WCAG Compliance Workflow Overview

This page provides four complementary views of the accessibility compliance workflow. Each diagram serves a different purpose — read them in order for the fullest understanding, or jump to the one that answers your current question.

1. System Overview

Start here. This diagram introduces the people, tools, and artifacts involved in the workflow and shows how they connect to each other. Before diving into any process, it helps to know what you're working with.

WCAG Compliance Workflow — System Overview

People

👤 PM

Creates initiative & epics
Manages GitHub issues
Tracks progress

👤 Developer

Runs WAVE audits
Applies fixes
Documents solutions

Tools

🔍 WAVE Extension

Identifies errors & alerts
Flags contrast issues
Run per page by developer

📁 Google Drive

Hosts Accessibility Project folder
Stores both spreadsheets
Shared across PM & developers

Artifacts

📖 Known Issues Index

Documents solutions
Enables reuse across teams
Updated by developers

🗂 GitHub Issues

Initiative → Epics 1–5
Fix issues → PRs
Created & managed by PM

📋 Page Access by Role

Lists all pages & global elements
Maps user role permissions
Created from template by PM

📊 Audit Spreadsheet

Created from template by PM
Tracks pages, errors & PRs
Stored in Accessibility Project folder

How they connect

PM → Google Drive Creates Accessibility Project folder & spreadsheets from templates

PM → GitHub Issues Creates Initiative, Epics 1–5, and all child issues

Page Access by Role → Audit Spreadsheet Informs which pages & roles to audit

Developer → WAVE Extension Runs audits on each page

WAVE → Audit Spreadsheet Findings logged per page by developer

Audit Spreadsheet → GitHub Issues Informs which fix issues to create

Developer → Known Issues Index Documents new solutions for reuse

Known Issues Index → GitHub Issues Referenced in every fix issue

Developer → Audit Spreadsheet Logs PR links on completion

Developer → GitHub Issues Closes issues via PRs

2. Phase Overview

The six phases at a glance. Once you know the players and tools, this diagram shows the lifecycle of the project — how it moves from setup through iterative auditing and fixing, all the way to final sign-off.

WCAG Compliance Workflow — Phase Overview

● Start

PM creates Initiative

Epic 1 — Initial Audit

Audit complete

Epic 2 — Recurring Element Remediation

All recurring elements fixed

Epic 3 — Page Audits

All pages audited

Epic 4 — Error & Alert Fixes

All known errors fixed

Epic 5 — Ongoing Audit Cycle

Errors found

↑ Return to Epic 3 & 4

No errors found

● Initiative Complete — Signed Off

3. Handoff Sequence

Who does what, and when. This diagram shows the rhythm of handoffs between the PM and developers across all six phases — when the PM acts, when they hand off to a developer, and when work comes back for the next step. For branching logic and decision details within each phase, see the Process Flowchart below.

WCAG Compliance Workflow — Handoff Sequence

👤 PM

👤 Developer

Initiative — PM Setup

Create Initiative issue in GitHub

Create Accessibility Project folder in Google Drive

Create Audit Spreadsheet & Page Access by Role from templates

Create Epics 1–5 and add as sub-issues to Initiative

Epic 1 — Initial Audit

PM assigns Epic 1 →

Inventory pages & recurring elements

Audit recurring elements with WAVE

Document findings in spreadsheet

← Epic 1 complete

Epic 2 — Recurring Element Remediation

Create one issue per recurring element

Assign issues →

Fix each recurring element

← All issues closed

Epic 3 — Page Audits

Create one audit issue per page

Assign issues →

Run WAVE on each page & log findings

← All pages audited

Epic 4 — Error & Alert Fixes

Create one fix epic per error type

Assign first issue per error type →

If no solution exists yet

Research & develop solution

Apply to first page & document in Known Issues Index

← PR submitted, wiki updated

Create fix issues for remaining pages

Assign remaining issues →

If solution already exists

Review known solution in wiki

Apply solution to each page & submit PRs

← All fix issues closed

Epic 5 — Ongoing Audit & Sign-Off

Assign re-audit →

Re-audit all pages with WAVE

If errors found

← Report affected pages

Create new issues for affected pages

↑ Returns to Epic 3 & 4 workflow

If no errors found

← All clear — ready for sign-off

Epic 5 = Final audit & sign-off ✓

✓ Initiative Complete

4. Process Flowchart

The full step-by-step logic. Use this as a working reference when actively running the process. Each phase is collapsible — expand only what you need. Decision points show both branches, and loop indicators mark where the process repeats.

▶ Start: WCAG Compliance Initiative

Initiative PM Setup

▼

📁 Create "Accessibility Project" folder in team's Google Drive

📊 Create [PROJECT NAME] WAVE Accessibility Audit Spreadsheet from template — save in Accessibility Project folder
Columns pre-named with data validation set up, no content

📋 Create Page Access by Role spreadsheet from template — save in Accessibility Project folder
Lists all pages & global features with user role permissions — team fills this out

🗂 Create Epics 1–5 in GitHub and add each as a sub-issue to this Initiative

Epic 1 Initial Audit

▼

📋 Inventory all pages & recurring elements in spreadsheet

🔍 Audit recurring elements (header, nav, footer) with WAVE

📝 Document all errors & alerts in spreadsheet

✅ Epic 1 complete — hand off to PM

Epic 2 Recurring Element Remediation

▼

🗂 PM creates one issue per recurring element with issues

🔧 Dev reviews WAVE errors for element

💡 Dev applies fix

More recurring elements?

↑ YesReturn to top of Epic 2 loop

↓ NoEpic 2 complete

↻ Repeats per recurring element

Epic 3 Page Audits — Audit Only, No Fixes

▼

🗂 PM creates one audit issue per page

🔍 Dev runs WAVE extension on page

📝 Dev documents errors & alerts in spreadsheet

More pages?

↑ YesReturn to top of Epic 3 loop

↓ NoEpic 3 complete

↻ Repeats per page

Epic 4 Error & Alert Fixes — Epic of Epics

▼

🗂 PM creates one fix epic per WAVE error/alert type

Solution exists in Known Issues index?

✓ Yes PM creates fix issue per affected page → Dev reviews existing solution → Dev applies solution → PR submitted

✗ No PM creates document+fix issue for first page → Dev researches & develops solution → Dev applies to first page → Dev documents solution in Known Issues index → remaining pages follow the Yes branch

More pages for this error?

↑ YesCreate fix issue for next page

↓ NoCheck for more error types

More error types?

↑ YesReturn to top of Epic 4 loop

↓ NoEpic 4 complete

↻ Repeats per error type and per page

Epic 5 Ongoing Audit Cycle — Validation & Re-Audit

▼

🔍 Dev re-audits all pages with WAVE

Errors found?

✗ No Epic 5 becomes final audit & sign-off → Initiative complete

✓ Yes PM creates new issues for affected pages → Return to Epic 3 & Epic 4 workflow

↻ Repeats until no errors remain

✓ Initiative Complete — Final Sign-Off