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How Accessibility Practitioners Promote the Creation of Accessible Products in Large Companies

Published: 22 April 2021 Publication History

Abstract

Although some technology companies have made significant strides towards the accessibility of their products, most consumer-facing technology products still pose access barriers to people with disabilities. Prior research has established that accessibility expertise is limited to a small number of practitioners in companies, but we do not know how these practitioners can affect change across a large organization. We sought to address this gap and understand how large companies that produce consumer-facing technologies integrate accessibility into their product lifecycle. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 accessible technology practitioners working at 13 companies. We found accessibility expertise was centered in three main roles within the company: on a central accessibility team, in champions, and in accessibility teams embedded into large product teams. Much of the work of these practitioners centered around education and development of tools and resources to allow designers and developers throughout the organization to implement accessibility. Our study revealed current practices for embedding accessibility in large companies, highlighting the gap between accessibility research and practice. We conclude by presenting areas that need future research to understand how to better support accessibility practice.

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    cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
    Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction  Volume 5, Issue CSCW1
    CSCW
    April 2021
    5016 pages
    EISSN:2573-0142
    DOI:10.1145/3460939
    Issue’s Table of Contents
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    Publication History

    Published: 22 April 2021
    Published in PACMHCI Volume 5, Issue CSCW1

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    Author Tags

    1. accessibility
    2. design practice
    3. translational science gap

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    • (2024)A large-scale web accessibility analysis considering technology adoptionUniversal Access in the Information Society10.1007/s10209-023-01010-023:4(1857-1872)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2024
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