12 minutes
Your barrier map Walk one process as a participant would, find where a person is stopped, name the owner, and commit to the first fix.
What you’ll be able to do Complete a barrier map for one process you touch, naming the step, the barrier, the people affected, the owner and the first fix. Compare the responses to this question and explain your choice: Where does your barrier map start? Draft a barrier map for one process for your work, including process and the walker's access needs, step and barrier, people stopped and the owner. Walk it, do not review it Reviewing a process means reading the policy and looking at the form. Walking it means trying to do what a participant does, in order, with the access needs of real people in mind: a person with low vision, a person who processes slowly, a person who cannot stand in line, a person whose energy runs out by two in the afternoon, a person who needs an interpreter.
Barriers cluster at five points. Finding out : does the person learn the program exists, in a language and format they use? Getting in : can they reach the office, the page, the phone line, the room? Understanding : can they read and follow what is asked? Responding on time : can they meet the deadline in the channel available to them? Being heard afterward : can they ask a question, appeal, or learn what happened to their input?
At each point, write four things: the barrier, the people it stops, who owns the step, and the first fix. Most first fixes are small and inside the owner's authority. Most persist only because nobody walked the process.
A barrier map for one process One page that turns a walk into work someone can own.
Process and the walker's access needs Home-care program application, walked as a person with low vision who works days and has no car.
Step and barrier Getting in: the online form times out after ten minutes; the paper form is pickup-only, business hours.
People stopped and the owner Screen-reader and magnification users; anyone who works days; people without transportation. Owner: program manager for the online form, county office lead for pickup.
First fix and the next review point Remove or extend the timeout; mail or email the paper form on request. Review with the owners at the agreed point and record what changed.
Copy the four fields for each of the five points, fill them from your walk, and send the map to the owners you named.
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Download this published draft Own the step you own What you can change You control every barrier inside your own step: the wording, the format, the deadline, the channel, the reply.
What to watch for Do not send the whole map upward and wait. Fix your own step first, then hand the rest to the people who own theirs, with the map attached.
Your next step Make one first fix in a step you own before the agreed review point, and tell the people it affects.
First fixes that need nobody's permission Send the agenda and materials two working days early, as real text.
Turn captions on by default and say so in the invitation.
Add one line: “Tell us what you need to take part,” with a named contact.
Offer the form by email and by mail, not only by pickup.
Extend or remove a timeout; add a reminder before a deadline.
Reply to every comment from a participant with what happened to it.
The five points where people are stopped Finding out
Does the person learn the service exists, in a language and format they use, from a source they trust?
Getting in
Can they reach the room, the page, the line, the phone, in the hours and channels available to them?
Understanding
Can they read, hear and follow what is asked, at their own pace, with the support they use?
Responding on time
Can they meet the deadline in a channel that works for them, with a reminder and without automatic closure?
Being heard afterward
Can they ask, appeal, and learn what happened to their input?
Commitment: “One barrier I will look for this month is… in the process… and the person who will ask me about it is…” Write it now. The next course in the series begins with what you found.
Carry this forward Barriers cluster at predictable points: finding out, getting in, understanding, responding on time, and being heard afterward.
The person who owns the step usually can fix the barrier without anyone's permission; most barriers persist because nobody walked the process.
A commitment is only real when it names a routine, a change and a person who will ask you about it.
A completed barrier map artifact and a written commitment naming one barrier you will look for.
Do the walk. Then make the first fix in a process you own, tell the people it affects, and bring the map to the next course.
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