Agile and Accessibility: Building Inclusive Digital Products

How can the Agile methodology help make development accessible? 

The Agile methodology promotes iterative, collaborative, and user-centric development. These principles are particularly effective in integrating digital accessibility from the beginning of the project and ensuring an app that can be used by all, including people with disabilities.  
 
Here's how Agile can improve accessibility: 

1. Integrate accessibility from the design phase (Shift Left)

Principle: The earlier accessibility is taken into account, the less expensive it is to correct. 

Actions: 

• Include people with disabilities in user personas and tests.
• Define accessibility criteria from the product backlog.
• Train designers and developers on WCAG standards and accessibility best practices.

Example: Before coding an interface, make sure that it respects color contrast, keyboard navigation, and semantic markup. 

2. Integrate accessibility into the backlog and user stories

Principle: Accessibility should not be an isolated task but integrated into each feature. 

Actions: 

• Add accessibility-specific acceptance criteria in each User Story.
• Prioritize accessibility tasks in the backlog.
• Use the Given/When/Then syntax to formalize accessibility.

Example of an Accessible User Story: 

As a visually impaired user, I want to be able to navigate the site with a screen reader to access the information without difficulty. 

Acceptance Criteria: 

• All interactive elements have a clear label and appropriate ARIA attributes.
• The site is navigable with a keyboard (without a mouse).

3. Accessibility testing at each sprint

Principle: Accessibility should be tested continuously, not at the end of the project. 

Actions: 

• Automatic checks with tools such as Axe, Lighthouse or WAVE to detect common errors (contrasts, HTML tags, ARIA...).
• Manual testing with keyboard navigation and screen readers (NVDA, VoiceOver).
• User tests with people with disabilities.

Agile example: integrating accessibility into the definition of done (DoD):  

• The site works without a mouse.
• Images have descriptive alternative texts.
• Contrasts comply with the applicable WCAG criteria.
  
  

4. Team collaboration and outreach

Principle: Accessibility is a collective responsibility (developers, designers, POs, etc.). 

Actions: 

• Train the team on accessibility best practices.
• Invite accessibility experts to Sprint Reviews.
• Organize accessibility hackathons to raise awareness and test.

Example: A developer proposes a fix on a poorly implemented feature after a user demo in sprint review. 

5. Continuous improvement and feedback

Principle: Agility makes it possible to gradually improve accessibility. 

Actions: 

• Collect feedback from users with disabilities.
• Add accessibility fixes in future sprints.
• Regularly evaluate the app with an accessibility audit.

Agile example: During a review, the team realizes that the videos don't have subtitles and decides to automate their addition for the next sprint. 

Agile + Accessibility = a winning combo 

By applying accessibility in an iterative and collaborative way, the Agile methodology: 

• Reduces accessibility remediation costs by incorporating best practices from the beginning.
• Ensures a better experience for all users.
• Fosters an inclusive culture in the development team.

The watchword: Test early, test often, and involve real users! 

To go further

We offer an accessibility checklist to help guide you in your digital projects! Download your checklist here!

Do you have a project in mind? We would love to talk to you about it!