Didn't make it to part I? That is ok - come along anyway! At our September meetup, we started our open-source accessibility planning guide, using Gitbooks. We defined the goal of the book as a concise guide for decision-makers in companies making software applications. We roughed out chapters and each took one (see book for details on page one of each chapter).

Our first milestone will be a chapter draft from each of us by the November meetup, when we will work on it more. Gitbooks enables anyone to write and design lovely books with as much public collaboration as they wish.

The Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup will address how to incorporate accessibility and universal design principles into project planning, user research, and UX evaluation. The purpose of this meet up is to host an ongoing conversation about how to design and build tools that are inclusive to the greatest number of people possible - meaning those with and without (dis)abilities.

We intend to discuss topics related to accessibility policy and regulations, incorporating people with disabilities into an iterative project lifecycle, how to conduct UX research with diverse populations, automated and manual tools for UX evaluation, building accessibility into company policy and practice, and much more!

A UX Universal and Inclusive Design meet up is timely as we see the Dept. of Justice handing down ruling after ruling requiring digital products and services to be accessible (i.e. Netflix, Redbox, Target, etc...). This meet up will provide a much needed resource for Portland based companies and individuals interested in accessibility, universal design, and inclusive design.