How GitHub Copilot enabled accessibility governance process improvements in record time

In 2022, GitHub began building its accessibility governance program, prioritizing accessibility alongside availability and security as a core engineering fundamental. The program focuses on tracking the accessibility compliance of services, which include websites, applications, and backend functionalities. A significant challenge was the lack of an effective mechanism for prompting service owners to address accessibility compliance issues promptly, leading to delays and unmanaged risks. To address this, GitHub Copilot was used to automate a workflow that creates GitHub Issues for services falling out of compliance, ensuring accountability and visibility while reducing barriers for users with disabilities. This automation allows for quick prototyping and iteration without extensive engineering resources, enabling faster deployment and systematized governance processes. By integrating automation, the program shifted from manual tracking to higher-value analysis, improving collaboration between accessibility program owners and engineering teams. GitHub Copilot facilitated this transformation by empowering a program manager to rapidly develop a working prototype, ultimately expediting the production process and enhancing internal compliance tooling.