Interview with Maria Korneeva on her book on accessible Development

I'm talking with developer Maria Korneeva about her new German-language book on accessible web development. The transcript was optimized using AI. All errors and inaccuracies are my responsibility.

Domingos: Welcome to a new episode of our podcast on digital accessibility. Today, I have a guest with me for the first time in a long time: Maria Korneeva.

Maria has written a book about accessible web development – ​​a German-language book, which is unfortunately still a rarity in this field. We want to talk about this book and her experiences today.

First of all, thank you, Maria, for taking the time for this interview.

Maria: Thank you for the invitation, Domingos.

About Maria's background

Domingos: With pleasure. Perhaps we should start from the very beginning: What is your general background, and how did you get into (web) development?

Maria: Actually, it all started for me with my self-employment and workshops in web development. I worked for various providers, and one of my clients asked me at some point if I'd be interested in developing a workshop or masterclass on accessibility.

That was a few years ago now, and I immediately said, "Yes, I'd love to."

At the time, I didn't really know much about the topic myself. But I said, "If you give me the time to get to grips with it, I'll do it."

That's how it all started—with research for this workshop. I delved deeper and deeper into the topic and realized how wonderful and meaningful it is to engage with accessibility.

It still motivates me today: If you pass on this knowledge, many people will take it on board—and maybe one day the web will truly become a better place for everyone.

Domingos: You do have a technical background in development, but I've heard in other interviews that your original background is in linguistics—is that true?

Maria: Yes, that's actually true.

Domingos: That's quite a leap – how did this transition from linguistics to web development come about?

Maria: Yes. Originally, I actually wanted to study computer science, but languages ​​seemed a little easier to me at the time – and in a fit of laziness, I decided to study languages ​​after all.

I finished the program, only to realize at the end that it wasn't right for me.

Then the idea came back: "Oh, Maria, why don't you study computer science instead?"

That's why I wouldn't call myself a classic career changer, because I actually started a new degree program. It was a radical new start – but one that was worth it.

Interestingly, I've discovered that linguistics and computer science have more in common than you might think at first glance – especially in language analysis.

When I develop code, I first have to understand what my customers actually want from me. I have to filter out their requirements, abstract them, and translate them into another, technical form.

And that's basically very similar to linguistics: There, you analyze natural language, identifying the main ideas, core statements, and structures of a text.

For me, that was the connection between the two worlds—and probably the reason why I was good at both.

Ultimately, I studied business informatics for my bachelor's and master's degrees—and that's how I got into web development.

Domingos: You just said that you work in development. Do you specifically develop applications, or do you work more in the front-end area? Or is there a more difficult distinction? I have to admit, I'm not entirely sure myself.

Maria: That's a very good question. At my previous employer, I was asked in the interview whether I would prefer front-end development, more website development, or application development. At the time, I wasn't even aware that there was a difference.

I now explain it to myself like this: When I develop applications, I consider both to be front-end, but with applications, it's more about the business logic behind them. For example, when the user clicks "Login," the right calls have to happen, the appropriate data has to be fetched, it has to be checked whether the user is logged in or not—things like that.

With websites, on the other hand, where there's less business logic, it's more about the appearance—that it matches the design or is accessible. In implementation, the focus is then more on the appearance, less on all that JavaScript logic.

I do both. With Angular, it's a framework that developers use to write code. In the browser, it's all JavaScript anyway. Angular is essentially just an intermediate layer that makes code writing more convenient—that's how I would describe it.

Working in Accessibility

Domingos: How long have you been working in digital accessibility?

Maria: I started working on the topic in 2022—so, compared to the established experts, I'm still relatively new. But I'm actually quite happy that I started working on accessibility before all the hype started.

Sometimes I think that makes my motivation a bit more "real," because it wasn't driven by trends, but stemmed from genuine interest.

The Book

Domingos: So let's talk about your book. How did that actually come about? There are relatively few books on the subject – especially in German-speaking countries – and it's probably not a typical bestseller, if we're honest. Did you come up with the project yourself, or did the publisher approach you?

Maria: Actually, it developed like this: When I started to delve deeper into the topic of accessibility and prepared my workshop, I also started speaking about it at conferences.

One of these presentations was at an event hosted by dpunkt.verlag. First, they asked me if I'd like to offer a workshop with them. And later, they asked me if I'd like to write a book about digital accessibility together with two other people.

I have to say, that was initially totally flattering. I was truly honored and delighted by the request.

So, the original plan was to write the book as a trio – with two great colleagues with whom I would have loved to work.

Unfortunately, both of them dropped out of the project, which I can completely understand – they rightly said that a book like this is an incredible amount of work.

I didn't think too much about it at the time and just carried on – and so I ended up being the sole author of the book.

Domingos: How did you specifically delve into the topic?

There are millions of resources online, but you first have to find a sensible starting point. And especially when writing a book, it's not enough to have just a superficial knowledge of, for example, ARIA or a live region and how to implement it.

You need a much broader foundation and have to do deeper research. How did you approach that?

Maria: Wow, yes – it was actually a bigger challenge than I initially thought.

I definitely imagined it would be easier.

Fortunately, I had already taught several workshops on accessibility at that point. This meant I was familiar with many of the typical questions and problems that repeatedly came up from participants. This helped me a lot because I was then able to tailor the structure of the book precisely to it.

Regarding the research: That was, of course, a lot of work.

I read an incredible amount online and listened to many podcasts – your podcast was also a really good source, by the way! I also cite some of your blog articles in the book.

But not only yours, of course – there are many great blogs and resources from established experts that I benefited from.

At the same time, that was precisely the difficult part:

There is a lot of information, but much of it is not well structured or already outdated.

