Incorporating Section 508 conformance into Agile product lifecycle requires clear coordination among many roles to ensure compliance with Section 508. This Agile Section 508 Task Matrix provides a practical framework that maps key Agile activities to Product or Project Owner, Scrum Master or Agile Coach, and Agile or Development Team tasks. This visibility promotes accountability, fosters collaboration, and ensures Section 508 conformance is consistently prioritized throughout the development process—not as an afterthought.
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Prioritize accessibility stories.
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate discussion to ensure accessibility items are visible.
Agile / Development Team Task
Ensure visibility into accessibility tasks.
Related artifacts
Epics, User Personas
Accessibility Integration
Add personas with disabilities
Tools / methods
Story maps, Persona templates
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Include accessibility acceptance criteria; represent stakeholder needs
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Encourage teams to include accessibility acceptance criteria in story templates and coach on writing user stories
Agile / Development Team Task
Write user stories
Related artifacts
User Stories in project management tool, Story Definition of Done (DoD)
Accessibility Integration
Add user stories that include people with disabilities with acceptance criteria
Tools / Methods
Story maps, Persona templates
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Advocate for accessibility tasks in sprint scope
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Ensure accessibility user stories and bugs are visible in planning, and coach the team on estimating accessibility tasks realistically
Agile / Development Team Task
Prioritize and scope accessibility work
Related artifacts
Sprint backlog
Accessibility Integration
Call out accessibility bugs as blockers; ensure accessibility tasks are not de-scoped
Tools / methods
Agile board filters such as label: accessibility
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Monitor progress and accessibility compliance
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate removal of accessibility-related blockers raised by the team
Agile / Development Team Task
Clarify requirements as needed
Related artifacts
User stories, epics, sprint backlog, traceability matrix
Accessibility Integration
Embeds accessibility during development
Tools / methods
Project management tool
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Accept or reject based on accessibility compliance
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Promote integration of accessibility checks in both manual unit testing, automated regression and continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD) pipelines, and User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
Agile / Development Team Task
Verify requirements coverage
Related artifacts
Test cases or test scenarios, test plan, bug or defect reports, traceability matrix, UAT feedback, test report
Accessibility Integration
Specifies checks for accessibility, defines scope, and identifies any bugs
Tools / methods
Project management tool, test report tool
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Identify in-progress accessibility work
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Prompt visibility of accessibility work and support team in raising accessibility blockers
Agile / Development Team Task
Track progress of accessibility work
Related artifacts
Sprint board
Accessibility Integration
Developers and testers report blockers on accessibility criteria
Tools / methods
Shared QA environment for accessibility
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Validate accessibility features meet acceptance criteria
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Ensure accessibility demonstrations, such as keyboard navigation and screen reader use, are included in review demos
Agile / Development Team Task
Present accessibility compliance results
Related artifacts
Demo scripts or Acceptance logs
Accessibility Integration
Show full keyboard navigation, screen reader flow for completed stories
Tools / methods
Test report, screen share
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Encourage process improvements for accessibility
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Prompt specific reflection on accessibility practices: Were accessibility stories completed? Were defects found late?
Agile / Development Team Task
Reflect on accessibility effort
Related artifacts
Retro board or Notes
Accessibility Integration
Ask: Were accessibility stories completed? Were bugs logged, or missed until QA?
Tools / methods
Team health check, accessibility retro prompt
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Approve DoD and validate compliance before acceptance
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate the team in adopting accessibility criteria into the DoD and ensure consistent enforcement
Agile / Development Team Task
Define accessibility compliance in DoD
Related artifacts
Team DoD or Working Agreement
Accessibility Integration
Must pass all application Section 508 standards
Tools / methods
Add DoD checklist to ticket template
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Inform team of acceptance criteria for accessibility requirements
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate collaboration between Product Owner and Agile Team to ensure accessibility acceptance criteria are fully translated into test scenarios
Agile / Development Team Task
Translate requirements into testing scenarios
Related artifacts
Test cases
Accessibility Integration
Write “Given/When/Then” with accessibility: “Given I tab to the form, I can submit without mouse”
Tools / methods
Cucumber, TestRail, Zephyr
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Prioritize crucial bugs or defects for remediation
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Ensure accessibility-related bugs are logged with clear reproduction steps and impact descriptions, so they’re not deprioritized as “minor” issues
Agile / Development Team Task
Log accessibility bugs
Related artifacts
Bug tickets
Accessibility Integration
Log Section 508 violation, screen reader behavior, keyboard trap, etc.
