Vous plaidez pour l’accessibilité dans l’architecture de l’information. Comment pouvez-vous impliquer efficacement les parties prenantes ?

Don't, just design an architectural structure that works, apply tthe back end controls (Metadata schema, BCS, R&D, Permissions, Labelling, Role-based Access, etc.) and do auto-classifications at the front-end. Absolutely no reason to have users meddling in information design, it's not their area of expertise.

I'm not sure educating can be first useful step. Besides, most of the stakeholders just need results and haven't sufficient time for planing with users & designers. First of all a UXD should makes own decision and show the result and make an example how IA impact on product, user and market. It could be their experiences or using other companies stories.

Accessibility is not just about 'disability' but aspiring to provide the best possible experience to all your users. Yes, you will need standards, guidelines and procedures but make sure to explain the overall benefit for all users provided by adhering to the standards - do this up front with your sponsors and senior stakeholders as early as possible. Use some real word use cases if possible showing increased NPS after introducing an ethos of accessible design. Finally, don't underestimate the value of bringing in an accessibility consultant to guide you through this if it's your first foray into the field - I have several in my network.

Engaging stakeholders in the importance of accessibility within Information Architecture (IA) starts with education. Stakeholders need to understand that accessible design is not only about adhering to standards like WCAG but also about fostering inclusivity and enhancing user experience. Clear and intuitive navigation benefits everyone, including users with disabilities. By highlighting these advantages, stakeholders are more likely to support accessibility initiatives. Engage them through workshops and discussions that underline the broader reach and improved usability accessible IA provides, setting a robust foundation for informed decision-making and collaboration.

Accessible design benefits all users, including those with disabilities. By educating stakeholders about the fundamentals and benefits of accessible AI, you lay a strong foundation for their support and understanding.

Engaging stakeholders is about making the case for accessibility through data, empathy, and alignment with business objectives. By showing the practical, legal, and user-centered benefits of accessible IA, I inspire action and build a more inclusive digital experience. The end game is to have the decision makers align their business goals with accessibility.

Education sounds a little one-directional. I think it needs to be a conversation and it needs to include both the benefits, but also the risks. It also must acknowledge that additional work reduces speed to market, so there are business risks (product got released too late) and reputational/financial risks (product got released without ADA compliance and got trashed on social or company got sued.) Understanding all of this clearly upfront would allow then to look for solutions that help amplify the benefits and reduce risks (e.g. ADA built into the design system)

If your first step to engage stakeholders is educating them, you're already on the wrong path. The key is intuitively communicating information—embedding takeaways so seamlessly that the audience absorbs them without realizing it. True engagement lies in subconscious retention. Whether it's a social media post or a fundraise pitch deck, the message must stick naturally, avoiding cognitive overload. With shrinking attention spans, expecting stakeholders to actively learn is unrealistic. Instead, craft simple, purposeful, and emotionally resonant experiences. Let design and structure speak for you—accessibility should feel instinctive, not like a lesson.

To effectively engage stakeholders in promoting accessibility within Information Architecture (IA), start by highlighting the universal benefits of accessible design, not just for compliance but for inclusivity. Convene workshops and interactive sessions where real-world examples and case studies of accessible IA are discussed, demonstrating its impact across different user groups, including those with disabilities. Facilitate hands-on experiences, like usability testing with assistive technologies, to provide stakeholders with a clearer perspective on the challenges faced by some users. Encourage open dialogues to exchange ideas on how IA accessibility can be integrated into existing workflows.

Ever tried to navigate a website with a blindfold on? That’s what users with disabilities face every day when IA ignores accessibility. Something as simple as text labels under icons can be the flashlight that lights their path. Skip it, and you’re leaving users in the dark—and your metrics will show it.

Present the benefits of accessible IA as a competitive advantage, showcasing how it can open new markets by being inclusive to all users, which not only fosters better customer relationships but also expands the potential user base. Outline the ways an improved user experience can bolster engagement and loyalty, ensuring customers return and advocate for your services. Additionally, highlights the importance of reducing legal challenges through compliance with accessibility standards, which protects the organization and bolsters its reputation. Framing accessibility as a multifaceted benefit-driven initiative helps stakeholders appreciate its impact on business performance and societal contribution.

When discussing accessibility, emphasize its tangible benefits: an accessible Information Architecture (IA) enhances customer satisfaction by making systems easier to use for everyone. This improved usability can lead to a larger market share and reduced legal risks by ensuring compliance with accessibility standards. Additionally, a more inclusive IA boosts overall user experience, which can drive better engagement metrics and foster customer loyalty. For stakeholders focused on the bottom line, these benefits underscore that investing in accessibility not only fulfills ethical and legal obligations but also positively impacts business performance and growth.

Show examples of successful companies, including competitors, that gained more customers, stronger loyalty, and a better reputation by making their products easy for everyone to use. These businesses grew by improving usability for all and attracting a more diverse workforce, which led to new ideas and better results. Accessible products help more people, create a fair experience, and benefit society. They also reduce legal risks by following accessibility laws, keeping companies safe and compliant while making a positive impact.

