The Digital Accessibility Podcast – Jane Abbott (Episode 26)

In this episode of The Digital Accessibility Podcast, Joe welcomes back Jane Abbott, Managing Director of PCR Digital and Founder of Welldone Consulting, a new consultancy dedicated to Mobile App Accessibility.

Jane returns to the podcast to discuss why mobile accessibility now demands its own specialist focus, and how years spent recruiting accessibility talent, advising organisations, and working closely with designers and engineers led her to launch Welldone Consulting. With deep insight into both the commercial realities of product teams and the practical challenges of accessibility delivery, Jane offers a grounded, strategic view of where mobile accessibility is today — and where it needs to go next.

We discuss:

1. From recruitment to consultancy: How Jane’s long-standing work in web and digital accessibility highlighted a growing gap in mobile expertise, and why a consultancy model is the right next step.
2. Why mobile accessibility is different: The key differences between web and native mobile accessibility, including platform-specific considerations across iOS and Android.
3. What makes Welldone Consulting different: A focused, specialist approach to mobile accessibility, faster turnaround times, clearer commercial alignment, and hands-on expertise rather than generic audit-only services.
4. Barriers faced by teams: The most common challenges product managers, designers, and engineers face when trying to build accessible mobile apps — from skills gaps to organisational mindset.
5. The future of mobile accessibility: Jane’s vision for how mobile accessibility should mature, and what needs to change for inclusive mobile experiences to become the norm rather than the exception.

Jane also shares why mobile accessibility shouldn’t be treated as an afterthought or a checkbox, but as a core part of building high-quality, inclusive digital products for a global audience.

Follow Jane Abbott:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janeabbott/

Follow Joe James:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeajames/
2. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/A11yJoe
3. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PCRDigital

Visit PCR Digital:

1. https://www.pcrdigital.com/

The Digital Accessibility Podcast – Matt Roberts

In this episode of The Digital Accessibility Podcast, Joe is joined by Matt Roberts, a designer, design leader, and accessibility advocate whose lived experience has profoundly shaped his approach to inclusive design.

As a colourblind designer, Matt brings a personal and practical perspective to accessibility, challenging the idea that inclusion is a constraint on creativity. Throughout his career, spanning hands-on design roles and senior leadership positions, he has consistently embedded accessibility into design thinking, team culture, and decision-making.

We discuss:

1. A personal journey into accessibility: Matt’s path into design, how discovering accessibility changed his perspective, and how lived experience has influenced his professional values.
2. Designing with colourblindness: The real-world challenges of colour-reliant design systems, what often gets overlooked, and how designing beyond colour benefits everyone.
3. Accessibility by design, not retrofit: Why accessibility works best when it’s embedded from the very start of the design process, and how early decisions shape inclusive outcomes.
4. Leadership and influence: How moving into leadership roles creates opportunities to scale accessibility across teams, and why mindset matters as much as tooling.
5. Pushback and misconceptions: Common myths around accessibility, creativity, time, and budget, and how Matt reframes these conversations with stakeholders.
6. Practical advice for designers: Small, achievable steps designers can take today to make their work more inclusive, even without specialist tools or large budgets.

Matt also reflects on why accessibility should be seen as a core design skill, not a niche specialism, and how empathy, awareness, and better design choices can lead to more inclusive digital experiences for everyone.

Follow Matt Roberts:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattrobertsdesign/

Follow Joe James:

1. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeajames/
2. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/A11yJoe
3. YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PCRDigital

Visit PCR Digital:

1. https://www.pcrdigital.com/

In this episode of The Digital Accessibility Podcast, Joe is joined by Tanya Van Workum and Jan Jaap De Groot of ABRA, a mobile accessibility consultancy based in the Netherlands.

With deep experience across iOS and Android accessibility, Tanya and Jan Jaap share how their backgrounds in design, development, and lived experience have shaped ABRA’s mission to make mobile apps genuinely usable for everyone.

Together, we explore what good mobile accessibility really looks like in practice, why it’s still so often overlooked, and how teams can move beyond compliance toward meaningful inclusion.

We discuss:

1. Building ABRA: How Tanya and Jan Jaap came together to form a mobile-first accessibility consultancy, and why they chose to specialise exclusively in iOS and Android.
2. Why mobile accessibility is different: The unique challenges of touch interfaces, gestures, screen readers, and platform-specific behaviours that are often misunderstood by teams.
3. From audits to empowerment: Why accessibility audits alone aren’t enough, and how education, collaboration, and developer confidence are key to long-term impact.
4. Designers, developers, and responsibility: Where accessibility ownership should sit, and how cross-functional teams can work better together.
5. The human side of accessibility: How working closely with disabled users changes perspectives, priorities, and product decisions.
6. Common myths and mistakes: Including a few surprising misconceptions about mobile accessibility that Tanya and Jan Jaap see time and time again.

We also touch on how organisations can embed accessibility earlier in the product lifecycle, what “good enough” really means in mobile accessibility, and why curiosity and humility matter just as much as technical knowledge.

Follow ABRA:

Website: https://www.abra.ai

Connect with the guests:

Tanya Van Workum (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-van-workum/

Jan Jaap De Groot (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-jaap/

Follow Joe James:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeajames/

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/A11yJoe

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PCRDigital

Visit PCR Digital:

https://www.pcrdigital.com/