Issue #9 • 03 September 2024

Hi Reader.

Here’s some exciting news. Pedal Point is sharpening the focus of our service offerings to empower software engineering teams to integrate accessibility into their entire development process. This is important because accessibility issues are much less expensive to find and fix early in a project as opposed to after it launches. Pedal Point comes alongside developers to help them learn and apply accessible development practices to their software as they are building it.

Given my 25+ years as a software engineer and over 10 years teaching digital accessibility, this shift makes a lot of sense. More details are available on the Pedal Point website. Please spread the word and encourage the developers in your sphere to get in touch with us.

The Long Game of Accessibility

Digital accessibility is hard. It takes a lot of time and energy to educate people and convince them that an accessible product or website is a good investment. Then it takes more time and energy to actually make the product or website accessible, and even more to keep it that way.

I have to remind myself that accessibility is a marathon and not a sprint. I need to pace myself to avoid burnout. It’s OK to slow down to catch my breath and take a beat to make sure I’m on the best course. Feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, or exhausted is normal from time to time. I can still trust that the drive that set me on this path will emerge again.

One thing that helps me stay encouraged is looking for small wins along the way.

For instance, this past weekend the communications director at my church asked me to join him in the tech booth. He wanted to me to see how he is putting suggestions from my recent writing on color contrast into practice. He showed how he is incorporating high-contrast backgrounds into the slide decks he creates for Sunday services.

I had no idea this individual was reading my articles on the Pedal Point blog. I had been considering who might be the best church staff member to discuss this topic with. I hadn’t figured this out yet, but it turned out I didn’t have to. The person who needed this information was able to find it on his own because I remained consistent in sharing it. Now hundreds of people will benefit each week from slide content that’s easier for everyone to read.

This felt really satisfying, and it energized me to keep moving forward on this journey.

I hope this little story helps you press on with your own accessibility work. You are making a difference. Is there a small win you can identify in your own efforts? Reply to this message and let me know about it.

Recent blog articles

Why did the blind guy cross the road? I am legally blind, and I live near a busy intersection near Boston. I don't typically use a cane to get around familiar places, but this intersection is still challenging when drivers don't observe the walk signals. I wondered if anything might change if I used my cane. Here's what happened. -Watch the experiment unfold

Strategies for accessible text with complex backgrounds Picking an accessible background color for text is straightforward, but the art of good color contrast gets more nuanced for backdrops with multiple colors and other visual effects. Here's how to ensure your text and background elements stand out from each other and avoid the most common web accessibility barrier. Go deepr into color contrast

Accessibility around the web

• ​Accessibility by design: Building interfaces for everyone at Stack Overflow - Stack Overflow blog
  ​How this leading developer Q&A and community organization is taking a proactive approach to making our sites and products accessible to everyone.
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• ​Things to Do Before Asking “Is This Accessible?” - Adrian Roselli​
  An overview of the kinds of questions to ask yourself to get an idea of whether a product or service is accessible. Asking a few of these could save you time and money, as well as help you learn a bit more about accessibility testing.
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• ​When security and accessibility clash: why are banking applications so inaccessible? - Nic Chan​
  An examination of security practices frequently used by bank apps and websites that can cause accessibility issues for many users. Are you using these security methods on your website? Nic challenges readers to to think through new security measures extra carefully before implementation.
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Have a superior September!

Simon Miner Pedal Point Solutions

Need help with web accessibility testing, treatment, or training? Pedal Point Solutions offers a free assessment of your website.

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