Accessibility guide

Making Team-X usable for everyone

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Overview

Team-X is committed to accessibility. This guide covers the accessibility features, how to use them, and best practices for creating inclusive content.

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Table of Contents

1. Accessibility Features
2. Keyboard Navigation
3. Screen Reader Support
4. Visual Accessibility
5. Cognitive Accessibility
6. Motor Accessibility
7. Creating Accessible Content
8. Testing Accessibility
9. Accessibility Standards

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Accessibility Features

Built-In Features

Feature	Description	How to Enable
Keyboard Navigation	Full keyboard control	Default (always on)
Screen Reader Support	NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver	Default (always on)
High Contrast Mode	Enhanced contrast	Ctrl+Alt+H toggle
Text Scaling	Zoom in/out	Ctrl++ / Ctrl+-
Focus Indicators	Visible focus on controls	Default (always on)
Skip Links	Jump to main content	Tab on load
ARIA Labels	Contextual labels	Default (always on)
Error Announcements	Screen reader error alerts	Default (always on)
Color Blind Safe	WCAG AA compliant colors	Default (always on)
Reduced Motion	Disable animations	Settings → Appearance

Platform-Specific

Platform	Screen Reader	Notes
Windows	NVDA (free), JAWS (paid)	NVDA recommended
macOS	VoiceOver (built-in)	Cmd+F5 to enable
Linux	Orca (built-in)	Check distro documentation

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Keyboard Navigation

Global Shortcuts

All features are accessible via keyboard:

Action	Shortcut	Alternative
Open Command Palette	Ctrl+K / Cmd+K	,
Navigate panels	Ctrl+1-8 / Cmd+1-8	Tab through
Navigate lists	↑ / ↓	Page Up / Page Down
Select focused item	Enter	Space (for checkboxes)
Go back	Esc	Alt+← / Cmd+[
Context menu	Shift+F10	,
Show shortcuts help	Ctrl+? / Cmd+?	?

Tab Order

The tab order follows the visual layout (left-to-right, top-to-bottom):

Typical tab sequence:
1. Main navigation (sidebar)
2. Primary panel content
3. Action buttons
4. Form fields
5. Secondary controls

Focus Indicators:

All interactive elements show visible focus:

• Buttons: Blue outline (2px)
• Links: Underline + outline
• Inputs: Blue outline + background highlight
• Panels: Subtle background highlight

Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

See keyboard-shortcuts.md for complete reference.

Customizing shortcuts:

Settings → Keyboard → Customize Shortcuts
→ Select shortcut to remap
→ Press new key combination
→ Save

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Screen Reader Support

Supported Screen Readers

Screen Reader	Version Tested	Status
NVDA	2024.1+	✅ Fully supported
JAWS	2024+	✅ Fully supported
VoiceOver	macOS 14+	✅ Fully supported
Orca	GNOME 44+	✅ Supported (Linux)
Narrator	Windows 11+	⚠️ Partial support

Screen Reader Announcements

Navigation:

Announcement examples:

Navigating to Mission Control:
"Mission Control dashboard, main region"

Navigating to Tickets panel:
"Tickets panel, list of 12 items"

Navigating to ticket:
"Ticket #42: Fix login bug, In Progress, Assigned to Alex"

Interactive Elements:

Button focus:
"Create ticket, button"

Checkbox focus:
"Show completed tickets, checkbox, not checked"

Link focus:
"View documentation, link"

Dynamic Updates:

Agent run started:
"Agent run started, ticket #42"

Agent run completed:
"Agent run completed, ticket #42, duration 2 minutes 34 seconds"

New insight:
"New Copilot insight, cost warning"

Screen Reader Settings

Announcement verbosity:

Settings → Accessibility → Announcements

Options:
- Verbose (detailed announcements)
- Standard (balanced)
- Minimal (essential info only)

Announce rate:

Controls frequency of updates during agent runs:
- Live (every message)
- Summarized (every 10 seconds)
- On completion only

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Visual Accessibility

High Contrast Mode

Enable: Ctrl+Alt+H (toggle)

