agileA healthcare hardware multinational running Kanban with multiple teams of 50+ people has an accessibility requirements problem. The company makes medical devices for hospitals and clinics. Devices include patient monitors, infusion pumps, and diagnostic imaging systems. The company has been around for 47 years. It has 12,400 employees. The product development organization has 312 people. The organization runs Kanban. Eight teams. Each team has 39 people. (1/43)
The accessibility requirements are complex. The complexity means they are handled inconsistently. The inconsistent handling means some products meet the requirements and some do not. Not meeting the requirements means the company faces regulatory risk. The regulatory risk means the company faces fines. The fines cost the company $230,000 last quarter. That was the cost of the fines and the remediation. The accessibility requirements must be handled consistently. (2/43)
Henry Ford built Ford on assembly line innovation. The model was simple. Ford realized that the biggest problem in manufacturing was the tendency to treat each product as a unique creation. Treating each product as a unique creation meant quality was inconsistent. Inconsistent quality meant defects were common. Common defects meant costs were high. High costs killed profitability. (3/43)
Ford attacked the inconsistency. He created assembly line innovation. The innovation was based on one principle: Standardize the process. Repeat the process. Improve the process. Standardizing the process meant creating a standard procedure. Repeating the procedure created consistency. Consistency created quality. Quality reduced defects. Reducing defects reduced costs. Reducing costs built Ford. (4/43)
When Ford faced a quality problem, he did not inspect the product. He standardized the process. Standardizing the process meant every worker followed the same procedure. Every worker following the same procedure created consistency. Consistency eliminated the quality problem. Eliminating the quality problem built Ford. (5/43)
Ford applied the same thinking to complex products. When Ford faced a complex product, he did not build the complex product. He broke it into steps. The steps were simple. Simple steps meant each step could be standardized. Standardizing each step created a process. Repeating the process created consistency. Consistency built the Model T. (6/43)
For a healthcare hardware multinational, the accessibility requirements problem is the same. The accessibility requirements are handled inconsistently. Inconsistent handling means some products meet the requirements and some do not. Not meeting the requirements costs $230,000. Ford's assembly line innovation says: standardize the process, repeat the process, improve the process. Standardization creates consistency. Consistency eliminates the fines.
The Core Principle (7/43)
Ford's assembly line innovation was built on a simple insight. The best way to handle accessibility requirements is to stop treating each product as a unique creation where accessibility is handled differently every time. Start treating accessibility as a standardized process where the same procedure is repeated for every product. The process is continuously improved so the team is no longer inspecting accessibility at the end (8/43)
. Instead, the team builds accessibility into every step of the development process.
Ford did not handle quality by inspecting each product at the end of the line and hoping the inspection would catch all the defects. He handled it by standardizing the process, repeating the process, and improving the process. The standardization created consistency. The consistency eliminated defects. Eliminating defects reduced costs. Reducing costs built Ford. (9/43)
For a healthcare hardware multinational, the accessibility requirements problem is the same. The requirements are handled inconsistently. Inconsistent handling means some products meet the requirements and some do not. Not meeting the requirements costs $230,000. Ford's assembly line innovation says: standardize the process, repeat the process, improve the process. Standardization creates consistency. Consistency eliminates the fines. (10/43)
Four Steps to Apply Assembly Line Innovation to Handling Accessibility Requirements
1. Create a Standardized Accessibility Procedure That Every Team Follows for Every Product Starting from the First Day of Development (11/43)
Ford created a standardized procedure. The procedure was followed by every worker. Every worker following the procedure created consistency. Consistency built Ford. You should create a standardized accessibility procedure that every team follows for every product starting from the first day of development.
For a healthcare hardware multinational, the standardized accessibility procedure might look like this. The accessibility director creates a 26-page document with five sections. (12/43)
Section one covers accessibility requirements. The requirements are based on three standards: WCAG 2.1 AA for web accessibility, Section 508 for federal accessibility, and EN 301 549 for European accessibility. The three standards are combined into a comprehensive list of 112 requirements. Listing the requirements creates clarity so every team knows what is expected. (13/43)
Section two covers accessibility checkpoints. These are milestones at five points in the development process. Checkpoint one is a requirements review at the start. Checkpoint two is a design review during the design phase. Checkpoint three is prototype testing during the prototype phase. Checkpoint four is a pre-release audit before the product ships. Checkpoint five is post-release monitoring after the product is in the field. (14/43)
Section three covers accessibility testing tools. Seven tools are listed: screen reader testing, color contrast analysis, keyboard navigation testing, text resizing testing, audio description testing, cognitive load testing, and motor impairment simulation.
