CVS HEALTH
Creating Accessible Experiences
Due to the proprietary nature of feature work at CVS Health, I have a very limited scope of what can be shared on my personal website. However, I can speak to the process of what my day-to-day problem-solving looks like as a Senior Accessibility Designer.
INTRODUCTION
I am part of the health solutions team and am currently in charge of supporting 8 scrum teams. on average, each team releases 5 features in each product iteration (PI).
I work cross-functionally with product managers (PM), scrum masters, developers, a11y engineers, experience designers (UXD), and content designers (CX). My responsibilities include:
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Accessible product development for MVP by reviewing and annotating designs in Figma.
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Hosting “Office Hours” to discuss feature work and encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing amongst the greater design and product teams.
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meeting with a11y engineers, PM, UXD, and CX to conduct Defect Remediation.
How does inclusive design look from product ideation to MVP delivery?
Inclusion and accessibility during product development
One of the most important aspects of my work is being an accessibility advocate for what is generally referred to as our "edge user". that Is really a misnomer, though. The truth is that 1 in 4 Americans have a disability and their experience on the internet should be on par with everyone else. However, a study conducted in 2023 by Webaim showed that 96.3% of the pages analyzed failed to meet web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA
Beyond making sure that my teams meet accessibility standards, I also have to look at our work from an intersectional lens. for example, When designing a "women's health" feature are we being mindful of folks with trans and nonbinary identities? Are we allowing them to opt out of care recommendations that don't align with them? The goal is to create a safe Healthcare journey for all users.
Inclusive Office Hours
I host several feature-specific accessibility meetings per week. I share and document a11y considerations and recommendations with each team. As a member of the accessibility design group embedded in product teams, I am involved in the entire product journey, from discovery all the way to final specs.
Defect Remediation
A large part of our work at CVS involves defect remediation. This includes collaborating with Accessibility Engineers to close defects using WCAG guidelines and our existing Design System UI kit. For defects that require additional help, I host bi-weekly calls so that product, design, and developers can add color to the intentions behind decisions made and we can plan new design work if needed.