Accessibility at Dr. Max

White accessibility icon featuring a stylized person inside a circle on a green gradient background.

Executive Summary

Ahead of the European Accessibility Act, we shifted accessibility at Dr. Max from one-off audits to an ongoing, company-wide practice. I led the effort to embed accessibility into how we design, build, and release, not just how we fix. We created structures across teams, integrated accessibility into our design system and QA, and brought the whole company along through training and onboarding. Today, accessibility is part of daily work at Dr. Max. Present in components, processes, and conversations, not only in reports.

Accessibility at Dr. Max

Content accessibility guidelines

Component accessibility specifications

From audits to practice

For years we collaborated with Masaryk University on annual audits. With the EAA deadline approaching, that model wasn’t enough. We needed accessibility present in discovery, design, development, and QA every single time we ship.

Laptop screen showing Dr. Max accessibility audit document prepared with Masaryk University.

Building the structures

I co-founded the Front-End Guild to drive awareness with developers and launched an Accessibility Guild with clear touchpoints and SPOCs across QA, FE, platform PM, feature PM, UX research, and mobile. We set up regular syncs, ownership, and a shared roadmap so accessibility work wouldn’t depend on ad-hoc energy.

Making accessibility part of delivery

I led accessible defaults in the design system and component-level checklists that separate design vs. dev responsibilities. We published company-wide design and content accessibility guidelines, introduced IDE extensions and developer resources, and added automated accessibility checks into QA. The goal: fewer surprises, more consistency, faster fixes.

Evangelization and onboarding

Our work also reached beyond Dr. Max. I was invited to speak at the IAAP EU Accessibility Event 2025, joining experts from Amazon, Zalando, and Deque. On stage, I shared our approach to embedding accessibility into e-commerce UX. Internally I led talks that moved from small sessions to company-wide presentations, then into new-hire onboarding.

Panel discussion with four speakers seated on stage, including two men and two women, with a large screen showing a presentation behind them.

Sign reading ‘Workshop rooms’ attached to a glass panel, viewed through bars.

What changed

We now have accessible components in the system, clear guidelines for design, content, and development, and regular syncs that keep accountability visible. Accessibility reviews happen throughout the lifecycle, not just at the end. Collaboration improved — designers, developers, QA, and product speak the same language and ship with more confidence.

What is next

Accessibility is not “finished,” but we’ve made real progress. The processes, shared ownership, and accessible foundations are in place, and they scale with every release. What used to be a periodic audit is now a living practice across teams. And that’s the point.