Accessibility at Scale
Accessibility was becoming a deciding factor in enterprise deals, but the organization had no strategy, no audit process, and no execution framework. I initiated and led a company-wide accessibility program: securing leadership commitment, selecting and enabling vendors, governing the design system, coordinating engineering, and communicating with high-value customers, all the way through to VPAT certification.
I turned accessibility from a reactive, ticket-by-ticket scramble into a governed program with an owner, a strategy, a budget, and a roadmap. The work spanned strategic planning, vendor management, a data-driven testing strategy, a customer-first phased rollout, design-system governance, engineering remediation, and direct executive communication with at-risk accounts, establishing a durable accessibility foundation and strengthening the company's enterprise credibility.
Rising enterprise demand, no program to meet it
Accessibility was increasingly important to enterprise customers, several were actively requesting improvements and compliance documentation. But the organization had no formal way to respond.
No strategy
There was no formal accessibility strategy, owner, or organizational commitment to anchor the work.
No process
No audit process or execution framework existed, every request was handled ad hoc, if at all.
Enterprise pressure
Customers were requesting accessibility improvements and compliance documentation as a condition of doing business.
Scale & surface area
A large platform spanning multiple product areas needed a scalable way to be evaluated and improved, not a one-off fix.
No documentation
Without a VPAT or public accessibility statement, sales and CS had nothing to point enterprise buyers to.
The opportunity
Reframe accessibility from a compliance cost into an enterprise-trust advantage, and build the program to deliver it.
Securing commitment, then designing the program
Before any audit, I built the conditions for success, organizational buy-in, a clear scope, the right partner, and measurable success criteria.
Secured organizational commitment
Worked directly with management to make accessibility a funded, owned initiative, not a side project, establishing the mandate the rest of the work depended on.
Defined scope & engagement model
Set the boundaries of the program and how internal teams and external vendors would work together throughout.
Defined budget & investment
Helped shape the investment case and budget, translating accessibility outcomes into terms leadership could commit to.
Established success criteria
Defined what "done" meant, conformance targets, coverage, and the VPAT as the tangible deliverable, with an execution plan to get there.
Choosing the right accessibility partner
Specialized evaluation required specialized expertise. I led the vendor selection so the program had credible, audit-grade validation behind it.
Assessed vendors
Evaluated accessibility vendors against expertise, methodology, and fit with our platform and timeline.
Defined the engagement
Shaped the engagement model and investment so the partnership delivered against our success criteria.
Set review cadence
Established ongoing review and communication processes to keep evaluation and remediation in sync.
A data-driven coverage model
Rather than test everything everywhere, I let real usage define the matrix, focusing validation where customers actually were, measured against WCAG 2.1 AA as the basis for the VPAT.
Product usage data
Analyzed how customers actually used the platform to prioritize coverage.
Browsers & OS
Determined which browser and operating-system combinations warranted testing.
AT coverage
Defined which assistive technologies to validate against, based on real-world use.
Evaluation tools
Identified the tools required for evaluation and ongoing validation.
Customer impact first, scalable by design
I sequenced the program to deliver value where it mattered most, protecting customers first, while building a repeatable model the org could sustain.
Customer-facing modules
- End-user experiences customers touch directly
- Protects the largest, most visible surface first
- Builds early momentum and customer confidence
CSM modules
- Customer Success Manager workflows
- Extends conformance to operational tooling
- Applies the model proven in Phase 1
Administrative modules
- Admin and configuration surfaces
- Completes platform-wide coverage
- Closes the loop for the VPAT
No corner of the platform left unmapped
A vendor can only evaluate what they understand. I built the connective tissue that made an external partner effective inside a complex product.
Product architecture inventory
Created a comprehensive inventory and detailed spreadsheets of pages, workflows, and modules requiring evaluation, ensuring nothing was overlooked.
Video walkthroughs
Recorded walkthroughs of product flows and business context so the vendor understood not just the screens, but the why behind them.
Treating the root cause, not just the symptoms
During remediation I noticed a pattern: many accessibility issues traced back to inconsistent component implementations. So I turned remediation into a governance lever.
Diagnosed the systemic source
Conducted design review sessions across teams and audited product screens, identifying components that had drifted from the design system, the common origin of recurring accessibility defects.
Aligned remediation with adoption
Connected accessibility fixes to design-system adoption, so every remediation also reduced inconsistency, paying down design debt and accessibility debt at the same time.
Partnered with engineering on consistency
Worked with engineering teams to drive consistent implementation, so conformant components became the default, preventing the next generation of issues rather than re-fixing them.
Accessibility as a governance outcome, not a patchCoordinating fixes across many teams
Remediation touched multiple development teams. I provided the structure that let them move in the same direction.
- Established remediation plans with multiple development teams
- Helped define testing strategies so fixes could be validated effectively
- Coordinated issue prioritization and rollout planning across teams
- Helped team members take ownership of their own product areas
- Created alignment around shared accessibility standards and expectations
Using AI to create early momentum
To accelerate progress and reduce friction for engineering, I used AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude as a force multiplier, not a replacement for expert validation.
- Triaged and identified lower-complexity issues to fix first
- Proposed less disruptive remediation approaches
- Enabled faster fixes and visible early wins
- Reduced friction and lift for engineering teams
Turning a churn risk into a trust signal
Prioritizing customer-facing modules first wasn't only a technical choice, it was a retention strategy.
Direct, proactive communication with high-value, high-ARR accounts, and visible progress on the issues they cared about, prevented at least one key customer from churning.
I maintained ongoing updates with customers interested in accessibility, building confidence that the initiative was real, owned, and on track.
- Customer-facing modules sequenced first
- Direct line to high-ARR stakeholders
- Regular, credible progress updates
- Confidence built through transparency
From remediation to documented credibility
The program's tangible deliverable was documentation enterprise buyers could trust, and that sales and CS could point to.
- Successfully completed accessibility evaluations across the platform
- Obtained VPAT documentation
- Worked on publishing accessibility information externally
- Added an accessibility statement to the company website
A durable foundation, not a one-off audit
- Strengthened enterprise credibility with documented compliance
- Improved customer trust through transparency and follow-through
- Reduced design and accessibility debt via design-system governance
- Established a long-term accessibility foundation, owner, and operating model
Organizational influence over individual fixes
The lasting value wasn't any single remediated screen, it was the program itself: a strategy with executive backing, a vendor partnership, a governance model that tied accessibility to the design system, and a customer-communication motion that converted risk into trust. That's the difference between fixing accessibility and leading it.
What I'd carry into the next transformation
Commitment precedes craft
Securing leadership mandate and budget first is what makes the execution possible, not the other way around.
Fix the system, not the symptom
Tying remediation to design-system governance prevents the next wave of issues instead of re-fixing them.
Sequence for impact
Phasing customer-facing work first protects revenue and builds the momentum that carries the rest.
Enable your partners
Inventories and walkthroughs turn an external vendor into an effective extension of the team.
Communicate to retain
Proactive, transparent updates to at-risk accounts convert a compliance gap into a trust advantage.
AI for momentum
Used well, AI clears low-complexity work fast, freeing experts for the decisions that actually need them.