The Accessibility Gap in Modern Development
Despite increasing awareness about digital accessibility, many organizations still treat it as an afterthought—something to address after core functionality is built. This approach inevitably leads to:
- Costly retrofitting of features
- Inconsistent accessibility implementation
- Legal and compliance risks
- Exclusion of users with disabilities
At the root of this problem is often how we structure our development tickets. When accessibility requirements aren't explicitly included from the beginning, they become optional in practice—even when teams genuinely care about inclusion.
The Ticket-Level Approach to Accessibility
Accessibility-Driven Development (ADD) integrates accessibility requirements directly into standard development tickets rather than treating them as separate concerns. This approach:
- Makes accessibility a default part of definition of done
- Distributes accessibility knowledge across the team
- Prevents accessibility debt from accumulating
- Builds inclusive thinking into the development culture
The key to implementing ADD lies in how you structure your tickets from the very beginning.
Core Elements of Accessibility-Driven Tickets
1. Persona-Based Context
Begin tickets by explicitly mentioning relevant accessibility personas:
"This feature will be used by all users, including:
- Screen reader users navigating with keyboard only
- Users with color vision deficiencies
- People using screen magnification
- Motor-impaired users utilizing assistive technologies"
This simple addition helps developers visualize diverse usage patterns from the start.
2. Accessibility-Specific Acceptance Criteria
Every feature ticket should include explicit accessibility acceptance criteria. For example:
Standard feature: "Add a form for newsletter subscription"
Accessibility acceptance criteria:
- All form controls must have properly associated labels
- Error messages must be programmatically associated with their fields
- Form must be completable using keyboard only
- Color is not the sole means of identifying errors
- Focus order must follow a logical sequence
3. WCAG Success Criteria References
Link specific requirements to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) success criteria to provide clear standards and educational resources:
"This implementation must satisfy WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:
- 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
- 2.4.7 Focus Visible
- 3.3.1 Error Identification"
Including these references helps developers understand the "why" behind requirements and gives them resources to learn more.
4. Testing Instructions and Tools
Include specific testing approaches in tickets:
"Test this feature using:
- VoiceOver or NVDA screen readers
- Keyboard-only navigation (no mouse)
- High contrast mode
- Text zoomed to 200%"
Specifying testing methods ensures accessibility is verified before considering work complete.
Using Ticketify to Implement ADD
Ticketify's AI capabilities can help standardize and enhance your ticket communication. The platform analyzes your input and generates well-structured tickets that include all critical information. This helps:
- Ensure consistency across tickets, regardless of who creates them
- Include appropriate detail based on ticket type
- Maintain clear, concise language optimized for understanding
By establishing a foundation of clear communication in your tickets, you'll see improved development velocity, fewer misunderstandings, and ultimately, better products delivered to your customers.