The Dilemma of Building Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Solutions for Workplace Accessibility

2025-01-30

AI Summary

Blind and low-vision software professionals (BLVSPs) encounter systemic accessibility barriers in mainstream development tools, hindering their full participation in software engineering. Method: Through 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews and thematic coding analysis—grounded in participatory design theory—we investigate BLVSPs’ practices, motivations, and professional impacts in developing do-it-yourself (DIY) assistive tools. Contribution/Results: We introduce the novel conceptual framework of the “dual-hacker dilemma,” capturing the strategic tension BLVSPs navigate between preserving professional identity and fulfilling accessibility needs. Findings indicate that DIY tools substantially enhance coding autonomy, team collaboration efficacy, and occupational dignity. However, tool sharing remains highly fragmented; thus, we advocate for a decentralized, cross-organizational, and sustainable collaborative ecosystem. This work advances inclusive human-computer interaction (HCI) and accessible software engineering by offering both a theoretical paradigm shift and actionable design principles.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility
• Computer Vision: Bias, Fairness & Privacy
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance

Abstract

Existing commercial and in-house software development tools are often inaccessible to Blind and Low Vision Software Professionals (BLVSPs), hindering their participation and career growth at work. Building on existing research on Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Assistive Technologies and customized tools made by programmers, we shed light on the currently unexplored intersection of how DIY tools built and used by BLVSPs support accessible software development. Through semi-structured interviews with 30 BLVSPs, we found that such tools serve many different purposes and are driven by motivations such as desiring to maintain a professional image and a sense of dignity at work. These tools had significant impacts on workplace accessibility and revealed a need for a more centralized community for sharing tools, tips, and tricks. Based on our findings, we introduce the"Double Hacker Dilemma"and highlight a need for developing more effective peer and organizational platforms that support DIY tool sharing.

Problem

• Accessibility
• Software Development
• Visual Impairment

Innovation

• Assistive Tools
• Inclusive Work Environment
• Platform for Sharing