Making Accessibility More Approachable: Comprehension Over Checkboxes

Accessibility, WCAG, VPAT, ICT Procurement Toolkit - the list goes on and on, and more often than not induces yawns and multitasking from clients when discussed amongst seemingly more appealing subjects like design and initial build considerations. This isn't their first rodeo - they just want to know you're taking care of the basics to keep them out of trouble. The truth however is that navigating the accessibility guidelines doesn't have to be such a headache.

Whether you've been doing accessibility-focused work for the government for decades, or you're still searching for what "WCAG" stands for, during this session we'll talk through the fundamentals of meaningful accessibility reporting by doing it in a way that is a less intimidating and more digestible. We'll focus on why accessibility needs to be truly baked into your internal project processes and how you bring your program to full maturity by turning your clients from passive partners into true advocates of an accessibility-first mindset for all deliverables.

In this session we'll go over:
- Introduction to the basics of international web accessibility standards
- How to manage your projects with accessibility baked into the process
- When to bring accessibility into the conversation as a Product Manager/Owner
- Rethinking reporting (Operation: No More Yawns)
- Brining everything together to get the client excited and involved with the work
- What our accessible future looks like