Accessibility Program Recovery

Re-baselining Resources and Accelerating Delivery Under Senior Pressure

Executive Summary

A global accessibility remediation program was stalling following the departure of its original Program Manager, with delivery at risk and senior management pressure increasing. I was brought in mid-program to take ownership, diagnose the causes of delay, re-baseline resourcing, and recover execution. By restructuring capacity, introducing AI-assisted remediation, and accelerating delivery, the initiative was brought back on track and ultimately delivered one month ahead of the original schedule.

The Problem

While the accessibility program had launched with clear intent, execution had slowed to a critical point.

Leadership Gap: The program lost momentum after the original Program Manager went on leave
Delivery Risk: Progress was insufficient to meet committed timelines, triggering senior escalation
Resource Constraints: Team members assigned to the initiative had multiple competing priorities, resulting in fragmented focus and low throughput
Inefficient Execution: Accessibility analysis and remediation were being performed manually, limiting scale and speed

The challenge was not lack of alignment on what needed to be done, but the absence of a delivery model capable of meeting both compliance expectations and time pressure.

My Role & Ownership

I was asked to step in and assume ownership of the program's outcome with two explicit expectations from senior management:

Recover delivery confidence
Accelerate execution, not merely stabilise it

This included accountability for delivery planning, resourcing, execution approach, and senior stakeholder communication.

Approach & Execution

Resource Gap Analysis & Re-baselining

Conducted a rapid assessment of actual delivery capacity versus committed scope and timelines
Identified that progress issues were driven primarily by insufficient dedicated resourcing, not capability gaps
Re-baselined the delivery plan to reflect realistic capacity requirements

Targeted Capacity Augmentation

Brought in additional support from external vendors already onboarded to adjacent content programs
Integrated vendor resources into the delivery model without introducing new onboarding or governance overhead
Rebalanced internal and external effort to restore focus while protecting business-as-usual operations

AI-Assisted Accessibility Remediation

Introduced AI-supported workflows for alt-text generation, reducing manual effort while maintaining quality controls
Developed a scripted approach to mass-analyse content, enabling accessibility issues to be identified at scale rather than page by page
Used aggregated findings to prioritise remediation work and focus effort where it delivered the most impact

Acceleration & Governance Reset

Shifted the program from a recovery posture into an acceleration phase once capacity constraints were resolved
Re-established clear milestones, progress tracking, and senior reporting to rebuild confidence
Maintained WCAG 2.1 alignment while increasing throughput

Outcomes & Impact

Program Recovery: A stalled initiative was stabilised and brought back under control
Acceleration: Delivery pace increased beyond recovery expectations
Early Delivery: Program completed one month ahead of the original schedule
Operational Improvement: Accessibility remediation shifted from fragmented manual work to a scalable, repeatable delivery model
Stakeholder Confidence: Senior management concerns were addressed through visible progress and early completion

Why This Matters

Accessibility programs often fail not because standards are unclear, but because resourcing assumptions don’t match reality. This case demonstrates how delivery can be recovered (and accelerated) by confronting capacity gaps directly, augmenting teams pragmatically, and using automation and AI to remove structural bottlenecks rather than relying on goodwill or overtime.