Meet Brett Humphrey, Advocate for Accessibility

(Originally posted May 14, 2024 By ~ Microsoft 365 Insider Engagement Team)

Brett Humphrey, Principal Product Manager and Accessibility Advocate

Brett Humphrey has worked at Microsoft for 25 years, holding a variety of roles and helping to shape Windows into what it is today, but his true passion is accessibility.

As Global Accessibility Awareness Day approaches, we spoke with Brett about his lifelong journey to bridge the digital divide, why accessibility is so important in the age of technology, and the legacy he hopes to leave behind through his work.

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey in technology? What brought you to working in technology, and specifically in the area of ​​accessibility features?

“I was always surrounded by computers as a kid, and I got really interested in software thanks to my mom’s interest. She taught me how to program computers by the time I was 5, and it was inspiring to see her figure out how to code. She eventually worked for a small daycare, computerizing the systems. She took me to typing classes in the 6th grade because she thought it would be useful to me someday. She was right!

Brett, his mom, and his sister

Later, I studied computer science at South Dakota College of Mines and Technology. I worked on computers on campus and started programming there, and my friend said, “Hey, you should interview at Microsoft.”

I ended up doing two internships at Microsoft and have been here ever since. Over the years, I’ve worked on a variety of products and teams.

One day, I was asked to provide feedback on some tools that would help ensure that software was accessible. I was so intrigued by the discussion that I half-jokingly said to the person sitting across from me in the meeting, “Hey, if you’re looking for a job, I’d love to work on your team.” A week or so later, he called me, and the rest is history.”

What makes you passionate about accessibility?

“I’ve had low vision my entire life, and over the past six years my vision has deteriorated significantly. I’ve always wanted to make software more accessible to people with low vision and visual impairment.

So I would say it was a combination of disability and general curiosity. When I started working at Microsoft and specifically working on accessibility features, I thought, “Wow, I have a unique opportunity here to help a lot of people.”

But more than anything, I love solving difficult problems, and I think accessibility is something that takes consistent time and effort.”

Brett works at the university computer center

What are some common misconceptions you see about accessibility and how do you address them?

“I think people outside of this field often ask questions like, “How many people were actually affected?” You know, I get these kinds of questions all the time about scope.

And about that I would like to say this. It’s not the number of people that matters, it’s the accessibility.. It’s about engaging in the digital world, and the digital world can open up a lot of opportunities for people with a variety of abilities, from education to employment to entertainment. If we do this well, it really helps people across their lives.

Another thing is that people often think of accessibility as something between the computer and the individual. But I think about the potential of many-to-many conversations. I think assistive technology can enable many-to-many conversations, bridge the gap, remove barriers so that you can follow along and participate at about the same rate as everyone else, no matter what your disability.”

What accessibility feature have you contributed to that you’re most proud of since you started at Microsoft?

“Well, I’ve been very fortunate to work on core accessibility features like Magnifier, which ships with Windows, and early work on Narrator, which impacts a lot of people. More recently, I’ve been working on improving the way Teams organizations can better interact with Teams for keyboard users, screen reader users, and color-sensitive users.

But I think what I’m most proud of is the work we’ve done with the design team inside Microsoft Teams and the cultural shift we’ve seen as a result. We used user research to listen to the challenges people face when using Teams and developed three design principles. We want our features and overall offering to be efficient, familiar/predictable, and easy to understand. These principles have been deeply ingrained in our design team and will continue to build better products for all of our users over time.

I believe I am uniquely positioned to help both my team and disabled users. I have the technical and design knowledge to influence and implement changes that support disabled people, and as someone who lives with a disability, I am also one of the beneficiaries of these innovations.

Ultimately, I hope my unique skill set won’t be needed in the future. That means accessibility has become an integral part of product design and development.”

Making music hardware accessible

In your opinion, what are the most interesting trends in accessibility right now?

Well, there are actually three that come to mind.

First, people keep talking about “moving left” or doing better design. I’m excited about that!

Another thing is awareness. Everything goes through an adoption curve, and I think there is a growing awareness of the challenges that people with disabilities face when using technology.

Of course, there is also potential for AI to help different individuals access content in a way that best suits them.

I think that when these three things come together, it’s going to be really transformative, and it’s going to happen faster than most people think. It takes a reasonable understanding of design to make sure things have a good foundation, and an awareness of the scope of disability and how it affects people, to be able to use AI optimally.”

Can you share an example of a particularly memorable piece of feedback you received from the accessibility community that helped shape a product you were working on?

“Over the past few years, more and more people from the disability community have engaged with early builds of Teams and shared their feedback, which has led us to change direction and adjust. For example, we changed our approach to keyboard input and delayed notifications, both of which weren’t working well for our customers.

Without a doubt, your feedback has played a vital role in shaping Microsoft Teams.”

Of all the projects you’re currently working on, which one are you most excited about in terms of accessibility?

“Working on Teams accessibility is exciting in itself! I also enjoy partnering with other teams, like the PowerPoint team. The PowerPoint Live plugin is the most accessible version of PowerPoint available remotely today.”

What do you think the future of accessible technology will look like in the next five years? Do you see any upcoming trends that excite you?

“Anything that can simplify our daily tasks is exciting. When you have a disability, some things take longer, and the tools we use to do digital work can have a steep learning curve.

When I look to the future, it’s about making it easier for people to access the data they need, in the way they need it. So I look at the combination of AI and assistive technology and think, “How can we make things really simpler? How can we help people with disabilities complete tasks and do so with confidence?”

Budapest travel

This is the final interview in a three-part series commemorating Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Don’t miss our previous conversations. Peter Wu and Ben Trulove!

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