Tools / methods
Project management tool, DevOps with Section 508 tags
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Lead UAT decisions
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate inclusion of accessibility-specific scenarios in UAT checklists and walkthroughs
Agile / Development Team Task
Clarify requirements and confirm acceptance criteria during UAT
Related artifacts
UAT checklist
Accessibility Integration
UAT includes keyboard-only navigation, screen reader review, contrast check
Tools / methods
UAT scripts, Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), text report, test logs
Agile Product / Project Owner Task
Oversee ongoing compliance and prioritize fixes and enhancements post-release
Scrum Master / Agile Coach Task
Facilitate review of user feedback channels for accessibility issues and ensure learnings are fed back into backlog refinement
Agile / Development Team Task
Monitor accessibility issues and coordinate updates and documentation for defects
Related artifacts
Backlog or Roadmap
Accessibility Integration
Accessibility issues logged by users prioritized in backlog
Tools / methods
User feedback loops, accessibility statement update
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| Agile Activity | Agile Product or Project Owner Task | Scrum Master or Agile Coach Task | Agile or Development Team Task | Related Artifact | Accessibility Integration | Tool or Methods |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backlog Grooming | Prioritize accessibility stories | Facilitate discussion to ensure accessibility items are visible | Ensure visibility into accessibility tasks | Epics, User Personas | Add personas with disabilities | Story maps, Persona templates |
| User Story Writing | Include accessibility acceptance criteria; represent stakeholder needs | Encourage teams to include accessibility acceptance criteria in story templates and coach on writing user stories | Write user stories | User Stories in project management tool, Story Definition of Done (DoD) | Add user stories that include people with disabilities with acceptance criteria | Project management tool templates, accessibility checklists, manual and automated testing tools |
| Sprint Planning | Advocate for accessibility tasks in sprint scope | Ensure accessibility user stories and bugs are visible in planning, and coach the team on estimating accessibility tasks realistically | Prioritize and scope accessibility work | Sprint backlog | Call out accessibility bugs as blockers; ensure accessibility tasks are not de-scoped | Agile board filters such as label: accessibility |
| Development | Monitor progress and accessibility compliance | Facilitate removal of accessibility-related blockers raised by the team | Clarify requirements as needed | User stories, epics, sprint backlog, traceability matrix | Embeds accessibility during development | Project management tool |
| Testing | Accept or reject based on accessibility compliance | Promote integration of accessibility checks in both manual unit testing, automated regression and continuous integration and continuous development (CI/CD) pipelines, and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) | Verify requirements coverage | Test cases or test scenarios, test plan, bug or defect reports, traceability matrix, UAT feedback, test report | Specifies checks for accessibility, defines scope, and identifies any bugs | Project management tool, test report tool |
| Daily Standup | Identify in-progress accessibility work | Prompt visibility of accessibility work and support team in raising accessibility blockers | Track progress of accessibility work | Sprint board | Developers and testers report blockers on accessibility criteria | Shared QA environment for accessibility |
| Sprint Review | Validate accessibility features meet acceptance criteria | Ensure accessibility demonstrations, such as keyboard navigation and screen reader use, are included in review demos | Present accessibility compliance results | Demo scripts or Acceptance logs | Show full keyboard navigation, screen reader flow for completed stories | Test report, screen share |
| Sprint Retrospective | Encourage process improvements for accessibility | Prompt specific reflection on accessibility practices: Were accessibility stories completed? Were defects found late? | Reflect on accessibility effort | Retro board or Notes | Ask: Were accessibility stories completed? Were bugs logged, or missed until QA? | Team health check, accessibility retro prompt |
| Definition of Done (DoD) | Approve DoD and validate compliance before acceptance | Facilitate the team in adopting accessibility criteria into the DoD and ensure consistent enforcement | Define accessibility compliance in DoD | Team DoD or Working Agreement | Must pass all application Section 508 standards | Add DoD checklist to ticket template |
| Test Case Creation | Inform team of acceptance criteria for accessibility requirements | Facilitate collaboration between Product Owner and Agile Team to ensure accessibility acceptance criteria are fully translated into test scenarios | Translate requirements into testing scenarios | Test cases | Write “Given/When/Then” with accessibility: “Given I tab to the form, I can submit without mouse” | Cucumber, TestRail, Zephyr |
| Bug Tracking | Prioritize crucial bugs or defects for remediation | Ensure accessibility-related bugs are logged with clear reproduction steps and impact descriptions, so they’re not deprioritized as “minor” issues | Log accessibility bugs | Bug tickets | Log Section 508 violation, screen reader behavior, keyboard trap, etc. | Project management tool, DevOps with Section 508 tags |
| Release Readiness or UAT | Lead UAT decisions | Facilitate inclusion of accessibility-specific scenarios in UAT checklists and walkthroughs | Clarify requirements and confirm acceptance criteria during UAT | UAT checklist | UAT includes keyboard-only navigation, screen reader review, contrast check | UAT scripts, Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), text report, test logs |
| Post-Release | Oversee ongoing compliance and prioritize fixes and enhancements post-release | Facilitate review of user feedback channels for accessibility issues and ensure learnings are fed back into backlog refinement | Monitor accessibility issues and coordinate updates and documentation for defects | Backlog or Roadmap | Accessibility issues logged by users prioritized in backlog | User feedback loops, accessibility statement update |
Reviewed/Updated: September 2025