So I had to constantly check:

  • Which ARIA attributes are currently supported by which browsers?
  • Are there any new developments in screen readers?
  • Does the information still correspond to the current state of the art?

That was really the biggest challenge in the research – not just gathering information, but also checking it for timeliness and relevance.

Domingos: I found it particularly interesting that you – even though you come from a development background – decided to address legal topics in your book.

Was that difficult for you? Especially with a textbook, readers expect such content to be accurate and well-founded, even if you're not a lawyer yourself.

Maria: It was definitely difficult – but I also had an incredible amount of fun!

I had actually taken a few modules on law during my studies. So, I basically knew how to work with legal texts, how to cite them, interpret them, and structure them – with subsumption, interpretation, etc.

I really enjoyed that even back then, during my studies. Sometimes I think: Maybe in my next life, I'll be a lawyer!

In any case, I really enjoy reading and understanding legal texts.

Before I started the book, I simply had the desire to truly understand for myself what the law specifically requires.

There are many recommendations, many opinions – but I wanted that rigorous perspective: What does the law require of me?

And, to be honest, I was quite dissatisfied with what I found on the subject. So I started digging deeper.

Back then – that was still in the early days of my workshops – there was very little information on the EAA (European Accessibility Act).

Hardly anyone had studied it in depth. For example, there was a statement from the Federal Office for Accessibility that helped me enormously.

I also found several law firms that had published interpretations on their websites – I consulted these as well.

Ultimately, my approach consisted of reading and analyzing legal texts, comparing what I understood from them with sources I trust.

Of course, time will tell how good my interpretations are – but so far, I'm quite confident.

I have the feeling that I haven't written anything in the book that has since been refuted or deemed incorrect. And today, there's significantly more information on the topic.

Domingos: It should also be said: Your book was probably finished sometime in the spring – publishers always have a fixed deadline.

If it was published in June, you probably finished the content months beforehand. And a lot of information, especially about the Federal Office for Accessibility (EAA), came quite late – or rather, we're still waiting for some of it.

So, good luck—but I'm confident the book will be well-received.

How do you see your book's target audience?

You come from a development background yourself, but you also address legal topics.

Do you think it will primarily be read by developers? Or do you have a broader target audience in mind?

Maria: I actually originally wrote the book for myself—under the motto: What book would I have wanted back when I started exploring this topic?

Therefore, the main target audience is clearly developers—people who are familiar with code.

I use many code examples, and anyone who programs regularly will certainly be able to get along well with them.

But I deliberately didn't write the book just for developers who code daily. I also wanted to reach people who work in product development—such as team leads or product owners—who don't develop themselves but want to understand what applies to their team, what to look out for, and why accessibility is important.

That's why I've included chapters on legal principles, testing procedures, audits, tools, and so on.

I would say that anyone involved in software development in any way can benefit from this book—with one prerequisite: You shouldn't be afraid of code.

In fact, I now know at least three UX designers who have purchased the book. At first, I was a bit concerned that it might be too technical for them. But they gave me positive feedback—so it obviously wasn't too daunting.

But it was originally intended for those who can actually do something with code.

Domingos: Perhaps a somewhat heretical question at the end: IT textbooks often have a relatively short half-life.

Technologies change rapidly, new tools emerge – there's always the risk that content will soon become outdated.

Nevertheless, you decided to go with a book. How do you see that in retrospect? Do you think your book will still be essentially valid in five years?

Maria: That's a very good and absolutely legitimate question. To be honest, I'm rather hesitant about buying code-heavy books – simply because the code often becomes outdated quickly.

But that's exactly what I considered with my book from the very beginning.

My idea was to refer as often as possible to online sources that are maintained and updated – so that readers can always find the latest information there when in doubt.

And beyond that, my goal was for the book to not only impart knowledge but also offer a kind of self-help tool.

Anyone who has read it should be able to conduct more targeted research and assess which information or tools are current and relevant.

The book also has its own website, which I maintain. I will publish updates and additions there whenever anything significant changes.

Overall, I very much hope that the book will still be relevant in five years – especially because many of the linked articles and resources are continuously maintained.

Domingos: Exactly. I also think that the basic principles of accessibility are quite stable.

What was correct ten years ago – for example, the importance of semantic code – will probably still be true in ten years.

Of course, some things can change at the code level, but the principles remain constant. I completely agree with you there.

Maria: Yes – and as for WCAG 3.0, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, it will probably be a while before they are finalized.

That's why I'm quite confident that the requirements I described in the book will remain relevant in the coming years.

Maria's Channels

Domingos: "It'll take a while" is really an optimistic assessment... Finally: Where's the best place to follow you on social media?

Maria: I'm currently most active on LinkedIn – I really welcome contact requests, messages, and, of course, questions.

Regardless of whether it's about the book or accessibility in general – I'm always happy to hear what people are concerned about in practice. I personally always find it particularly exciting where "the shoe really pinches."

Domingos: Great, thanks!

So, to summarize: The book is called Accessible Web Development and was published by O'Reilly – I don't have the exact price in mind right now, but you can find it on all common book platforms.

And the book is available both in print and as an e-book, right?

Maria: Yes, exactly – both are available.

Domingos: Perfect. Then thank you very much for the interview, Maria!

I really hope that your book makes it easier for many people to get started with accessibility – that's one of the great advantages of books: We talked earlier about how there are countless online resources, but especially for beginners, it's extremely difficult to keep track of everything or find a structured introduction.

A book like yours – practical, up-to-date, and written from a developer's perspective – is a super valuable starting point.

So: Thank you again and continued success!

Maria: Thank you so much – and thanks again for the invitation, Domingos!

Domingos: You're welcome!

More information

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