Accessibility research in action: VA’s Health and Benefits mobile app

The accessibility community talks a lot about the “shift-left” methodology when it comes to thinking about accessibility — embedding accessibility early in a project to prevent problems instead of fixing them after they have happened. This session will provide actionable ways for you to build accessibility research into your practice, or to deepen it if you’ve already started. We hope to inspire UX designers across the government to continue raising the bar on accessibility.

In 2022, the VA launched the Health and Benefits flagship mobile app. Since then, the team has deepened its accessibility-first approach in designing new features. This session will serve as a case study and explore the ways the team partnered with blind and low vision veterans to gain a deeper understanding of their experience using the app. Our techniques can be used to design websites, web apps, mobile apps, and other projects.