Transforming Dell's website into an inclusive platform, ensuring seamless usability for users with disabilities
Dell initiated a comprehensive accessibility audit on over 600 webpages to ensure adherence to the WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA standards. By implementing the audit's detailed recommendations, Dell aimed to not only enhance its web accessibility but also to leverage these improvements in broader strategic and operational contexts.
In my role as the project lead, I was responsible for several key contributions:
Over a five-month period, our team meticulously evaluated Dell's webpages against the Level A and AA WCAG guidelines, recommending essential modifications for compliance. After the development team implemented these changes, we conducted a six-month monitoring phase. This thorough analysis not only showcased significant improvements for Dell but also expanded our market presence, leading to the successful onboarding of new clients and enhancing our market reach.
This report was one of several provided to Dell, focusing on a specific set of URLs that were rigorously tested against the WCAG guidelines. It detailed the number of accessibility issues found, categorized by severity, to help Dell prioritize which problems required immediate resolution. By highlighting critical areas, the report served as a roadmap for Dell to enhance their web accessibility, ensuring compliance and improving user experience.
During the planning phase of our web accessibility audit, we categorized URLs based on their structural similarities. This strategic grouping allowed us to efficiently test and report on similar pages, significantly reducing the time required for each audit cycle. By focusing on these similarities, we could apply findings and solutions across multiple pages more effectively, enhancing the overall speed and impact of our accessibility improvements.
However, automated testing only covered a fraction of the guidelines, necessitating a deeper dive into the audit. We manually reviewed each of the 600 webpages to provide comprehensive and actionable insights.
During the manual testing phase, we employed a range of techniques including keyboard testing and voice assistant tools to thoroughly evaluate the URLs against the A and AA WCAG guidelines. Each identified issue was comprehensively documented in an Excel sheet. This documentation included several crucial details:
This structured documentation process was crucial for creating an actionable roadmap towards achieving full web accessibility.
In the reporting phase of the project, we consolidated the findings from all categories of URLs to provide a high-level overview of the accessibility issues present. This comprehensive reporting was essential for understanding the intensity and distribution of the issues across different webpages. To enhance clarity and immediacy of the data, we utilized Power BI to visualize the insights. This allowed the team to quickly grasp which areas required immediate attention and facilitated a more informed decision-making process regarding prioritization and resource allocation for remediation efforts.
One significant challenge was the absence of a standardized design system at the outset of the project. This lack presented substantial difficulties in maintaining consistency across the platform, as existing designs were varied and often contradictory.
The difficulty in finding local users capable of testing the platform potentially limited our ability to conduct thorough and effective usability tests, which are critical for optimizing the onboarding flow and overall user interface.
The project scope was also restricted by limitations on changing key screens in the registration and service selection process. These constraints were imposed due to technical and strategic decisions made prior to our design interventions.
Despite these obstacles, we devised effective strategies to overcome them and successfully implemented our solutions.
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