What product metrics could warn you that accessibility is likely to cause rework?
That's the question I've been sitting with and probably will keep exploring for a while. It's a fantastic question because if accessibility only shows up as an audit finding, it's too late and will already result in rework.
Here's my first attempt at figuring out these useful signals. I think there's a silver lining to this list. Most of these, your team is already tracking.
Reopened tickets show work the team believed was finished, but had to revisit. This often means "done" didn't include enough evidence that users could complete the task.
Escape rate tracks accessibility issues found later than they should have been. Maybe during QA, pre-release checks, after launch or by users. The thing is the timing matters because the same issue found during design may be small, but when found two days before the release, it can become expensive and disruptive.
Repeated issue types show the same kind of accessibility issue appearing across features, teams or releases. This generally means the team is fixing tickets, not the patterns or decisions creating them.
Accessibility bug ageing shows how long known accessibility issues stay open. Old issues often show where risk is being accepted by default, not managed through a clear decision. They also become harder to fix as the product changes around them.
Accessibility debt growth shows whether known shortcuts, exceptions and deferred fixes are increasing or decreasing. Debt that only grows will eventually become rework, release risk or an expensive cleanup project.
Exception count tracks "ship now, fix later" decisions. Exceptions are not always bad, but they become risky when they have no owner, no date and no clear reason.
Acceptance criteria coverage shows how often stories define accessible, usable outcomes before work starts. When accessibility is missing from acceptance criteria, it often returns later as rework.
Hotfixes after release show urgent fixes caused by missed accessibility problems. It means something serious escaped normal checks and had to be fixed under pressure, after users or customers had already been affected.
Regression rate shows fixed accessibility issues coming back later. That suggests the lesson didn't stick in tests, components, patterns or team habits.
Procurement friction tracks delays, questions or lost confidence during sales, renewals or customer review. Accessibility risk does not stay inside delivery. It can affect trust and buying decisions too.
For me, the most telling are:
- reopened tickets
- accessibility debt growth
- regression rate