do the right thing. They just need to believe it was their idea. #AccessibilityUnraveled #ExecutiveBuyIn #InclusiveDesign #AccessibilityStrategy #Leadership #DigitalAccessibility #ChaxTraining #PDFCompliance #WCAG