Introduction:
Wolters Kluwer invited us to collaborate on a blended team tasked with developing a fully accessible InView Essential RoadRunner product within the Fusion ecosystem. InView Essential RoadRunner is meant to replace an existing product built for blind users, which is set to be discontinued. Fusion is a family of research products that share a unified design and codebase. While the accessibility of InView Essential was our primary objective, this architecture enabled us to enhance accessibility across the entire Fusion product line.
Focus:
- Analysis of the existing functionalities in terms of adhering to accessibility requirements.
- Creating and/or adapting the existing components to meet the WCAG 2.1 AA standard.
- Testing scenarios and collaborating daily with the WCAG specialist assigned by the client.
- Using screen readers and tools for automatic detection of accessibility issues.
- Ensuring that our application is and remains accessible thanks to unit and e2e tests.
- Maintaining the functionality of other products that use the same components.
Objective:
Creating a fully accessible research product ready for production, while simultaneously enhancing accessibility in related products.
Needs:
- Collaborating with teams from other products.
- Creating and adapting components to meet WCAG standards, focusing on keyboard interactions, HTML markup semantics, and screen reader compatibility.
- Establishing accessibility monitoring and tests to prevent regressions.
- Sharing knowledge on best practices for component development.
- Testing and fixing issues.
Approach:
- Analysis of Functional Requirements: We conducted an analysis to determine which components from the Fusion ecosystem could be utilized and defined an initial scope of work required to create a baseline product.
- Iterative Accessibility Analysis: We reviewed each view and use case, identifying issues related to HTML semantics, interactions, screen reader (SR) announcements and other accessibility challenges for impaired users. The analysis was supported by accessibility tools such as Axe, established design patterns, and documentation provided by the WCAG specialist, which was available for some of the analysed cases.
- Ongoing Coordination: We continuously aligned priorities and schedules with the client and other product teams. The work was divided into specific tasks, estimated, and planned within sprints. After each sprint, progress was presented.
- Implementation and Testing: The solution was developed and tested, undergoing verification by the QA team and the WCAG specialist.
- Documentation Preparation: We created the necessary documentation, including materials required to prepare the product for deployment in the production environment.
Key changes:
- Implementation of accessibility requirements for all the Fusion capabilities adopted by our product.
- Setting up a process for accessibility implementation not only for our team, but also for others to use in the future. For example, we did not always have a complete specification of interactions or recommendations from the WCAG specialist. To accelerate the work, we conducted accessibility analyses based on our own experience, best practices, and known patterns. The WCAG specialist later reviewed our assumptions at the final implementation stage and provided suggestions when necessary.
- Ongoing issue resolution and synchronization with other teams, as our changes impacted multiple products.
Results:
- Delivering a fully accessible research product, particularly for users with disabilities.
- Creating reusable components that are utilized in related products, thereby improving their overall accessibility.
- Making the Fusion platform future-proof in terms of accessibility, especially in the light of the planned implementation of The European Accessibility Act in 2025, which will require organizations to ensure that their products are accessible.
- Enhancing WK’s reputation as a partner committed to supporting individuals with impairments.
Conclusion:
Our team, ArdentCode, has significantly contributed to raising the level of accessibility and awareness within Fusion. We have demonstrated our ability to quickly acquire advanced knowledge in a given field. We ensured that capabilities meet accessibility standards, providing an inclusive user experience that supports assistive technologies—based on WCAG 2.1 AA criteria and best practices for web accessibility.