The phrase “walk a mile in my shoes” stands for perspective-taking: you only truly understand someone’s lived experience when you step into their shoes. This is exactly what our research project is about.
Walk a mile in my shoes: Rethinking accessibility
Digital accessibility is not a new topic. There are guidelines, standards, and tools that support developers in building accessible applications. And yet, many digital products remain difficult to access for people with disabilities. This is not because these standards are unnecessary. On the contrary, they are an essential foundation. But on their own, they are often not enough.
Why checklists are important – but not sufficient
Checklists and tools help identify and prevent common barriers. They provide guidance and are a central part of accessible development.
At the same time, they have a clear limitation:
They show that a barrier exists.
But they do not explain how it affects people in their everyday lives.
From a technical perspective, a missing alt text is simply an error.
For someone relying on a screen reader, it can mean that content is not accessible at all.
An unclear navigation might seem like a minor UX issue.
For others, it can quickly become a real obstacle.
These differences are often not fully captured by checklists alone.
Our approach: connecting perspectives
“I had never realized how much accessibility affects people’s lives. It’s not just a technical challenge — it’s a question of equal opportunities.”
Konstantin Strümpf, Independo
This kind of feedback shows:
Understanding accessibility often does not come from guidelines, but from real encounters.
A key reason for this is the lack of direct exchange between developers and people with disabilities. Without this interaction, accessibility remains abstract and disconnected from real-life use.
This is exactly where our research project
“Walk a mile in my shoes – Rethinking accessibility”
comes in.
We combine technical approaches with experience-based learning.
At the center are encounters:
- Developers accompany people with disabilities in their daily lives
- People with disabilities accompany developers in their work context
This creates a deeper understanding of how digital products are actually used — and where barriers arise in everyday life.
The insights are systematically analyzed and translated into a toolkit that connects technical knowledge with real perspectives.
From implementation to understanding
Our goal is not to replace existing standards.
On the contrary:
They remain an essential part of accessible development.
But we want to extend them — with something that is often missing:
- a deeper understanding of the impact of digital barriers
- a stronger connection between technical implementation and social responsibility
Only when both come together can truly inclusive software emerge.
The shift starts in the process
Accessibility is not only created through correct decisions in code.
It also depends on how we design and build.
Who is involved?
Whose perspectives are included?
And how do we understand the impact of our decisions?
This is where our project begins — and where real perspective change starts.
