Déjà Vu All Over Again

The Recurring Nightmare of Accessibility Audits and Inaction

In the corporate world today, everyone is trying to do everything, and the rise of super apps is an indication! Everyone is trying to build new things and experiment faster while keeping the costs competitive. In their rush to be first to market, they've overlooked a crucial detail: making their products accessible to everyone.

Let's take an example of a company, ACME Inc. (not the real one, the one from the Roadrunner show, which produced and ships almost anything) people at ACME are always trying to come up with new features and they always try to be first in the market to gain a competitive advantage. They have been pretty successful so far.

Now imagine, the company was in Australia and the EAA (The European Accessibility Act) was announced! why Australia you ask? because even though it is not legally binding for Australians to make the apps and websites accessible yet, with the launch of EAA, the tides are shifting! Suddenly, accessibility is on everyone's lips. The bosses, wide-eyed with worry, call in the experts for an accessibility audit.

The audit team arrived, but they didn't dive in right away. First, they performed a quick preliminary examination of ACME's app, and boy were they surprised! The early auditors took a look at the app and found a few missing labels, contrast issues, and an inability to work in the landscape mode. This initial look gave them a sense of the work ahead. Based on this, they present ACME with a proposal outlining the cost of a full audit.

Impressed by the thoroughness, ACME agreed. The auditors return, this time with a fine-toothed comb. They poke, prod, and test every corner of the app. Their final report is comprehensive, and full of red flags that ACME needs to fix immediately and other yellow flags that need to be fixed as soon as possible to make the app accessible. The report doesn't just list what's wrong – it provides detailed remediation methods and offers support to the engineering team at ACME if needed.

“Holy cow!” The bosses' jaws dropped at the scope of work needed. "We can't afford this now!" they cried. So, they did what many do when faced with a daunting task – they moved it to ‘the backlog’. The report, with all its valuable insights and offers of support, got filed away in the "To Do Later" drawer, gathering dust next to last year's Christmas cards.

Life at ACME went on. Developers kept coding, designers kept designing, all blissfully ignoring the accessibility elephant in the room. A few new versions of the app were rolled out, each as inaccessible as the last, despite having a roadmap for improvement at their fingertips.

A year passed. Samantha from accounting brought to attention the money spent on the initial engagement from the accessibility audit, with no tangible outcomes. "We should probably check on that accessibility thing again," they muttered. And so, like a hamster on a wheel, ACME started the process all over – another preliminary check, another full audit, another huge sum spent, another shock, another great shift to the backlog, and another report destined for the drawer.

The Recurring Nightmare of Accessibility Audits and Inaction

This story plays out in companies worldwide, a never-ending cycle of good intentions and missed opportunities. But why does this cycle persist? Why do companies like ACME repeatedly ignore accessibility, even when faced with clear evidence of its importance? Let's peek behind the curtain at some common excuses:

1. "We don't know how":

Many teams simply lack the knowledge and skills to implement accessibility features. It seems easier to avoid the issue than to learn new techniques. “We don’t talk about Bruno!”

2. "We're not aware it's needed":

Some teams operate in a bubble, unaware of the diverse needs of their user base. They don't realize how many people they're excluding. The global average currently is 15% with 8 trillion dollars of disposable income.

3. "Where's the ROI?":

Leadership often struggles to see the return on investment for accessibility initiatives. They view it as a cost rather than an opportunity for growth and innovation.

4. "We don't have any disabled users":

This is perhaps the most short-sighted excuse of all. Companies assume they don't have disabled users because... well, their product isn't accessible! It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

These excuses create a perfect storm of inaction. Teams don't push for accessibility because they don't know how or why. Leadership doesn't prioritize it because they don't see immediate value. And the cycle continues, leaving potential users out in the cold. The idea - audit - shock - procrastination cycle continues.

Breaking the cycle

But it doesn't have to be this way. The key to breaking this cycle lies at the very beginning of the product lifecycle: the design phase.

Recent studies have shown that a whopping two-thirds of accessibility issues originate during design. This isn't surprising when you consider that most accessibility guidelines, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), are written to test finished applications rather than guide the design process. There are a few guidelines for the designers in there, but they are buried so deep in the testing methodologies, that they get lost!

To truly break the cycle, we need to shift our focus. Instead of treating accessibility as an afterthought, we must empower designers with the knowledge and tools to create accessible products from the start. Here's how we can make that happen:

1. Prioritize accessibility training for designers: By educating designers on accessibility principles early in their careers, we can make inclusive design a natural part of the creative process.

2. Develop design-focused accessibility guidelines: We need resources that translate technical accessibility requirements into practical design principles.

3. Integrate accessibility checks into the design workflow: By making accessibility a key part of design reviews, we can catch and fix issues before they become costly problems.

4. Promote awareness of diverse user needs: Encourage designers to consider a wide range of abilities and experiences in their work.

To help designers achieve the basics of accessibility, I've written a book called "Mobile Accessibility Rituals." This resource is designed to bridge the gap between technical accessibility requirements and practical design implementation. It provides designers with actionable strategies to create mobile applications that are not just beautiful, but accessible to all users from the ground up. You can learn more about the book by following the link below;

By focusing on education and empowerment at the design stage, we can prevent accessibility issues before they occur. This proactive approach not only saves time and resources but also results in products that are inherently more usable and inclusive for everyone.

In conclusion;

Accessibility isn't just about compliance or avoiding legal troubles. It's about creating technology that truly serves everyone. By breaking this cycle of neglect and excuses, and by empowering our designers with the right knowledge and tools, companies can build better products, reach more users, and contribute to a more inclusive digital world.