Summary
Accessibility and inclusion, two extremely important topics for every organization, and certainly of paramount concern to the design function. What role can DesignOps play in advancing these initiatives? As the new Director of Design Operations, Laura sees the numerous opportunities across the business – in research, communications, tooling and more. She is leading the way, forging a path, and allowing other teams to jump aboard. Takeaways: How Design Operations can directly and indirectly improve the experience of prospective employees, and also to our customers on the receiving end of our products by helping everyone design for (all) humans.
Key Insights
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Accessibility started as an ad-hoc, compliance-driven need but matured into a core, embedded practice within design operations.
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Design Operations (Design Ops) acts as a crucial hub connecting UX, product, tech, and other teams to scale accessibility efforts.
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Having a dedicated accessibility lead like Kim Collins accelerates scaling accessibility as a discipline within a large organization.
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Formalizing accessibility and inclusion in design skills assessments makes it a measurable and expected part of career growth.
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Embedding accessibility into regular processes like design reviews, story requirements, and engineering leads' rituals ensures ongoing attention.
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Starting small and showing tangible examples builds more engagement and interest than abstract conversations alone.
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Collaborative, co-working sessions between design and tech improve implementation of accessibility, reducing handoff friction.
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Establishing a hiring rubric aligned with accessibility helps standardize equitable recruitment and reduce subjectivity.
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Large platform rebuilds present ideal opportunities to integrate accessibility fundamentals and scale them across new systems.
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Persistent outreach, written communication, and bringing flawed plans early drive faster feedback and adoption of accessibility practices.
Notable Quotes
"Accessibility was viewed as a check mark, not a way of doing things."
"Design Ops is like sitting in the middle of a ton of things, helping visibility and connecting the dots."
"Kim Collins had three coffees a day just meeting people to find allies and build relationships."
"Putting accessibility into writing makes it real and evokes stronger reactions than just talking about it."
"Starting with a team of one is okay; small steps can build momentum for accessibility."
"Don't be afraid to keep knocking on their door and follow up – persistence helps cut through message overload."
"We moved from design owning accessibility to looking for leaders in product and tech to share leadership."
"The best place for accessibility is during a ground-up rebuild, where fresh components and systems are created."
"Collaborative co-working sessions replace throw-it-over-the-fence specs and help bring tech and design onto the same page."
"Bring a plan, even if it’s wrong – people will give feedback and improve it faster than waiting for perfection."
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