Do you have any say in setting the accessibility key performance indicators (KPIs) in your team?
I hope you do. It's crucial to set the right KPIs because not all are created equal.
I noticed a tendency to focus either on superficial metrics, like the percentage of accessible pages, or vague goals, like ensuring the website is usable by everyone. While these might look good on paper, they don’t reflect the actual user experience.
The impact of bad KPIs extends beyond your product. Think about your team. When you pressure them to meet arbitrary metrics, they will become demotivated. They'll start to feel like their work is reduced to chasing numbers. What's worse - they will chase numbers!
Instead, set KPIs that focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Measure real user experiences, like the increase in successful task completions by users with disabilities. This is how you drive your team to prioritise accessibility throughout the product lifecycle.
My advice?
Spend the time to pick the right KPIs. It's worth the effort when you know you'll align accessibility efforts with broader business goals.
Here's some questions to consider:
1. What are some specific accessibility goals for your product?
Are you aiming for WCAG compliance, improving user experience for people with disabilities, or something else? Pick goals that focus on areas that have the most impact on users with disabilities. Compliance will eventually follow.
2. How will you measure the real-world impact on users with disabilities?
Think of metrics that are real time or near-real time and help you make proactive decisions. Good examples are task completion rates for users with assistive technologies or user satisfaction scores.
3. How do your KPIs align with business objectives?
You should seek not only to improve accessibility, but also contribute to overall business goals like user retention and customer satisfaction. Think of KPIs that support your bottom line.
4. Can you realistically achieve these KPIs?
Does your team have the resources, knowledge and tools they need to achieve the KPIs? Nothing's worse than running towards the horizon trying to touch it, yet never getting there.
5. How will you track progress and adjust your KPIs over time?
Your product and your users are not static. Neither are your KPIs. Accessibility is an ongoing process, so consider how you’ll monitor progress and make adjustments when you need to.
Spend the time with your team to answer these questions. Coming up with the right answers will help you make sure you're not just moving, but moving in the right direction.