How can you ensure your accessibility testing is actionable and relevant to stakeholders?

1 Define your accessibility goals

Before you start your accessibility testing, you need to define your accessibility goals and how they align with your business objectives, user needs, and legal requirements. For example, you might want to achieve a certain level of conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), or improve the user experience for people with specific disabilities or assistive technologies. Having clear and measurable goals will help you scope your testing, select your methods and tools, and prioritize your findings.

2 Choose your accessibility methods and tools

Depending on your accessibility goals, budget, and timeline, you can choose from a variety of accessibility methods and tools to evaluate your product or service. Some common methods include automated testing, manual testing, expert reviews, and user testing. Each method has its strengths and limitations, so you should use a combination of them to get a comprehensive and accurate picture of your accessibility issues and opportunities. You should also use reliable and up-to-date tools that are compatible with your technology stack and testing environment.

3 Involve your stakeholders in the accessibility testing process

One way to ensure your accessibility testing is relevant to your stakeholders is to involve them in the testing process as much as possible. For example, you can invite them to observe or participate in user testing sessions, solicit their feedback on the test scenarios and tasks, or share your interim results and insights with them. This will help you build trust and rapport with your stakeholders, understand their perspectives and expectations, and address any questions or concerns they might have along the way.

4 Report your accessibility findings and recommendations clearly and concisely

After you complete your accessibility testing, you need to report your findings and recommendations to your stakeholders in a clear and concise way. You should use a consistent and structured format that highlights the key issues, impacts, and solutions, and provides evidence and examples to support your claims. You should also use plain and accessible language, avoid jargon and technical terms, and use visual aids such as screenshots, graphs, or videos to illustrate your points. Finally, you should tailor your report to your audience, focusing on the aspects that are most relevant and important to them.

5 Follow up on your accessibility testing outcomes and actions

The last step to ensure your accessibility testing is actionable is to follow up on the outcomes and actions that result from your report. You should monitor the progress and impact of the changes that are implemented, track the metrics and indicators that measure your accessibility performance, and collect feedback from your users and stakeholders on the improvements. You should also communicate the results and achievements of your accessibility testing to your stakeholders, celebrate the successes, and identify the areas for further improvement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?