Building an Accessibility Program from the Ground Up

Date & Time

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 3:20 PM PST  

Location

Platinum 7-8  

Description

Historically, accessibility remediation of digital products (software, websites) has been an afterthought for companies operating in the information and communications technology (ICT) fields. As a result, such companies have mostly relied on third parties (consultants) for accessibility audits and remediation of their products, often treating accessibility issues as one-time problems that can be solved once and forgotten. However, accessibility remediation and maintenance of digital products is a process and a long-term endeavor. Therefore, it is more beneficial (and often more economical) for companies to develop in-house resources and talent to be able to continuously maintain and improve the accessibility of their digital products. An Accessibility Program, consisting of representatives of key stakeholders, including product development and support groups, can act as a hub of activity for providing accessibility audits, advocacy, training, remediation support, and progress reporting to internal and external stakeholders. The Accessibility Program at MathWorks, over its five years of existence, progressed from being an accessibility audit group to providing technical support for software development teams, and to promoting accessibility innovations applicable to our MATLAB product family. We will present the evolution of the Accessibility Program at MathWorks and how its basic steps, policies, and procedures can be applied in similar corporate settings in ICT fields.  

Audience

• Higher Education
• Information & Communications Technology
• Government
• Research & Development
• Employment & Human Resources

Audience Level

Intermediate  

Session Summary (Abstract)

Based on our own experience, we will cover the essential steps for starting, developing, and maintaining an in-house digital/software/web accessibility program to remediate, maintain, and improve the accessibility of digital products in ICT fields.  

Primary Topic

Digital Accessibility  

Secondary Topics

• Employment & Workplace
• Information & Communications Technology (ICT)
• Leadership & Strategy
• Web

 

Session Type

General Track  

Presenter

• Bora Eryilmaz
  The MathWorks, Inc.

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