Sam Proulx

" Design problems, not technical ones, are holding back AI interfaces like chatbots and AR. "

" Accepting multiple payment providers is an accessibility win that benefits every customer. "

" Offering more ways to interact, whether shopping, paying, or support, makes things accessible for everyone. "

" Testing with real users is how you build empathy and get great research results. "

" Password complexity makes autofill not just a convenience, but a necessity for many users. "

" The little sounds that VoiceOver makes are like bird song – you only notice it when they are gone. "

" Building accessible foundations with people with disabilities involved will build better experiences for everyone. "

" The screen reader is going to be the all-important all-consuming driver of why and how that decision gets made. "

" We need to be confident in AI-generated descriptions, because if they’re wrong, users with disabilities can’t double-check them. "

" If you focus on desktop accessibility, you’re leaving out some of your most important users who may have mobile-only access. "

" Many innovations in tech, like voice recognition and GPS navigation, started as accessibility solutions. "

" My father worked at IBM for over 30 years, and I grew up surrounded by the leading edge of accessibility. "

" Accessibility changes remove barriers and make experiences better for everyone. "

" Mobile is the first major platform where accessibility features are built in and mature. "

" There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure. "

" Mobile phones have a lot of built-in accessibility features that are ready to go without needing to install or configure anything extra. "

" Accessibility is a journey, not something you do once every five years. "

" Accessibility was just a clever trick that some charitable organization or someone who wanted to give back would do almost for fun. "

" The confidence mobile users have knowing updates come from the app store or settings is a huge win, especially for older or less tech-savvy users. "

" If you can distribute the accessibility work, it becomes light work and easy work for everyone. "

" Assistive technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution. "

" Things that can’t be measured don’t happen, so having a tailored usability scale matters for progress. "

" Always aim to work with at least one user per platform where your product will be used to cover differences in assistive technology. "

" Control labels need to be consistent because people using voice dictation rely on those labels to interact with controls. "

" Most people listen to 250 words per minute; I listen to my screen reader at between 400 to 800 words per minute. "

" The Accessible Usability Scale is still an experiment and we welcome feedback, criticism, and modifications to improve it. "

" Audio is a very linear method, so semantic layout is critical to mimic a visual glance. "

" If a screen reader can’t activate or describe a button, the user has no backup other than getting someone with sight involved. "