Section four covers accessibility roles. Defining roles creates accountability. Every team has an accessibility champion who is responsible for ensuring the procedure is followed. (15/43)
Section five covers accessibility documentation. A template is completed at each checkpoint. Completing the template creates a record. The record creates traceability so the company can prove compliance. (16/43)
Last quarter, the standardized accessibility procedure was created. It took six weeks. The document was distributed to all eight teams. Every team having the procedure meant every team followed the same process. Following the same process created consistency. Consistency meant accessibility was handled the same way for every product. The number of products that did not meet the requirements dropped from 14 to 3. That is a 79% reduction (17/43)
. The reduction saved the company $142,000 in fines and remediation that would have happened without the standardized procedure.
For a Kanban team of 50+, the standardized accessibility procedure should be a document with at least five sections. It should be distributed to all teams. For Kanban, the procedure should be part of the team's workflow as a workflow step. (18/43)
2. Build an Accessibility Assembly Line Where Each Checkpoint Is a Station and Each Station Has a Standardized Test That Must Pass Before the Product Moves to the Next Station (19/43)
Ford built an assembly line with stations. Each station had a standardized task. Every product passing through the same stations created consistency. Consistency built Ford. You should build an accessibility assembly line where each checkpoint is a station and each station has a standardized test that must pass before the product moves to the next station. (20/43)
For a healthcare hardware multinational, the accessibility assembly line might look like this. The accessibility director builds a workflow in the Kanban board. The board has five columns. Each column is a station. (21/43)
Station one is the requirements review. The standardized test is a 28-item checklist covering the accessibility requirements. The accessibility champion completes the checklist. If it passes, the product moves to the next station. If it fails, the product is returned and the requirements are revised. (22/43)
Station two is the design review. The standardized test is a 30-minute meeting with the accessibility champion and the design team. The meeting reviews the design. If it passes, the product moves to the next station. If it fails, the design is revised. (23/43)
Station three is prototype testing. The standardized test is a test plan with 42 test cases covering the accessibility requirements. The accessibility champion executes the test plan. If it passes, the product moves to the next station. If it fails, the prototype is revised. (24/43)
Station four is the pre-release audit. The standardized test is a full review covering all 112 requirements. An external auditor executes the audit. Independence ensures objectivity. If it passes, the product moves to the next station. If it fails, the product is revised.
Station five is post-release monitoring. The standardized test is a monitoring plan that tracks accessibility issues after release to ensure the product continues to meet the requirements. (25/43)
Last quarter, the accessibility assembly line was built. It took four weeks. The workflow was added to the Kanban board. Every product passing through the five stations created consistency. Testing accessibility at every stage meant defects were caught early. Catching defects early reduced remediation costs. The reduction saved the company $58,000 in remediation that would have happened without the assembly line. (26/43)
For a Kanban team of 50+, the accessibility assembly line should be a workflow with at least five stations. Each station should have a standardized test. For Kanban, the assembly line should be part of the team's board as a board column.
3. Assign an Accessibility Champion to Each Team Who Is Responsible for Running the Standardized Tests at Each Station and Blocking Progress If the Tests Fail (27/43)
Ford assigned a foreman to each station. The foreman was responsible for ensuring the task was completed correctly. Ensuring correct completion created quality. Quality built Ford. You should assign an accessibility champion to each team who is responsible for running the standardized tests at each station and blocking progress if the tests fail. (28/43)
For a healthcare hardware multinational, the accessibility champion assignment might look like this. The accessibility director assigns one accessibility champion to each of the eight teams. The champion is a developer who completes a four-week training program covering the three standards, the seven testing tools, and the five station procedures. Completing the program creates expertise. Expertise means the champion can run the standardized tests correctly at each station (29/43)
. Correctly running the tests creates quality. Quality means defects are caught.
The accessibility champion has the authority to block progress. If a test fails, the product cannot move to the next station. The product cannot move until the test passes. This ensures defects are fixed before the product advances. (30/43)
Last quarter, the accessibility champions were assigned to all eight teams. Each team having an expert meant the standardized tests were run correctly. Defects were caught at each station. The number of defects that reached the pre-release audit dropped from 37 to 9. That is a 76% reduction. The reduction saved the company $31,000 in remediation that would have happened without the accessibility champions. (31/43)