Everybody involved in software engineering knows that accessibility (or A11y) matters. And while we all agree that it's a good thing, we don't always prioritise it. I think we're long overdue in doing a better job. Or even better, consider it an intrinsic part of our basics.

A11y means the way that your product is, quite literally, accessible by any user. We can capture a11y in numbers, that beautifully translate into contrast ratios, tab orders, the amount of ARIA labels and whatnot. The most important thing to realise though is, that you should be aware that other users have other needs and maybe limitations that you should take into account.

Siri, Cortana, Google Home, SlackBot, the Star Trek computer and in lesser extent K.I.T.T. These are all interfaces without an actual ‘face’. The Internet of Things connecting personal assistants such as Echo, Jibo or Zenbo with your home. I tend to call them assistants and not bots. I believe there is a nuance, where bots are more suited to perform the same repetitive task over and over again and assistants are more orientated towards user interaction with changing context and tasks.

Everything is connected: machine to machine, human to machine and vice versa.