Why do you have to ensure that every job aid we produce meets our quality standards and supports the needs of all individuals? 

• When you invest in making our articles accessible, you build bridges connecting all individuals regardless of their abilities.

How do you prepare and get started?

You have to ask yourself some questions:

•  "What is the purpose of this article?"
• "Why is this article needed?" For example, this article's "Purpose" is a guide to help you create accurate job aids and to help you learn about how to build with accessibility in mind using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles.
• "Do I know enough about the subject, software, or product I am writing about?" Or do I need to research and learn more about the subject and how to use the software or product before I write or enhance the article? Do not be afraid to ask for your manager's help, guidance, and resources.

Once you have learned about the subject and how to use the software or product, you can start writing your accessible article and communicate your message to the audience in plain, simple language. 

1. Know your Audience: Who are you writing the article for? What problems are you trying to solve?  Are you trying to address questions that have been asked about specific tasks or software?
2. Structure for Clarity: Divide your job aid into sections using the style heading for each section (Introduction, Steps, Tips, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs, Additional Resources, etc.).
3. Be Consistent with Formatting: Use predictable layouts with plenty of white space, legible fonts, colors, and clear labels.
4. Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles: Consider offering examples or scenarios for different learning styles, such as delivering the content in multiple means (text, visuals, audio, brief video explanation, diagrams, graphs, bulleted lists, etc.), and always ensure you provide closed captions in video recordings, transcription for audio files, and alt text for images.
5. Always Verify and Test for Accuracy: Quality Assurance Testing is most important to ensure your articles are grammatically correct, accurate, and usable. You must always walk through the steps yourself or have another Screensteps Author/Editor review the steps of your job aid you have created or enhanced in the "Save as Draft" mode before you "Save & Publish." You must ensure every instruction is correct, that you have followed the guide to baking in accessibility and tested for accessibility, and that the article reflects current practices.