Accessibility
Maturity
Embarking on the journey towards better accessibility often starts with small steps and a recognition of the need for change.
Accessibility maturity models help organizations understand their current standing and guide their progression towards creating more inclusive environments and digital products.
Congratulations, you’re a
Builder
This is the second level of four in accessibility maturity. Your organisation has started to recognize the importance of accessibility and is beginning to take tangible steps towards implementation. You may have some policies, standards and processes defined, but not everyone is using them in a consistent way.
While progress is being made in areas, accessibility is still seen as an add-on rather than a core component of your service or product offering. As a result, users with disabilities are probably not included in the product development process, like user testing. Or, because training and implementation exists but is ad hoc, there may be misguided practices like the overuse of ARIA roles or the inappropriate inclusion of static content in the keyboard focus order. Additionally, some accessibility features might still face resistance in favour of other priorities, such as avoiding keyboard focus indicators to preserve visual aesthetics.
Despite these challenges, the "Builders" level marks a critical transition phase where your organization is starting to lay the groundwork for more systematic and comprehensive accessibility practices. With the right focus and commitment, these early efforts can pave the way for more strategic and integrated approaches to accessibility in the future.
What this might look like
at your organisation:
Accessibility training is available to those who request it, or it is mandated inconsistently across the product development team
Some developer and testing documentation mentions accessibility, but it is inconsistently applied and can be vague at times
Automated tools are made available for designers, developers and testers to use, but they are not formally part the process
A process may exist to raise accessibility issues, but not necessarily to remediate them
For organisations that buy from vendors, accessibility requirements are documented in the procurement process, however they are not weighted heavily enough to consequentially impact selection
An accessibility messaging channel or hub is established, however there is no assigned owner of it
Disability is included in the organisation’s diversity and inclusion strategy
There is awareness of the value of accessibility at the leadership level, but no formal executive-level champion
Some budget available towards accessibility, though there is still heavy reliance on individuals’ initiative and volunteering
Ad hoc/informal approach to company-level mandates and policies around accessibility
Policies that do exist point to WCAG 2.0
Public accessibility statement might exist, but it is vague - for example, it doesn’t detail level of compliance or known issues
Accessibility might be mentioned in job descriptions, but it’s general and vague. Questions about accessibility capability are not included in the interview process
Your organisation might have conducted a one-off accessibility audit, but actions to address found issues are limited
What’s next?
Now that you’ve determined what accessibility maturity level your organisation is at, it’s time to create an action plan to determine your next steps. Aleph Accessibility’s roadmap workshop will explore the 5 dimensions of accessibility to identify your strengths and areas for improvement, and craft an action plan that is strategic and specific to your organisation.
You can also explore auditing to help you establish a baseline or training options to upskill your staff.