Accessibility improvements - Xero Advisor Connect

Additional detail, process and artefacts available at interview.

TL;DR

Took accountability and delivered part of Xero's accessibility program. Collaborated with other teams on accessibility audits and actions to resolve found issues. Worked as a product designer rethinking essential user flows and interactions to increase accessibility.

Sample of the initial accessibility audit finding for Xero’s Advisor Connect

Aim

Xero undertook an organisation-wide program of work to improve the digital accessibility of its products. It involved auditing and improving the digital accessibility of our public non-logged-in experiences, which included Xero Advisor Connect, which my team and I were responsible for maintaining.

Process

 I volunteered to lead this initiative to enhance my digital accessibility knowledge, and the work's purpose resonated with me. My responsibilities included: 

  • Project tracking and stakeholder reporting

  • Collaborating with Xero's accessibility team and external accessibility agencies on audits and reviews

  • Defining and prioritising work with my product team

  • Redesigning product interactions and UI to resolve accessibility issues 

In my role as project lead, I ensured everyone involved understood the importance of the project, making prioritisation against other work simpler. The Advisor Connect portion of the program was smaller but more complex than other products. The project scope size gave us ample time to complete the project, but this type of work was unfamiliar to some team members. I advocated for starting the project as soon as possible to give myself and the team room to learn.

As the team's designer, I worked through some of the more complex accessibility issues that required user flow changes and modifications to the UI. I also contacted Xero's external accessibility consultancy for expert advice on the team's behalf.

 

Example of exploring possible solutions to an accessibility issue

Final solution and rationale for an accessibility issue

Result

  • The initial accessibility audit found 30 issues, with only one being critical. 

  • Our team's contribution to the program was completed two months before the deadline. 

  • Re-audit found all the previous problems resolved, but no additional improvements were needed.

  • Our team's work and ownership of accessibility improvements were recognised at an organisation level, increasing the awareness and importance of digital accessibility at Xero. 

  • Enabled Xero to make a public commitment to improving accessibility with all non-logged-in experiences meeting WCAG 2.1 AA being the first milestone.

 
 
 

Xero’s commitment to ACCESSIBILITY

We are driven by our purpose to make life better for people in small businesses, their advisors and communities around the world.

We deeply value diversity and inclusion, and examining how we can improve digital accessibility across our platform is a priority. We are proud to have a dedicated Digital Accessibility team and we’re committed to meeting the global standards for accessibility as set out in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Accessibility Status

Xero.com substantially conforms to WCAG 2.1 AA. To achieve this, we audit and test Xero.com using assistive technologies (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack) and conduct accessibility user testing with people with disabilities.

Read more about accessibility at Xero

 
 

Learnings

This project expanded my knowledge of digital accessibility with specific learning around aria markup and user flows involving disabled UI elements. I also learned how to be more effective with my design annotations to ensure the accessibility considerations built into the final product.

Leading this project and taking responsibility for its delivery reinforced that accessibility is a shared responsibility across everyone who develops and supports digital products. Advocating and sharing the project's rationale helped it be prioritised and delivered on time whilst galvanising the team around a strong sense of purpose.