- Increased Satisfaction: Explain how accessible IA improves usability for all, leading to happier, more engaged customers. - Market Expansion: Highlight how inclusivity widens the audience, opening doors to new customer segments. - Risk Mitigation: Stress that accessibility reduces legal risks associated with non-compliance. - Loyalty and Metrics: Show that improved accessibility boosts engagement and fosters customer loyalty, benefiting the business. Focusing on these tangible outcomes creates a compelling case for stakeholders to invest in accessibility from both a user experience and business perspective.

Highlight accessibility benefits like increased satisfaction, market share, and reduced legal risks. A user-friendly IA boosts engagement and customer loyalty, appealing to stakeholders.

If your company doesn't take accessibility seriously, it will eventually turn into bad PR. The benefits are that your code will be more robust, and any user with access to a computer can use your product. User experience doesn't just mean you improve for fully-abled users, you embrace inclusive design so that every user can execute all actions in a logical and intuitive manner.

When customers are able to perceive value clearly they are more likely to buy one brand's products over another's. The most-evident benefits of accessibility-centric information architecture design are present when customers can buy or inquire about products or services easier than is possible elsewhere. Basically, consumers don't want to sift through tonnes of information to find what they want. By making the most valuable product features obvious from the get-go, brands make it more attractive to check-out, call or email immediately. If a product can be reached easily, explained quickly and rapidly demonstrated to provide value end-users need, it will sell in greater volumes.

To capture the interest of stakeholders in the accessibility of Information Architecture, sharing stories of success from other organizations can be a compelling tactic. Highlight scenarios where accessible IA has been a key factor in transforming user engagement and satisfaction, leading to business growth and profitability. By detailing these successful implementations, you offer stakeholders a vision of what is achievable, framing accessibility as not just a compliance requirement but a strategic advantage. Real-world cases that demonstrate a positive impact on customer loyalty and financial returns provide stakeholders with the confidence to embrace and support accessibility initiatives, seeing them as opportunities to drive innovation.

To get stakeholders on board with making your IA more accessible, start by showing them real examples of how accessibility issues affect users. Share stories or videos of people struggling with inaccessible designs. Explain how making things accessible can benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities, by improving overall usability. Highlight any legal requirements and potential risks of not being accessible. Finally, show how accessibility can open up your product to a wider audience, which can lead to more users and better business outcomes. Keep the conversation positive and focused on the benefits. A common accessibility issue is poor color contrast. This happens when the text color and the background color are too similar.

I've found that accessibility, once embraced and prioritized accordingly, represents your company in an empathetic and inclusive light. With a well-tested and well-coded product suite, your company has positioned itself to be a front-runner for new business that expects an accessible product as table stakes for new business. If accessibility is an afterthought, it's going to get de-prioritized if categorized as tech debt.

When I worked with Audika Australia: a manufacturer, supplier and distributor or hearing aid equipment for hearing impaired patients, I worked on the Audika AU website's IA to make it easier for customers with specific hearing conditions to access the best product solution for their needs. By adjusting menus to target high-volume keyword searches focused on specific conditions and working downwards in a hegemonic, tree structure that delivered particular products to particular conditions, I was able to increase inquiries by approximately 28% in three months. Essentially, I changed menu entries and page menus to ensure patients could access the products tailored for them as easily as possible.

Exemplifico com cases de sucesso, mostrando como empresas que investiram em acessibilidade viram melhorias nos resultados. Isso ajuda a tornar a ideia mais palpável.

Uso exemplos reais de empresas que fizeram ajustes na acessibilidade e viram melhorias nas conversões e satisfação do cliente. Isso ajuda a tangibilizar a importância de investir nisso.

Sharing success stories from other organizations can be a powerful way to engage stakeholders. By presenting case studies where accessible AI produced positive outcomes, you provide concrete examples of the potential impact. Discuss how these successes led to improved user engagement, higher satisfaction rates, and even financial benefits. These real-world data points can help stakeholders visualize the potential success for their own organization.

Before the teams skip to the implementation phase - it's wise to do a thorough concept testing for the proposed accessibility features. This is the right time to incorporate any feedback and perhaps a change in direction if required - it will save trouble at a later stage

Engaging stakeholders in the IA process requires more than just presenting data—it demands empathy and inclusion. Involving real users, particularly those from underrepresented or disabled groups, can reshape perspectives and foster a deeper understanding of the importance of accessibility. By encouraging stakeholders to engage directly with these users, you not only promote better design decisions but also highlight the real-world impact of inclusive IA. It's about transforming the design process from a technical exercise into a human-centered mission, ensuring the needs of all users are met effectively.

