Building Advocacy into Team Culture
Welcome back! We’ve explored personas, KPIs, inclusive ceremonies, and more. But without sustained advocacy, even the best practices can fade. That’s where Accessibility Champions come in, quietly powering momentum, culture, and accountability.
These champions aren’t always official roles. Sometimes they’re developers who raise accessibility flags in standup, designers who rethink layout for contrast, or testers who ask, “How would this feel with a screen reader?”
What Is an Accessibility Champion?
An Accessibility Champion is someone embedded within Agile teams who promotes inclusive thinking in:
- Sprint planning and backlog refinement
- Design reviews and story writing
- Testing conversations and acceptance criteria
- Team rituals and learning culture
They aren’t gatekeepers, they’re bridge-builders, helping others adopt accessible mindsets without friction or shame.
Why Champions Drive Culture Change
Processes evolve, but culture sustains impact. Accessibility Champions help:
- Normalize inclusive conversations in daily workflows
- Spot exclusion early and proactively
- Educate peers on practical solutions and empathy-driven design
- Ensure accessibility isn’t forgotten under velocity pressure
- Build internal confidence about what “good” accessibility looks like
Their advocacy turns compliance into compassionate collaboration.
How to Empower Champions on Agile Teams
1. Name the role Whether formal or informal, give people permission to lead. Include champion duties in team charters or retrospectives.
2. Provide tooling and learning Offer access to accessibility checklists, test tools (like axe or Pa11y), and WCAG guidelines. Host learning sessions or micro-trainings.
3. Invite cross-function collaboration Champions don’t work alone. Encourage designers, developers, product owners, and QA to partner in spotting and solving issues.
4. Recognize the work Advocacy often happens “in the margins.” Celebrate contributions in demos, ceremonies, or team communications.
Champion Activities That Build Inclusive Momentum
| Activity | Impact |
|---|---|
| Hosting an Accessibility Awareness Day | Sparks empathy and team education |
| Leading backlog accessibility reviews | Embeds inclusion in planning |
| Creating inclusive design critique prompts | Improves visual equity |
| Adding accessibility to Definition of Done | Formalizes responsibility |
| Sharing user stories from real disabled users | Centers human experience |
Even small nudges, like flagging inaccessible link text, build systemic awareness.
Culture Is a Shared Sprint
Agile teams thrive on feedback, iteration, and collaboration. Accessibility Champions are the ones nudging those values toward equity, day after day.
If every team had one champion—just one person willing to ask: “Who might this leave out?” ,we’d unlock a wave of designs that include by default, not exception.
Next in the series: Designing Accessible Agile Artifacts We’ll explore how to make user stories, sprint boards, dashboards, and documentation accessible and inclusive.
