Accessible DOCS

Project Overview

This case study outlines the UX design process for a web platform focused on making digital files accessible to individuals with disabilities. The platform specializes in converting a variety of file formats (PDFs, Word Documents, Excel sheets, images, etc.) into accessible formats that are easy to navigate for people with visual impairments, hearing disabilities, or motor limitations. The goal was to create an intuitive, user-friendly platform that could automatically detect file accessibility issues, convert files into accessible formats, and provide tools for manual adjustments, while ensuring compliance with web accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1).

Problem Statement

Despite the growing importance of digital accessibility, many digital files (including documents, spreadsheets, and images) are not designed to be fully accessible for people with disabilities. This leads to challenges for individuals with visual, auditory, or motor impairments in accessing and interacting with content online. Our research revealed key challenges:

1. Inaccessible Documents: Many users with visual impairments struggle with navigating text-heavy documents (e.g., PDFs, Word docs) or spreadsheets that were not designed with accessibility in mind.

2. Limited Tools for Manual Adjustments: Users often have to rely on complex, professional tools to fix accessibility issues, which are not easy to use or understand for non-experts.

3. Fragmented Process: Current solutions were either too complicated or didn't provide a complete solution for making files accessible. Users would often need to download third-party software or rely on separate tools for text-to-speech, image-to-text conversion, etc.

Stakeholder interview

We began by conducting interviews with the platform’s stakeholders, including accessibility consultants, individuals with disabilities, and organizations with accessibility compliance needs.

The stakeholders’ key goals were:

• Automated Accessibility Checks: They wanted a platform that could quickly scan files and highlight accessibility issues such as missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, or non-semantic HTML.

• Intuitive Conversion Tools: The platform should allow users to easily convert inaccessible documents (e.g., PDFs) into more accessible formats (e.g., HTML, tagged PDFs, Word).

• Compliance with Standards: The platform must meet accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1), ensuring that the converted content is usable for all types of disabilities.

User flow

We began by gathering insights through user research:

• Target Audience: Professionals working in accessibility, content creators, developers, and organizations looking to ensure their documents (PDFs, Word files, etc.) meet accessibility standards.

• User Goals:

  • Upload documents easily.

  • Receive clear, actionable accessibility feedback.

  • Download reports or fix recommendations.

• Challenges: Many users lacked technical knowledge of accessibility standards like WCAG, so we needed to simplify jargon and provide guidance.

  Tools and Documentation

  • Created flow diagrams in Figma to visualize the user journey.

  • Documented each step with user stories to align the design and development teams.

  • Used prototyping tools to simulate the user flow and gather stakeholder feedback.

Information architecture

We began by gathering insights through user research:

• Target Audience: Professionals working in accessibility, content creators, developers, and organizations looking to ensure their documents (PDFs, Word files, etc.) meet accessibility standards.

• User Goals:

  • Upload documents easily.

  • Receive clear, actionable accessibility feedback.

  • Download reports or fix recommendations.

• Challenges: Many users lacked technical knowledge of accessibility standards like WCAG, so we needed to simplify jargon and provide guidance.

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