Accessibility · HID Global

A quality bar that repeats

European Accessibility Act readiness on the same products.

I audited real tasks on four platforms, then moved repeated fixes into the pattern library.

Role: Led audits, logged issues, and added fixes to the pattern library
Team: Design, engineering
Year: 2022-2026
Platforms: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android
Methods: NVDA, VoiceOver, keyboard and focus testing, issue logging
Outcome: Issues filed by severity and criterion; repeated fixes added to the pattern library

Examples are patterns from the audits, not internal tickets.

Why this case matters

This case shows I treat quality as part of the product, not a final check. The design problem was making fixes easy to reproduce, and making repeated fixes permanent.

Problem

A contrast check at the end of a release misses a lot. It misses a focus trap inside a confirm dialog. It misses an error the screen reader never announces. So I measure quality by the task, not the screen.

What goes wrong without it

A fix ships on one screen and breaks again on the next. Or engineering can't reproduce an issue without a meeting.

Scope

The audits covered the real tasks from the other two cases, not isolated components.

Principles I used

Start with the job, not the screen.
Audits followed real tasks.
Put repeated fixes in the pattern library.
Dialog focus, field errors, and status labels moved into the library.
Call each status the same thing everywhere.
Status is written as text. Color only backs it up.
Report results next to the control.
Errors appear on the field and are announced. Timeouts offer more time before the session ends.

Method

I tested each task with real assistive tools. Every issue got a severity, a WCAG criterion, steps, and a suggested fix. That let engineering reproduce it without a meeting.

How I tested each task

PlatformsWindows, macOS, iOS, Android.
ToolsNVDA, VoiceOver, keyboard only.
TasksAssign a batch, deliver a pass, end it.
LogSeverity, criterion, steps, suggested fix.

Patterns

Four recurring problems, and how each one was fixed.

Focus order and focus traps
After
The confirm dialog now holds focus. When it closes, focus returns to the button that opened it.
Controls without a name
After
Icon-only buttons now have names that say what they act on.
Status shown by color only
After
Each status now has a text label. Color only backs it up.
Unannounced errors and hard timeouts
After
Errors now appear next to the field and are announced. Timeouts offer more time first.

Design system

Repeated fixes went into the company pattern library. New screens use those patterns instead of one-off fixes.

Outcome

What I delivered: I ran audits for European Accessibility Act readiness and logged issues by severity and WCAG criterion. The same product principles applied, not a separate accessibility rulebook.
What I'd do next: Retest the four patterns in the next release. A pattern that breaks in the library costs more than a one-off bug.