Rethinking Accessibility Success: Tracking Barriers with Open Source Powered Heuristics

Scheduled at 9:00 am in Mattie Silks on Thursday, November 20.

Speaker(s)

• Blake Bertuccelli-Booth, Assistant Director of Accessibility Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago

Session Details

• Length of Session: 1-hr
• Format: Lecture
• Expertise Level: Intermediate
• Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Most tools tie accessibility success to a paid license. This session introduces a different approach: measuring accessibility success through open-source markers that track actual barriers to access, not abstract scores. I’ll share how we’re building the University of Illinois Chicago’s web accessibility program around blockers—issues that prevent disabled users from accessing content—and how this approach creates sustainable, transparent, and vendor-free progress.

Abstract

In higher education, accessibility progress is too often defined by proprietary scoring systems tied to paid tools. When subscriptions lapse, institutions can lose access to historical data—making long-term progress tracking difficult or impossible. This session introduces a different model: using open-source success markers to track blockers—real issues that prevent disabled users from accessing content—rather than abstract compliance scores.

We’ll examine how the University of Illinois Chicago is building its web accessibility program around Equalify, an open-source platform that uses transparent, standards-aligned heuristics to track the resolution of WCAG-critical barriers over time. Unlike proprietary tools that bundle accessibility with broader digital metrics, Equalify centers user experience and real impact. Attendees will see how this model supports historical reporting, removes vendor lock-in, and fosters collaboration across technical and non-technical teams through open, portable data.

The session will begin with a critique of proprietary platforms like Siteimprove and Deque, breaking down how their scoring systems work and how they can obscure what actually matters. We’ll then walk through the Equalify dashboard in a live demo, and host an interactive activity where participants vote on whether certain issues qualify as blockers—comparing proprietary vs. open-source interpretations.

We’ll close by discussing how this open-source approach supports broader goals of sustainability and community-owned infrastructure in higher ed. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how to adopt a blocker-focused, open-source accessibility model—and why it leads to more transparent, impactful, and long-term success.

Keypoints

1. Vendor scoring systems obscure real accessibility barriers and lock institutions into paid platforms.
2. Tracking resolved blockers provides a clear, standards-based measure of true accessibility progress.
3. Open-source tools like Equalify enable sustainable, transparent, and collaborative accessibility programs.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Faculty Development & Support, Other, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Blake Bertuccelli-Booth

Blake is UIC’s Assistant Director of Web Accessibility Engineering. In addition to passionately working to advance the rights of people with disabilities, Blake is the creator of Equalify – an open source web accessibility platform – and leads accessibility testing for WordPress. He has spoken at numerous conferences, including HighEdWeb, WordCamp, and WPCampus. Blake is passionate about raising the bar for digital inclusion through open tools, community-driven standards, and real- world impact.