Appearance:

Standard Mode:
- Background: #1a1a1a (dark gray)
- Text: #e0e0e0 (light gray)
- Accent: #FFAA2024 (Strategia red)
- Borders: #333333

High Contrast Mode:
- Background: #000000 (black)
- Text: #FFFFFF (white)
- Accent: #FFFF00 (yellow)
- Borders: #FFFFFF (white)

Color Blindness

Color combinations tested for:

• Protanopia (red-blind)
• Deuteranopia (green-blind)
• Tritanopia (blue-blind)
• Achromatopsia (monochromacy)

Design principles:

• Never rely on color alone to convey meaning
• Use icons + text for status indicators
• Provide tooltips with text descriptions
• Test with color blindness simulators

Text Scaling

Zoom in/out:

Zoom in: Ctrl++ / Cmd++ (up to 200%)
Zoom out: Ctrl+- / Cmd+- (down to 80%)
Reset: Ctrl+0 / Cmd+0 (100%)

Text size options:

Settings → Appearance → Text Size

Presets:
- Small (14px base)
- Medium (16px base) — default
- Large (18px base)
- Extra Large (20px base)

Custom: 12px - 24px

Reduced Motion

For users sensitive to motion:

Settings → Appearance → Reduced Motion

Effects disabled when enabled:
- Panel transitions
- Loading spinners
- Hover animations
- Scroll animations
- Agent run stream animations

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Cognitive Accessibility

Clear Language

Writing accessible content:

✅ Good:
"Create a ticket to assign work to employees"

❌ Avoid:
"Leverage the ticket creation paradigm to facilitate
delegation of operational responsibilities to AI agents"

Guidelines:

• Use simple, direct language
• Avoid jargon when possible
• Define technical terms on first use
• Use active voice
• One idea per sentence
• Break long content into sections

Consistent Navigation

Navigation structure:

Sidebar (always present):
├── Mission Control
├── Tickets
├── Employees
├── Autonomy
├── Files
├── Chat
└── Settings

Each panel has consistent layout:
- Header with title and actions
- Main content area
- Footer with status

Predictable Interactions

Consistent patterns:

Action	Result	Consistent Across
Click button	Action executes	All panels
Esc	Close/back	All modals
Enter	Select/submit	All forms
Tab	Next field	All forms

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Motor Accessibility

Input Methods

Mouse alternatives:

• Keyboard only: Fully functional without mouse
• Voice control: Dictate commands (Windows Speech Recognition, Dragon)
• Eye tracking: Calibrate for dwell clicking

Voice commands (Windows Speech Recognition):

"Open Command Palette" → Ctrl+K
"Create ticket" → Ctrl+N
"Open Settings" → Ctrl+,
"Go back" → Esc

Click Targets

Minimum sizes:

• Buttons: 44×44px minimum (WCAG AAA)
• Links: Inline text, but 44px hit area
• Checkboxes: 24×24px visible, 44×44px hit area
• Menu items: Full width, 32px minimum height

Spacing:

• 8px minimum between adjacent controls
• 16px preferred for frequently used controls
• Group related controls with visual separators

Physical Accessibility

For users with limited mobility:

Settings → Accessibility

Options:
- Increase click target size (up to 60px)
- Extend timeout durations (for forms, sessions)
- Enable sticky modifiers (Shift, Ctrl, Alt stay on)
- Adjust scroll speed
- Disable drag-and-drop (use alternatives)

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Creating Accessible Content

Ticket Descriptions

Accessible ticket format:

Title: Fix login bug for SAML users

Description:
**Problem**
Users cannot login when using SAML authentication.
Error message: "Authentication failed"

**Steps to Reproduce**
1. Go to login page
2. Click "Login with SAML"
3. Enter credentials
4. Click submit

**Expected Behavior**
User should be logged in and redirected to dashboard

**Actual Behavior**
Error message appears, user not logged in

**Impact**
Critical — blocks all SAML users

**Acceptance Criteria**
- [ ] SAML login works
- [ ] Error handling improved
- [ ] User redirected correctly

Agent Artifacts

Accessible artifact format:

