# Plan adoption for accessible content - URL: https://m365playbooks.com/playbooks/plan-adoption-for-accessible-content/ - Topic: Accessibility in Microsoft 365 (Program) - Product: Microsoft 365 apps, Teams, SharePoint - Stage: Plan - Last reviewed: October 15, 2026 - Version: 1 - Written by: Sev Derghazarian ## 1. Purpose Accessible content depends on authors more than on settings. An adoption plan gives each group the few habits that matter for their work, shows them why with real examples, and keeps those habits going after the launch. ## 2. Overview The few habits each group needs, champions who model them, and messages tied to the Deploy waves. - Effort: About 5 person-days, then a few hours a month - Duration: Drafted in 2 weeks; runs through Deploy - Complexity: Low - Who's in the room: Communications lead, accessibility lead, champions, employees who use assistive technology - Beyond E5: Nothing beyond Microsoft 365 E5 - Risk of not doing it: People see checker warnings without understanding why they matter, and fix them only when forced, if at all. ## 3. Key activities ### Prerequisites 1. **Pick the habits that matter for each group** Communications and HR need headings, alt text and plain language; meeting organizers need captions and shared materials in advance; page authors need accessible layouts and contrast. Keep each group's list to three to five habits. Use the first content sample to choose: the habits that fix the most common findings come first. Who: Accessibility lead. Produces: Habits per audience. ### Decisions 2. **Decision: How do you show why it matters?** Rules alone rarely change habits; experience does. A short demonstration of a screen reader on an inaccessible document, ideally led by a colleague who uses one and is willing, makes the point in minutes. Options: Policy announcement only; Short demonstrations with real examples, then the habits. Recommended default: Short demonstrations with real examples, then the habits. Who: Communications lead. Produces: An approach for each audience. 3. **Decision: Use champions?** A colleague who can say "use the heading styles, it takes ten seconds" does more than a policy. One champion per department, with Microsoft's accessibility training as a starting point, is usually enough. Give champions early access to templates and the guide, and a short way to pass questions to the accessibility lead. Options: No champions; One champion per department. Recommended default: One champion per department. Who: Accessibility lead. Produces: A champion list. ### Pilot configuration 4. **Test the materials** Try the guide, the demonstration and the messages with the Deploy pilot, including people who use assistive technology, and rewrite what doesn't land. Check that the materials themselves are accessible; inaccessible training about accessibility undermines the message. Who: Communications lead. Produces: Tested materials. ### Production configuration 5. **Run with each wave and keep it going** Brief each Deploy wave, add accessibility to onboarding, and use the monthly sample to send targeted reminders to teams where patterns appear. Thank teams that improve. Who: Communications lead with champions. Produces: Habits reinforced after launch. 6. **Make it enforceable** Templates and the checker keep the habits visible in every document; champions and onboarding keep them current. _Partly enforced. The gaps are a risk until a mechanism covers them._ ## 4. Approval and readiness 1. **Brief champions** (Change: Inform) Habits, demonstration and materials. Move on when: Champions can model the habits. 2. **Launch with each wave** (Change: Explain) Demonstration, guide and habits per group. Keep the demonstration short and use real documents from that group's own work. Move on when: Each group knows its habits. 3. **Keep it going** (Change: Sustain) Onboarding and targeted reminders from the sample. Share one improvement each month from the sample, so people see their effort matters. Move on when: Accessibility is part of onboarding. ## 5. Common challenges - **If you** Lead with compliance. What tends to happen: People hear an obligation, not a reason, and do the minimum.. A better approach: Lead with a real example of who is excluded and how small the fix is. - **If you** Train everyone on everything. What tends to happen: Long courses are forgotten and few habits change.. A better approach: Give each group three to five habits that matter for its work. - **If you** Make it a one-time launch. What tends to happen: Habits fade within months and new staff never hear about them.. A better approach: Put accessibility in onboarding and send reminders based on the monthly sample. ## 6. Checkpoints **Pilot:** - [ ] Does each group have three to five habits? - [ ] Have assistive technology users reviewed the materials? **Production:** - [ ] Is accessibility in onboarding? - [ ] Are reminders targeted using the sample? ## 7. Success measures Capture a baseline before you start, or you won't be able to show the change. - Authors who can name their group's habits (Where you see it: Champion check-ins or pulse survey; Good direction: Up) - Sampled content meeting the checklist (Where you see it: Monthly sample; Good direction: Up) **Ready-to-use text: Habits by audience** > Everyone: headings, alt text, meaningful links. Communications and HR: plain language, accessible templates, captions on video. Meeting organizers: share materials in advance, captions on, describe what's on screen. Page authors: single-column layouts, sufficient contrast, alt text in web parts. ## 8. Additional reading **Plan:** - [Accessibility - Microsoft Adoption](https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/) - [Accessibility fundamentals (learning path)](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/accessibility-fundamental/) **Monitor:** - [Check accessibility while you work in Office apps](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accessibility/office-accessibility/check-accessibility-while-you-work-in-office-apps) ## Changelog - Version 1, 2026-10-15, Sev Derghazarian: First version. Facts checked against Microsoft Learn on 2026-10-15.