Accessibility Training Program - Lead A11y Designer
100% WCAG 2.1 AA compliant, 50+ trained
Problem
Products needed to meet EU Accessibility Act 2025 requirements and WCAG 2.1 AA standards, but teams lacked accessibility knowledge and processes. Designers and developers needed training and guidance to build accessible products. How might we establish accessibility practices and ensure all products meet compliance requirements?
What I did
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Led accessibility training program, training 50+ designers and developers on accessibility best practices
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Conducted accessibility audits across multiple products and teams, identifying issues and providing remediation guidance
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Organized workshops and provided detailed guidance to teams, enabling them to conduct accessibility testing independently
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Assisted teams with Fable integration and accessibility testing tools, enabling self-service accessibility testing
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Created the "Accessibility Guide for Partnerships UX" as a permanent resource to support future compliance efforts
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Updated design system with accessibility patterns and guidelines, ensuring new components meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards
My key contribution
Led accessibility training and compliance efforts, achieving 100% WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and training 50+ team members.
Highlight:
I led a comprehensive accessibility program that trained 50+ designers and developers, conducted audits across multiple teams, and created the "Accessibility Guide for Partnerships UX" as a permanent resource. By organizing workshops and providing detailed guidance, I enabled teams to meet compliance deadlines and achieve 100% WCAG 2.1 AA compliance across all products.
Results & Impact
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100% of products now WCAG 2.1 AA compliant
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Trained 50+ designers and developers on accessibility best practices
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Established accessibility guidelines and patterns in design system
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Created permanent resource (Accessibility Guide) for ongoing compliance
Overview
Led accessibility training and ensured all products meet EU Accessibility Act 2025 requirements. Conducted audits, training sessions, and design system updates. Organized workshops, provided detailed guidance, and created the "Accessibility Guide for Partnerships UX" as a permanent resource.
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Booking.com.
How might we establish accessibility practices and ensure all products meet compliance requirements?
How I structured the problem space to guide design decisions
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knowledge through training and education
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processes through guidelines and workflows
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tools through testing and validation
Using accessibility audits and team interviews, I identified that the key was providing both training and practical resources that enabled teams to build accessible products independently.
Information Architecture
Content coming soon...
Designing modular, scalable components that integrate across the product ecosystem
Approach
Benefits
- •Reduces technical debt through reusable components
- •Enables faster iterations and scalability
- •Creates enterprise-scale solutions
Navigating complexity through cross-functional collaboration
I worked closely with design teams to provide accessibility guidance and conduct audits, with engineering teams to integrate accessibility testing tools, and with product managers to prioritize accessibility work. I organized workshops and training sessions that enabled teams to conduct accessibility testing independently. Regular syncs with compliance teams ensured all products met requirements.
Challenges and trade-offs
This project required establishing accessibility practices across multiple teams while meeting compliance deadlines.
Key Challenges and Solutions
Training Teams with Varying Accessibility Knowledge
Teams had different levels of accessibility knowledge, from beginners to those with some experience. I designed training that covered fundamentals while providing advanced guidance for experienced team members, ensuring everyone could build accessible products.
Enabling Self-Service Accessibility Testing
Teams needed to conduct accessibility testing independently, but lacked tools and knowledge. I integrated Fable and other testing tools, provided guidance on using them, and created workflows that enabled teams to test and fix issues themselves.
Creating Sustainable Accessibility Practices
We needed accessibility practices that would continue beyond initial compliance efforts. I created the Accessibility Guide as a permanent resource, updated the design system with accessibility patterns, and established processes that made accessibility part of the design and development workflow.
What I learnt
Leading the accessibility program taught me that accessibility is about enablement, not just compliance. By providing training, guidelines, and tools, we enabled teams to build accessible products independently rather than relying on audits and fixes. The key was understanding that accessibility needs to be integrated into the design and development process, not added as an afterthought. This experience reinforced the importance of education and resources in accessibility, where training and permanent resources enable sustainable accessibility practices.
Feedback
Product Manager
"During H1, Julia proved instrumental in driving accessibility compliance across multiple teams. Her UX and UI accessibility expertise was critical: she organized workshops and provided detailed guidance to the Branded Landing team, enabling them to easily conduct accessibility testing and meet their compliance deadline. Julia also extended her support by assisting the App team with Fable integration. Beyond immediate project needs, Julia demonstrated foresight by creating the "Accessibility Guide for Partnerships UX," establishing a valuable, permanent resource to support future compliance efforts across the entire organization."