Jacob Wood, a legally blind accessibility advocate, has pioneered frameworks like the ALL Framework and developed tools to enhance digital and physical accessibility, emphasizing inclusive design over compliance. His work critiques inaccessible tech practices, stresses early integration of accessibility in workflows, and promotes empathy-driven leadership to dismantle systemic exclusion.

How To Test This?

interview episodes where Mamadou N’diaye talks with with software testing experts

• https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spidey1944
• https://www.youtube.com/@HowToTestThis
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamadou-ndiaye-consultant/

Episode Details

• Show Notes: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spidey1944/episodes/How-to-test-Accessibility-beyond-Compliance-e3lchdc
• Published: 2026-06-28T13:10:36Z
• Duration: 00:42:12
• Author: Mamadou N’diaye

Overview

Jacob Wood, a legally blind advocate with over 20 years of experience in accessibility and learning design, has contributed significantly to improving digital and physical accessibility through various initiatives. He founded the Accessible Game blog in 2010 to address barriers in gaming, developed the Accessibility Guide RPG Layout, and created the Framework Growth for All, a five-level model for accessibility leadership. His work spans from testing board games and web accessibility to leading projects like auditing boardgamegeek.com and transforming Hive Learnings accessibility compliance from 40% to 90% within three months. He emphasizes integrating accessibility into design and development processes, advocating for semantic HTML, manual screen reader testing, and using AI tools to dismantle systemic exclusion in digital spaces.

Central themes of his work include shifting accessibility from compliance-driven frameworks to inclusive design, highlighting the importance of systemic inclusion, leadership, and collaboration. He critiques the over-reliance on inaccessible frameworks like React, stresses the financial and productivity costs of retrofitting accessibility, and advocates for embedding accessibility in workflows from the design phase to avoid costly remediation. Jacob promotes the ALL Framework (Accessibility, Learning, Leadership), linking accessibility improvements to organizational productivity and reduced imposter syndrome. He also critiques accessibility testing tools for their own shortcomings and emphasizes involving users of assistive technology in testing processes.

Jacobs efforts include critiquing e-learning platforms like Articulate for failing to meet accessibility claims, pushing for structural empathy in design, and recommending role-specific strategies for improving accessibility. He provides resources through his website (jacobwood.me) and Substack (allforgrowth.substack.com), offering courses on accessibility fundamentals, alt text writing, and screen reader testing. His work underscores the need for leadership to treat accessibility as a core competency, prioritizing empathy-driven practices over compliance to create universally accessible digital experiences. He also highlights the financial and operational risks of neglecting accessibility, advocating for proactive integration of accessibility principles across all organizational levels.

What If

• What if you integrated accessibility into every stage of your development workflow using the ALL Framework?

  • Move: Create a checklist for semantic HTML, alt text, and keyboard navigation in your projects.
  • Why Now?: Retrofitting costs 10x more than implementing accessibility from the start, and your competition (e.g., Articulate) is failing to meet compliance standards.
  • Expected Upside: A 18% productivity boost for your users, stronger legal compliance, and alignment with Hive Learning’s 40%90% accessibility improvement case study.

• What if you leveraged AI tools to automate accessibility testing and reduce manual remediation costs?

  • Move: Adopt AI-powered tools like the Accessibility Guide RPG Layout or Framework Growth for All to audit your website or e-learning platform.
  • Why Now?: Legacy frameworks like React often introduce accessibility gaps (e.g., misuse of div instead of button), and AI can detect these faster than manual testing.
  • Expected Upside: Cut remediation costs by 10x, avoid lawsuits, and replicate Hive Learnings success with RNIB audits.

• What if you built an accessibility policy as a standalone product for solo developers, inspired by Jacob Woods Growth for All model?

  • Move: Package your accessibility testing and training materials into a Substack or SaaS tool with weekly updates on compliance trends and case studies.
  • Why Now?: 7% of clients in the US require accessibility, and Articulates lack of accessibility features creates a gap in the e-learning market.
  • Expected Upside: Monetize your expertise, attract clients who prioritize inclusion (e.g., banks, educational institutions), and scale your influence beyond manual QA services.

Takeaway

• Integrate accessibility into the design phase by prioritizing semantic HTML, planning alt text in design tools (e.g., Figma), and avoiding frameworks like React that introduce accessibility pitfalls (e.g., misuse of div instead of button).
• Conduct manual screen reader testing using tools like NVDA or Narrator to identify issues beyond automated checks (e.g., keyboard navigation, focus order), ensuring full accessibility across user interactions.
• Adopt the ALL Framework by studying accessibility fundamentals (e.g., CPAC certification), embedding accessibility into workflows (e.g., accessibility style guides for engineers/content creators), and leading by example to influence stakeholders and clients.
• Audit and remediate accessibility early to avoid high retrofitting costs (e.g., 10x initial implementation costs) by partnering with experts (e.g., RNIB audit) and addressing high-priority issues (e.g., unlabeled elements, broken buttons) systematically.
• Build accessible learning and training materials for your audience by leveraging accessible authoring tools, creating style guides, and emphasizing inclusive design principles to reduce reliance on end-of-cycle QA and prevent accessibility-related legal risks.