How to Get Buy-In for Accessibility: A Guide for Data-Driven Teams
For many teams, embedding accessibility is the plan until other priorities creep in. This guide provides a clear framework for making the business case to get the sponsorship you need.
Early in my journey as a Design Systems Product Manager, I identified the impact that delivering accessibility would have not only on the business but on our end customers. The practice of crafting inclusive user experiences that can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of their abilities, has been a part of my tech career for the last fifteen years. Yet, it is surprising that, in many cases, this is still an afterthought in product development, and most recently, a legal requirement rather than our responsibility to our fellow human beings.
I get it. When there's a lot of pressure to deliver new features to customers that bring the big bucks, thinking of how the minority of the digital population sees your product might not be a priority. Your analytics data probably shows that most of your users navigate using devices that you're already familiar with because you use those yourself. In fact, Google Analytics considers the use of assistive technology sensitive personal information because it would provide details on people's health or disability status, which could be used to discriminate against these users by targeting them with different advertising or even denying them services.
Without having full visibility into how the human spectrum interacts with digital products, it can be difficult to exercise empathy to ensure they are truly usable and can help people solve the problem for which your business has a solution.
If you're a design systems practitioner in a data-driven organization, you have probably faced this conundrum: How to secure the accessibility investment by presenting the right numbers, when there are other competing initiatives to deliver, say, more components or multi-theming support? Most likely, embedding accessibility into your system was the plan from the beginning, until other tasks crept in, and now it is part of your tech debt.
Enter, accessibility compliance.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) deadline passed earlier this year on June 28th. According to it, a wide range of everyday products and services sold within the European Union must now be accessible to people with disabilities and the elderly. This affects organizations by making accessibility a mandatory legal requirement for products like their e-commerce websites, mobile apps, computers, e-books, and self-service terminals such as ATMs and ticketing machines.
Essentially, the EAA has transformed digital and product accessibility from a "nice-to-have" feature into a fundamental legal obligation. Other similar legislation acts around the world exist to alleviate this issue: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the US, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in Australia, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) in India, or the Web Accessibility Law in Japan. Other specific compliance acts for public and government services exist in Norway, New Zealand, and Brazil.
Find time to understand how the legislation works in the places where your business operates. In most cases, it asks for compliance with WCAG standards. You can show incremental value by starting with adherence to WCAG 2.2, Level AA. Aiming for AAA from the start will be way more expensive to implement and therefore a harder sell. Once you have a solid understanding of AA, you can take the leap to the next level. Defining your target is a crucial step in calculating the effort needed to help your organization deliver compliance.
Next, use your preferred LLM to help you calculate what the potential financial impact would be in fines in case of non-compliance. Trust me, that number will be an eye-opener not only for you but for the business. When I did this exercise myself, I found that the investment in accessibility could save up to 1.5 million euros in fines for my organization. Showing the data immediately raised the alarms of leadership and secured the time my team needed to work on accessibility.
What if there's no legal requirement?
Accessibility legislation acts are still limited to certain territories, but there's data around the number of users worldwide who present some type of disability.
In 2023, the WHO estimated that 16% of the digital population presents some sort of permanent disability under these categories:
- Visual – Example: blindness, low-vision, color blind
- Hearing – Example: deaf and hard of hearing
- Motor – Example: not having the use of certain limbs and paralysis
- Speech – Example: people who are not able to speak or who have a speech impediment
- Cognitive – Example: dyslexia, autism, ADHD
The total target percentage could be closer to 20% if we take into account temporary impairments (A person with a broken arm or who has had recent eye surgery) or situational limitations (A new parent holding a baby in one arm, someone using their phone in bright sunlight, or a person in a loud environment who cannot hear audio). At some point, WE ALL will need access to inclusive digital experiences.
You could use this information as a proxy metric. Essentially, your business could be benefiting from extra income coming from an untapped market of 20% of underserved users. Yes, there's no guarantee that all those additional users will convert if your products are accessible; there are a lot of factors in their buying decision process. However, if you reduce the friction in their experience, the likelihood of them becoming customers will increase. Crucially, this goes beyond a single transaction. For a community so often met with digital barriers, a seamless and accessible experience builds profound and lasting customer loyalty. These users are not only more likely to stay with your brand but also to become vocal advocates for it.
The empathy appeal: Beyond the numbers with qualitative evidence
While the numbers are compelling, nothing makes the case for accessibility quite like seeing and hearing the real-world experiences of people. Make use of resources that quickly convey the accessibility pain points of your customers.
Record yourself (or, even better, a real user) navigating a crucial business flow using assistive technology. Your UX Research team might be extra helpful here. Use your TikTok producing skills to make it short but compelling.
If you have access to sentiment analysis tools, search for user comments related to accessibility. This can provide a wealth of unsolicited feedback.
Reach out to Customer Service to see if there's any report on the topic. The most powerful feedback often comes from someone who wants to use your product but is blocked by a preventable barrier.
While most organizations acknowledge the importance of accessibility, they often struggle to prioritize it against initiatives with a clearer ROI. By combining hard data such as risk-avoidance (legal fines) and opportunity-seeking (untapped market) with human stories, you create a holistic and undeniable case for prioritizing accessibility. You're not just showing a market opportunity; you're showing the real people you can help by creating a more inclusive product. If you need a partner to help you build that case, we're here to help.
Securing the investment for accessibility is a huge win, congrats! Now, how do you make sure your Design System is accurately held responsible for accessibility? In my next article, I will explore the biggest pitfall to avoid.