Encourage stakeholders to interact with user groups, especially those with disabilities, to get real, unfiltered insights into the challenges they face. This hands-on experience builds empathy and a deeper understanding of why accessible design isn’t just nice-to-have—it's essential. Plus, user feedback is pure gold for refining IA to meet everyone's needs, ensuring your system isn't just functional but truly inclusive.

The IA needs to be driven by the user - if IA is to be intuitive, we need to work with users, those with disabilities and those without, to design a functional IA that has consistency, integrity and simplicity as the fundamental design elements. Using terms and language that makes sense to end users, not to the company that is marketing/ selling/ distributing their products or services. Avoiding deep structures and designing flatter structures can also aid in faster access for users.

Nothing beats hearing directly from users. I always involve people with different accessibility needs from the start. In one project redesigning a health care app, we included users who relied on screen readers, and their feedback was invaluable. They pointed out things we hadn’t considered, like how the order of information is presented audibly. By co-designing with them, we avoided potential usability pitfalls and created a product that truly worked for everyone. It was a humbling and eye-opening experience that I encourage in all my projects.

Identifying target users, inviting them to engage and share their experiences add irreplaceable value to the İA process. Their meeting with stakeholders makes stakeholders see the world through their eyes and understand better.

Involve users, especially those with disabilities, in the IA process. Direct engagement fosters empathy, deepens understanding, and provides valuable feedback for accessible design.

Product and/or service reviews are fundamentally important to broadcasting a brand's reputation and managing expectations regarding clinics, products and staff. A good reputation can make it easier to build links too!

Trazer feedback direto dos usuários, especialmente aqueles com deficiência, é poderoso. Isso cria empatia e ajuda a identificar pontos de atenção que podemos não estar percebendo.

Sempre trago feedback de usuários com diferentes necessidades, mostrando a visão real de quem precisa dessas adaptações. Isso gera empatia e reforça a necessidade de melhorias.

In my experience that stakeholders who are opposed to implementing accessible IA features misunderstand their audience, and how many people have accessibility issues. Occasionally I have heard clients say that their customers don’t have accessibility challenges, so it’s not something they want to address or spend money on. To counter this it’s important to explain to them that huge numbers of people rely on these features to interact with digital products, and how they cross all demographics and personas. Supporting them is good for business, and shows that an organization cares about its customers. In my experience, the benefits of building an accessible product far outweighs the cost and effort.

Many stakeholders fear that accessibility requires an overhaul of systems, but integrating it into existing workflows can be seamless. Accessibility isn't just an additional feature—it's a foundational aspect that ensures inclusive design. By embedding accessibility from the start, you avoid larger costs later. Moreover, the risks of not being accessible, from lost opportunities to legal challenges, far outweigh the upfront investment. The goal is to foster buy-in through open dialogue and by demonstrating the long-term value for both users and the business.

Address concerns by showing that accessibility can integrate into current workflows. Highlight the long-term benefits, like avoiding legal risks and potential revenue loss.

IA updates should be a facet of the SEO service your brand employs. If your SEO provider is not including IA updates as part of its package, you should consider changing to a new provider, particularly if your business works in an industry or sector with a large need for accessibility success.

Se surgirem objeções, como tempo ou custo, eu as enfrento mostrando como investir agora pode reduzir retrabalho e evitar problemas legais no futuro.

Se alguém menciona custo ou tempo, explico que, a longo prazo, consertar depois sai mais caro. Sem falar no risco de problemas legais e perda de reputação se a acessibilidade for ignorada.

Você pode preparar uma análise detalhada comparando os custos de implementação com os benefícios a longo prazo. Também considere trazer um especialista para responder a preocupações específicas e fornecer orientação prática, ou traga cálculos que mostre o potencial aumento de receita ao alcançar um público mais amplo.

Start the accessibility conversation at conception. Ensure the stakeholders that this effort is a win on all fronts. As designs are created, do heuristic reviews and thorough code reviews to ensure accessibility is maintained from concept to development to production. This kind of pre-work will ensure much more rapid development.

It's not a solo effort—every stakeholder in the organization should be involved. From Business to Design, Engineering, Sales, and Legal, everyone needs to collaborate. Work closely with each team, share how they can contribute, and ensure that everyone understands their role in making this happen. Teamwork is key to successful implementation.

When it comes to accessibility in Information Architecture, teamwork is your best ally. Start by making it clear that accessible design isn’t just about ticking boxes—it's a long-term investment. Engage stakeholders from day one, integrating accessibility into the project timeline and budget. Break the process into achievable milestones, ensuring everyone's on board and understands the value it brings. By planning together, you’re not just building a better system—you’re fostering a shared responsibility for success.

Collaborate with stakeholders in planning to integrate accessibility into timelines and budgets. Set clear milestones together, ensuring shared responsibility and stronger buy-in for success.

Incluo as partes interessadas no planejamento desde o começo, seja em brainstorms ou na definição de metas. Quando todos têm voz, o engajamento aumenta e as soluções são muito mais colaborativas.