In the fourth installment of the Accessibility UX Podcast Series, Jill Power, Chris LaChance, and Megha Patangi dive deep into one of the most nuanced areas of accessible user experience design: table interactions. As organizations increasingly rely on data-rich interfaces, ensuring that tables are both functional and accessible becomes a critical challenge. This episode explores the evolving strategies, trade-offs, and design decisions that shape accessible table experiences at Pega.
The role of toolbars in table accessibility
Toolbars, defined by the ARIA role toolbar, are composite widgets designed to group multiple interactive elements like buttons, menus, and input fields. This grouping reduces the number of keyboard tab stops and allows for more efficient navigation using arrow keys.
Toolbars are especially useful when tables require complex interactions such as filtering, sorting, hiding/showing columns, or keyword searches. However, implementing toolbars isn’t always straightforward. In Pega’s case, the inclusion of a search input within the toolbar conflicted with the expected keyboard navigation model, which relies on arrow keys. Since input fields naturally capture arrow key input, this disrupted the toolbar’s functionality.
Ultimately, with in Pega applications, the team decided to forgo the toolbar role in favor of a more flexible approach that allowed for multiple tab stops. This decision prioritized user experience over strict adherence to ARIA roles, highlighting the importance of context and usability in accessibility design.
Navigating column header interactions
Another focal point of the episode is the interaction model for column headers. Traditionally, clicking a column header sorts the data—a behavior users expect. However, Pega’s design also includes an actions menu within each column header, enabling more granular controls like filtering out specific values.
This dual-interaction model introduced complexity. To access both the header and the actions menu via keyboard, users had to press Enter to enter the cell, then navigate to the desired control. This added friction, especially for power users relying on keyboard navigation.
To streamline the experience, the team made a bold decision: remove direct keyboard focus from the column header text and instead focus on the actions menu. This allowed users to sort and filter data more efficiently, even if it deviated from conventional interaction patterns. The first item in the actions menu is always “Sort,” ensuring that users can perform common tasks quickly.
This approach sparked internal debate. Was it compliant with WCAG guidelines? WCAG success criteria 2.1.1 requires functionality to be available via keyboard, but not necessarily in the same way as with a mouse. As long as the functionality is accessible, the implementation is valid. Moreover, the team enhanced efficiency by dynamically updating the actions menu based on the current state—removing redundant options like “Sort Ascending” if the column is already sorted that way.
Consistency and predictability in navigation
Consistency emerged as a key theme throughout the discussion. Even when a column header lacks interactive elements, the team chose to include it in the keyboard navigation flow. This ensures a predictable experience across different tables, some of which may have interactive headers and others that do not.
This decision reflects a broader philosophy: accessibility is not just about compliance, but about creating intuitive, equitable experiences for all users. By maintaining consistent navigation patterns, users—especially those relying on assistive technologies—can build mental models that make complex interfaces easier to use.
A thoughtful, evolving approach
Throughout the episode, one message is clear: accessible design is a journey, not a destination. The team at Pega continuously revisits their decisions, balancing technical constraints, user expectations, and accessibility standards. Whether it’s rethinking the use of toolbars or refining keyboard navigation models, their approach is grounded in empathy, experimentation, and a commitment to inclusive design.
Check out the latest Accessibility@Pega Podcast episode, available on Pega Community or Spotify. And join the conversation on Let's talk tables in Expert Circles.