Scaling Accessibility An Accessibility Design Manager’s Tale
summary
At GitHub the design system (nearly 100 components) audits would take an estimated three plus years to reach accessibility so the team installs Storybook add-ons to automate checks, wins rapid approval, and cuts manual auditing. Headcount adds two accessibility engineers and an external consultancy with lived experience. A formal process enforces three lifecycle checkpoints (design, engineering, post‑implementation), backed by an async toolkit, weekly office hours, a bootcamp and a champions program to scale work and validate outcomes.
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chapters (18)
- 0:00Introduction and welcome
- 1:09Building myself as a manager
- 3:21Transitioning to a team of one
- 7:38Untangling the design system knots
- 13:05From never manager to manager
- 17:11Building a home for accessibility
- 22:07Breaking ground on the team
- 24:20Framing the team’s foundation
- 25:00Designing critical team features
- 26:27Hosting the accessibility home
- 28:36Moving in and settling
- 30:11Embracing discomfort and growth
- 32:05Q&A leadership investment
- 34:55Q&A accessibility checkpoints
- 39:43Q&A scaling across subsidiaries
- 42:18Q&A learning and advocating
- 45:33Q&A resources and advice
- 47:04Q&A one tip for newbies
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