Ensuring Accessibility Through Empathy | Anne Taylor | Talks at Google

TL;DR

The speaker, Anne Taylor, an accessibility advocate and Microsoft employee, highlights the importance of accessibility in technology products and discusses key principles companies should follow to ensure accessibility. She urges collaboration and knowledge-sharing among industry players to make accessibility a standard feature.

Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER: So Anne is our guest here today. She has been, for quite some time, the director of access technology at the National Federation of the Blind. And in this role, she has worked with top companies like Microsoft, Blackboard, eBay, Apple, Google, of course, to shape the way that they develop and test their products for accessi... Read More

Key Insights

• ♿ Collaboration and partnership across the industry are crucial for advancing accessibility.
• 💯 Prioritizing accessibility in product development requires considering the needs of diverse users and developing accessible core features first.
• 💨 Improved tooling, increased accessibility education, and mentorship programs can pave the way for inclusive innovation.
• 😚 Standardization and closer collaboration with assistive technology providers are needed to ensure consistent user experiences for people with disabilities.

Questions & Answers

Q: How can companies prioritize accessibility in their product development process?

Anne suggests starting with core features and making them accessible first. Companies should also utilize telemetries to identify areas that require improvement and conduct regular usability testing with people with disabilities.

Q: How can engineers and developers enhance their accessibility knowledge and skills?

Anne recommends taking advantage of training programs offered by companies and partnering with accessibility subject matter experts. She also encourages participation in accessibility standard consortiums and continuous product testing.

Q: Is there a need for standardization among screen readers?

Anne acknowledges the differences among screen readers and the challenges they pose for developers. She believes that partnership between companies and assistive technology providers, along with adherence to accessibility standards, can help unify these differences and minimize surprises.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Anne acknowledges the improvements made by Google and other companies in accessibility over the past decade and emphasizes the need to celebrate their success.

• She proposes three principles for creating accessible products: empathy, engineering excellence, and policy.

• Anne advocates for better tooling, increased accessibility education, and mentorship programs within companies to support engineers and developers.