Customer spotlight: Andrew Gosine, Principal Product Designer at Slack

At Slack, the operating system for work that brings humans and agents together in one conversational interface, designing accessible and intuitive software for all users has become a core principle in their product development journey. Andrew Gosine, Principal Product Designer, has been instrumental in working with Fable to shift accessibility left in Slack’s development process.

Early in Andrew’s career at Slack, he started taking on accessibility work and saw the potential for a more inclusive approach to product development. Now, accessibility is his full-time focus.

Broadening the user base

Andrew and his team realized the importance of gathering insights from a wider array of users, particularly those with disabilities who use assistive technology. “There was a need to broaden the users we test our software with. To be truly inclusive, we need folks with lived experience with disability to work and design with us ” Andrew reflects. Fable Engage, the accessibility research and testing platform, helped Slack get feedback from users with different levels of experience using assistive technology, earlier on in the product development process than before.

Prototyping the path

Designing accessible products isn’t about getting everything right the first time—it’s about learning from users. “We try to build products by making a first pass, testing it with real users, and learning from them what works and what doesn’t,” says Andrew.

For Slack, this iterative approach—what Andrew calls “prototyping the path”—involves designing and building first versions of features and putting them in front of testers, including Fable’s community of testers with disabilities. This method not only allows the team to identify and address accessibility issues early, but it also ensures that the final product is more usable for everyone.

Understanding assistive technology

Andrew underscored the value of designers having not only theoretical accessibility knowledge but also hands-on proficiency. He says it is important for product teams to have a solid grasp of what assistive technologies are out there, how they work and why people use them. To start building out his own technical accessibility knowledge, Andrew worked closely with an engineering colleague. He wanted to understand how visual layouts translate into code. “As designers, we are very visual-first,” says Andrew. “We don’t always think about what that means in code, and how that then translates to the screen reader experience, for example.”

This approach empowers teams to create more accessible interfaces and helps address user feedback more effectively. User expectations and preferences related to assistive technology are crucial to building products that work for everyone.

The power of empathy and understanding

As someone who does not personally identify as having a disability, Andrew relies on feedback from users with disabilities and credits the bulk of his accessibility learning to these users. “We can’t assume we know what’s best for users with disabilities,” said Andrew. “Prototyping, learning, and testing are key steps, and Fable plays a major role in helping us align our designs with users’ needs.”

This commitment to empathy goes beyond compliance with accessibility standards. Andrew’s goal is not just to make Slack “technically accessible” but “pleasantly usable.” He highlights this with a real-world analogy: “I want to design software that doesn’t just get users through the door but makes them feel welcome and included in the experience.”

Shifting accessibility left

Rather than treating it as an afterthought, Andrew advocates for building accessibility into every stage of product design. With Fable’s support, Slack has embedded accessibility testing early in their product cycle, moving away from the traditional model of treating it as a post-production checkbox.

“The feedback loop we’ve built through Fable has been crucial,” Andrew says. “We can consider accessibility much earlier in the design process, enabling us to pull accessibility further left. As we’re creating new features, we’re testing with assistive technology users and iterating based on their feedback.”

Incorporating user feedback from the outset leads to a smoother design process and faster iterations. Rather than viewing feedback as a challenge, it should be seen as an essential part of growth and improvement.

Creating a culture shift

Andrew has helped foster Slack’s cultural shift towards accessibility. “At Slack, it’s no longer just about compliance,” he says proudly. This transformation didn’t happen overnight; it was the result of building resources, providing guidance, and developing personal motivation among the team over time.

For other companies looking to improve accessibility, Andrew’s advice is simple but powerful: “Engage early and often. Be willing to put something out there, get feedback from users, and then iterate. Those feedback loops will make your products truly excellent.”

Slack’s journey with Fable is an example of how prioritizing accessibility not only creates better products, but also fosters a culture of inclusion and empathy.

Andrew’s advocacy for accessibility paves the way for more inclusive design practices, some of which he has shared in the article “What we’ve learned about designing for accessibility from our users.” His work, and the work of other designers who use Fable, is a reminder of the power of listening to users, learning from feedback, and always striving for improvement.