Piotr Zrolka — Accessibility Expert at kinaole
Digital Accessibility from the Ground Up: Integrating Design Principles into Organizational Processes
September 4, 2023
15:45
A11y
🇬🇧 English
A11y
Interface without barriers: what tools to use to make your app accessible to everyone
About
In today's digital world, accessibility has become an increasingly important issue. With a growing number of people relying on technology, it's crucial to ensure that your application is usable by everyone, regardless of their ability. But how do you make sure that your app is accessible to everyone? In this presentation, I will explore the tools and techniques you can use to make your application more accessible. From keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility to color contrast and font size, you'll learn about the essential elements of accessible design. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting out, this talk will provide you with the knowledge and resources you need to make your application accessible to everyone. Join us to learn how to build an interface without barriers and make a positive impact on the lives of people who depend on technology.
Talk by
Tomasz Bonior
CTO at Accens
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From the recording
Talk in brief
A practical introduction to accessibility testing and the limits of automation. Digital accessibility is presented as the part of usability concerned with whether disabled people can understand, learn, and use a product. Confidence requires two forms of evidence: conformance with relevant standards and testing with people who have disabilities. The talk demonstrates browser tools that inspect focus order, page structure, image alternatives, language declarations, link names, HTML, contrast, zoom, and behavior without CSS. Automated scanners offer a useful first pass but find only a portion of real barriers, so knowledgeable manual review and participant testing remain necessary. The final argument joins customer loyalty, regulatory exposure, and inclusive product quality into a case for starting now.
Key takeaways
- 01
Treat accessibility as part of usability
A product is not fully usable when disabled customers cannot perceive, understand, learn, or operate its essential functions.
Watch from 1:41 - 02
Validate standards and lived experience together
Technical conformance catches one class of problems, while testing with disabled people reveals barriers tools and checklists miss.
Watch from 2:51 - 03
Use automation as an initial accessibility screen
Browser extensions can identify common issues quickly, but their findings cover only a limited share of possible barriers.
Watch from 7:14 - 04
Inspect keyboard order and semantic structure manually
A page can contain visible content yet remain confusing when focus jumps unpredictably or screen-reader navigation lacks meaningful groups.
Watch from 12:48 - 05
Plan for legal scope before deadlines arrive
Public services already face obligations, and additional European requirements broaden accessibility expectations across major commercial sectors.
Watch from 19:17
Read edited transcript highlights
These concise notes were edited from automatic captions and checked against the talk structure. They are not a verbatim transcript.
Accessibility needs two different kinds of proof
A standards checklist can show whether markup and interactions meet defined technical criteria, but it cannot establish that every important task works for a person in context. Testing only with participants can also miss repeatable conformance failures. Combining both forms of evidence gives teams a stronger picture: standards create a shared baseline, while disabled customers reveal the consequences of the actual design.
Watch from 2:51Automated checks provide leverage without completeness
Tools can rapidly find missing language declarations, unnamed links, absent image alternatives, contrast failures, and other common defects. That speed is valuable, especially for teams beginning accessibility work. The result must not be described as a complete audit. Automated rules cannot understand every content relationship, focus sequence, interaction state, or assistive-technology experience.
Watch from 7:14Keyboard order reveals the structure behind the layout
A sighted person can scan a schedule spatially and choose a session. Moving through the same page by keyboard exposed a sequence that jumped between columns and rows in an unexpected order. Every element was present, yet the navigation made the agenda difficult to understand. Manual focus testing therefore evaluates a relationship that a visual review alone can easily overlook.
Watch from 12:48A linear view exposes weak semantic grouping
Transforming the page into a simplified representation showed what someone relying on structure might encounter. Navigation elements remained identifiable, but the schedule became a long, poorly grouped sequence that offered little orientation. This kind of inspection helps teams ask whether headings, regions, labels, and reading order communicate the same meaning as the visual composition.
Watch from 14:29Compliance pressure reinforces an existing product responsibility
Some public and publicly funded services already operate under accessibility obligations, while broader European rules extend expectations into commerce, banking, communications, transport, and digital publishing. Deadlines are a reason to act, but the work should not be reduced to avoiding a fine. Early testing reduces rework and makes essential services available to customers who are otherwise excluded.
Watch from 19:17
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