Strategic partnership with Deque to make accessibility part of everyday team workflows

Accessibility should not be treated as a one-off fix, but as part of the process and everyday team workflows.

This is the context behind the collaboration we have been building with Deque for some time now. As a leading company in digital accessibility with an internationally recognised track record, Deque enables us to integrate its tools into the workflows of teams developing digital products.

When accessibility is part of the process

Implementing accessibility is not usually a question of willingness. In most cases, the challenge is when and how it is introduced into the process.

When accessibility is built in from the start and becomes part of everyday workflows, it stops being seen as a barrier and starts to fit naturally into the design, development and maintenance of digital products.

By contrast, when it is left until the end, delays, rushed adjustments and the feeling that “this creates more problems than it solves” start to appear. The difference is not about intention, but about approach, timing, and having the tools and support needed to work on accessibility on an ongoing basis.

At TOTHOMweb, we have been working for some time to help teams integrate accessibility naturally into their way of working and into the decisions made throughout a project.

How this collaboration came about

Deque has launched a partnership programme in Europe and invited us to join it as a company specialising in digital accessibility.

For us, Deque is a reference point because of its work in automating the detection of barriers in complex environments, its track record with large organisations, and its experience in implementing solutions and certification processes in the United States.

This collaboration gives us access to tools and to the support of an experienced team, helping us implement accessibility more systematically across different teams while maintaining our own approach and way of working.

Tools to better support teams

Over the past 25 years, Deque has developed a well-established set of tools that help teams work more effectively. These tools make it possible to detect errors before they reach production, monitor issues over time and reduce the time between a problem appearing and being fixed. When they are well integrated into day-to-day work, they help prevent recurring issues and improve efficiency.

Advanced automated accessibility tools make it possible to increase speed, coverage and scalability in the detection of barriers, especially in large-scale and recurring reviews. Even so, a significant number of accessibility issues still require manual validation and expert judgement, since identifying them depends on context, interpretation and real user experience.

That is why combining automated, semi-automated and manual testing makes it possible to achieve more complete coverage, improving speed and scalability without losing technical judgement or human review.

For teams that want to make accessibility part of their everyday work, using tools such as Deque’s together with support from experienced professionals can be a strong starting point for moving forward with confidence.

A step in line with the way we work

This collaboration fits with the path we were already on. It allows us to strengthen the support we provide to teams, improve follow-up and rely on tools that fit the way we work.

We are continuing to do what we have done so far, but with a greater ability to detect issues earlier, support teams better and reduce unnecessary friction on the way to more accessible digital products.

If you are interested in a demo of the tools, get in touch with us.