• Background A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document that outlines how well a product aligns with accessibility (a11y) standards. • Its primary purpose is to inform customers about a product’s a11y features, enabling them to make informed decisions before purchasing software. • At Slack, we conducted a VPAT by a third party a11y vendor in 2024 following our significant UI change (IA4). • During this VPAT process, we identified a11y issues across Android, iOS, and desktop. • Of the issues identified on Android, we immediately assigned the obvious shovel-ready issues, such as those with color contrast and missing image labels, to the responsible teams for resolution. • To address remaining Android issues, we conducted a comprehensive triage process.

Article Summaries:

  • Slack completed a 2024 Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) audit after a major UI overhaul (IA4). The audit uncovered accessibility gaps on Android, iOS, and desktop, with Android issues prioritized for immediate fixes-such as color‑contrast problems and missing image labels. Slack’s triage identified recurring themes: inaccessible error messages, unmarked headings, and screen‑reader‑unfriendly edit fields. The team resolved priority P1 issues by updating OutlinedTextField and SKBanner to announce errors via TalkBack. Remaining P2 and P3 items, including keyboard navigation for large form factors, remain in progress, with plans to align future work with accessibility standards.

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