Signal #008 – When accessibility is fixed under pressure
Signal to notice
Observe how teams scramble to fix accessibility issues under pressure. Reactive fixes often solve the symptom, not the pattern. What keeps the same issues from reappearing?
What this signal reveals
Accessibility often becomes visible when something breaks the flow of work. A complaint escalates. A delivery stalls. A deadline is threatened. Attention sharpens and action follows quickly. Fixes are rushed through to remove the immediate blocker and get things moving again. These moments feel productive, but they are narrowly focused. The visible issue is resolved, while the conditions that allowed it to happen remain unchanged. Decisions made earlier are not revisited. Expectations are not clarified. Learning stays tied to the incident rather than spreading beyond it. This pattern reflects effort without structure. Teams care and respond, but accessibility is treated as a disruption to manage, not a signal to examine how work is planned and reviewed. Over time, the scramble itself becomes familiar. Issues are fixed, but they return in different places because nothing upstream has shifted.
Accessibility is addressed reactively and inconsistently, driven by urgency rather than shared expectations.
What this usually indicates
- Accessibility action is triggered by escalation or risk
- Fixes focus on immediate issues, not root causes
- Learning does not carry forward across teams
Related signals you may notice
- Similar accessibility issues recurring across projects
- Leadership involvement limited to crisis moments
- Teams unsure how to prevent issues earlier
What to pay attention to next
Whether accessibility issues lead to changes in how decisions are made, or simply to faster fixes under the next deadline.
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About Denis Boudreau
Denis Boudreau is a consultant, trainer, and speaker specializing in digital accessibility and disability inclusion. He works with organizational leaders who want to equip their teams with the skills to create accessible websites and digital products – so no one is left behind. A Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA), Denis has trained thousands of web professionals over the past 20+ years and delivered hundreds of workshops in both English and French. He has helped leading brands like Netflix, Salesforce, and Victoria’s Secret embed accessibility into their digital strategies, empowering them to meet legal obligations, improve user experience, and connect with more people, more effectively.