Guideline 05Canonical

Accessibility standards

The release contract for inclusive semantics, input, perception, reflow, motion, and assistive technology behavior.

Owner: Design Systems and Engineering
Last reviewed: August 2026
Review cadence: Every release and quarterly manual audit
Source of truth: WCAG 2.2 AA target and component accessibility specs

Required outcomes

Core workflows operate with keyboard and screen reader alone.

Content remains usable at 200 percent zoom and 320 CSS pixels.

Component releases include automated and manual accessibility evidence.

Conformance target

WCAG 2.2 Level AA is the minimum. Native semantics and platform conventions are the starting point.

Acceptance matrix

Area	Minimum	Evidence
Contrast	4.5:1 text, 3:1 large text and meaningful UI graphics	Theme-paired contrast audit
Keyboard	All actions reachable, operable, and escapable	Interaction tests plus manual pass
Focus	Visible, ordered, not obscured, restored after overlays	Both themes at desktop and mobile viewport
Touch	44 by 44 CSS pixel target where practical	Rendered target inspection
Zoom and reflow	200 percent zoom and 320 CSS pixel width without lost content	Manual browser matrix
Motion	Reduced-motion alternative and no unsafe flashing	Media query and behavior review
Names and roles	Programmatic name, role, value, state	Accessibility tree and screen reader

Keyboard, focus, and announcements

Keyboard behavior follows the native element or established ARIA pattern, never a visual imitation.

Interaction requirements

Use native controls first

Buttons, links, inputs, selects, and dialogs provide behavior that custom roles must otherwise reproduce.

Do not trap focus outside a modal

Only active modal dialogs contain focus. Escape closes when cancellation is supported.

Return focus intentionally

Closing transient UI restores focus to the trigger or the next logical workflow target.

Announce outcomes, not activity noise

Use live regions for asynchronous results that are not otherwise focused. Avoid repeated progress chatter.

Common keyboard contracts

Pattern	Keys
Button and toggle	Enter and Space activate
Tabs	Arrow keys move; Home and End jump; focus and selection policy is documented
Menu	Arrow keys move; Enter selects; Escape closes and restores focus
Dialog	Tab cycles inside; Escape cancels when allowed
Slider	Arrow keys step; Page keys make larger changes; Home and End set bounds
Radio group	Arrow keys move and select within the group

Perception, reflow, and user preferences

Information survives theme, forced colors, text spacing, zoom, and reduced motion.

Resilience checks

Visual

Light and dark themes retain hierarchy.
Forced-colors mode preserves controls and focus.
Status includes text or shape in addition to color.
Browser text-spacing overrides do not clip content.

Responsive

No two-dimensional scrolling for ordinary content at 320 CSS pixels.
Sticky regions do not obscure focus.
Landscape mobile retains primary actions.
Tables provide a deliberate narrow-screen strategy.

Preferences

Reduced motion removes nonessential movement.
Autoplay is absent or user-controlled.
Animation does not block interaction.
Theme choice persists without flash.

Accessibility test responsibilities

Automation catches regressions. Manual evaluation confirms that the workflow is actually understandable.

Release evidence

01
Author
Owner: Component author
Semantic markup, keyboard tests, labels, state announcements
Exit gateNo known serious automated violations.
02
Review
Owner: Design Systems
Focus, contrast, zoom, reflow, reduced-motion evidence
Exit gateBoth themes and exceptional states pass.
03
Assistive technology
Owner: QA or trained reviewer
VoiceOver/Safari plus NVDA/Firefox or equivalent workflow notes
Exit gateName, role, state, reading order, and recovery are usable.
04
Monitor
Owner: Product team
Reported issue triage and regression coverage
Exit gateCritical issues block release; fixes add lasting tests.