Include in deliverables:
- Plain text description (what this file does)
- Code comments (explaining complex logic)
- Readme files (how to use)
- Examples (concrete usage)

Bad: Just code with no context

Good: Code + comments + documentation + examples

Meeting Notes

Accessible meeting format:

Meeting: Daily Standup
Date: 2026-05-03
Attendees: Alex, Jamie, Sam

**What I did yesterday**
- Fixed login bug (ticket #42)
- Reviewed PR #123
- Wrote documentation

**What I'll do today**
- Start ticket #44 (API integration)
- Attend design review at 2pm

**Blockers**
- None — ✅ Unblocked

**Announcements**
- Team lunch tomorrow at noon

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Testing Accessibility

Manual Testing Checklist

Keyboard Navigation:
□ Can navigate entire app without mouse
□ Tab order is logical
□ Focus indicators visible
□ Skip links work
□ All functions accessible via keyboard

Screen Reader:
□ All elements announced clearly
□ Dynamic updates announced
□ Error messages announced
□ Form labels announced
□ Lists announce item count

Visual:
□ Text contrast ≥ 4.5:1
□ Interactive elements ≥ 3:1
□ Color not only indicator
□ Text scalable to 200%
□ High contrast works

Cognitive:
□ Language clear and simple
□ Instructions provided
□ Errors explained clearly
□ Help available
□ Consistent navigation

Automated Testing

Tools:

Tool	What It Tests	Platform
axe DevTools	WCAG compliance	Chrome/Firefox
WAVE	Accessibility issues	Web
Lighthouse	Accessibility score	Chrome
NVDA Accessible Output	Screen reader	Firefox

Running axe DevTools:

1. Install axe DevTools extension
2. Open Team-X in browser
3. Open DevTools (F12)
4. Click "axe DevTools" tab
5. Click "Scan ALL of page"
6. Review results

User Testing

Include users with disabilities:

Recruitment:
- Contact disability organizations
- Post on accessibility forums
- Reach out to local groups

Compensation:
- Pay participants fairly
- Offer free software access
- Provide flexible scheduling

Testing:
- Observe users using product
- Note frustrations and workarounds
- Collect feedback on specific features

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Accessibility Standards

WCAG 2.1 Compliance

Team-X targets WCAG 2.1 Level AA:

Principle	Guidelines	Status
Perceivable	Text alternatives, captions, adaptable	✅ AA compliant
Operable	Keyboard accessible, enough time, seizures	✅ AA compliant
Understandable	Readable, predictable, input assistance	✅ AA compliant
Robust	Compatible with assistive technologies	✅ AA compliant

Level AAA (where possible):

• Enhanced contrast (7:1 for text)
• Error prevention and correction
• Context-sensitive help

Section 508

Team-X meets Section 508 requirements:

• 502.2: Text alternatives for images
• 502.3: Synchronized captions for video
• 504.2: Keyboard access
• 504.3: Focus indication
• 508.1: Accessibility testing

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Getting Help with Accessibility

Report Accessibility Issues

If you encounter accessibility barriers:

Open an issue at: github.com/Git-Rocky-Stack/Team-X/issues
Apply the `accessibility` label.

Include:
- Your assistive technology (screen reader, etc.)
- The feature or page you're trying to use
- What happened vs. what you expected
- Steps to reproduce the issue

Request Accommodations

If you need specific accommodations:

Open a discussion at: github.com/Git-Rocky-Stack/Team-X/discussions
Tag with `accessibility`.

Common accommodations:
- Alternative formats for documentation
- Extended support for onboarding
- Custom keyboard shortcut configurations
- Screen reader-specific training

Community Resources

Accessibility communities:

• WebAIM, Web accessibility resources
• A11Y Project, Accessibility checklist
• NVDA Community, NVDA screen reader

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Commitment: Team-X is committed to continuous accessibility improvement. We welcome feedback and work to make our product usable for everyone.