Design System and Accessibility
2022 | Amazon Web Services
Cloudscape Design System
As a member of the patterns and components squad of the design system team at AWS I created accessible components used by over 200 different development teams and millions of users. Our work was guided by customer needs, metrics, and maintaining the high standard of the system. Research, user testing, and validation are critical when dealing with such a large scale.
It was at AWS that I became familiar with the WCAG standard and accustomed to testing components for accessibility using voiceover and other tools.
My most significant contribution to the design system was the ability to edit individual cells on a table. Beginning with customer feedback and requests, I identified potential areas for improvement and then conducted standardised semi-formal interviews with both internal and external facing teams to better understand their needs.
I evaluated the results and discussed options with our leadership before setting to work with my engineering partner on cell editing. I led the new pattern through the UX design review process and passed in the 1st review.
Editing Table Cells
A minor change, but a good introduction to working with a “blast radius” of 200+ teams and hundreds of products. Careful evaluation of the impact and rigorous testing are needed to maintain quality and avoid disruptions that could affect millions!
