Unblocking Backlog Jams
summary
A sudden import of 300+ accessibility issues turns into a multi‑dimensional spreadsheet workflow using Notion/modern spreadsheets to hide noise, convert columns to selects, add counts and group views by component platform and impacted population. The process exposes that many reports are duplicates or obsolete and enables focused packs of related fixes; the team clears 142 issues in 2.5 months and reduces a two‑year estimate to manageable sprints.
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chapters (35)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:28One day hundreds of JIRA tickets showed up in my inbox...
- 1:19This triggered my fight or flight response.
- 2:05Some simple math told me...
- 2:44We had created a log jam.
- 4:27The Theory of Constraints
- 8:03Conventional wisdom
- 8:54Understanding how accessibility audits are performed
- 9:59Often focused on the output
- 10:27and ignorant of the input
- 10:55Often very repetitive due to how we reuse our code
- 11:21Often ignorant of "easy" vs "hard" in the underlying systems
- 11:53Often ignorant of metrics and relativ importance of the page
- 12:20e.g. alt text is missing
- 13:03How do you eat the proverbial elephant?
- 16:53Hitting the limitations of JIRA
- 17:45It was easier to triage in Excel
- 18:42Which page is effected?
- 19:31Which component is effected?
- 20:06Which WCAG violation?
- 20:39New dimensions appear!
- 21:31Can we leverage modern spreadsheeting applications?
- 22:18How-to create a multi-dimensional accessibility audit.
- 23:48Import data
- 24:22Hide columns
- 25:07Convert columns to selects and multi-selects
- 25:57Color code
- 26:35Add Counts
- 27:31Add dimensions
- 31:05How'd it work out for us?
- 32:12Some thoughts on improving workplace satisfaction via the backlog process
- 34:04Avoid extensive audits, start with a few core templates first.
- 35:06Deliver issues in small packs of related issues.
- 36:35Gamify the experience, progressively increase the difficulty
- 37:43Give a s#!% about accessibility before legal shows up.
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