Since mid-February, I've been diving deep into accessibility debt from a product owner's perspective. It's been quite the journey, covering everything from the basics to advanced team accountability strategies. Here's what we explored together.
Starting with the fundamentals
We kicked things off by defining what accessibility debt actually is. It's more than broken websites. It's the accumulation of accessibility issues that pile up when teams don't prioritise inclusive design from the start.
I covered five common causes that create this debt in the first place. Things like rushing to market, lack of knowledge and missing accessibility testing practices.
Understanding the real impact
The business case for tackling accessibility debt isn't just about doing the right thing. We looked at how it affects your metrics from four different angles: bottom-line revenue, hidden operational costs, legal risk and brand reputation.
When you can't serve users who are disabled, you're literally leaving money on the table. Plus, the legal landscape is getting tougher and nobody wants to deal with a lawsuit.
Getting your arms around the problem
Before you can fix accessibility debt, you need to measure it. I walked through practical ways to assess your current situation, what KPIs actually matter and how to visualise trends so stakeholders can see progress over time.
Making smart decisions about what to fix first
Here's where it gets tactical. With limited time and resources, you can't fix everything at once. I covered different prioritisation frameworks to help you decide what to tackle first.
We explored how to evaluate the real-world impact of issues, not just their technical severity. Sometimes a "minor" issue affects way more users than a "critical" one that only shows up in edge cases.
The technical implementation side matters too. Some fixes are quick wins, others require major refactoring. Smart product owners factor this into their decisions.
Balancing competing priorities
Product owners live in the world of trade-offs. I showed how to communicate accessibility objectives to stakeholders and link them to business outcomes they actually care about.
It's about creating decision-making processes that work for your team and your product. Good prioritisation lives or dies by how you communicate results and next steps to people who control the budget.
Metrics that actually matter
Forget the vanity numbers. I identified six accessibility metrics that matter and how to present them to stakeholders in ways that drive action.
The key is connecting accessibility improvements to business metrics leadership already tracks. When you can show how fixing accessibility debt improves conversion rates or reduces support tickets, suddenly you have their attention.
Building team accountability
This is where the rubber meets the road. You can have all the frameworks and metrics in the world, but if your team isn't accountable for accessibility, nothing changes.
I outlined four ways to build accountability into your process. I started with assigning clear roles so every accessibility requirement has an owner. No more "everyone's responsible" which really means nobody is.
Setting measurable goals comes next. Teams need specific targets, not vague aspirations about being "more accessible."
Including accessibility in your Definition of Done creates automatic accountability. If your work isn't accessible, it's not done. Period.
Keeping the momentum going
Regular audits prevent accessibility debt from skyrocketing again. But here's the thing! Traditional audits often happen too late to be useful.
That's where just-in-time training comes in. Instead of generic accessibility workshops, focus on fixing real issues in real time. When someone creates an inaccessible form, that's the perfect moment to teach them how to do it right.
This approach connects learning directly to the work people are already doing. It's more effective and way less boring than sitting through another PowerPoint deck.
The ongoing challenge
Accessibility debt isn't a problem you solve once and forget about. It's an ongoing challenge that requires systems, processes and team commitment.
The good news is that when you build these practices into your workflow, preventing accessibility debt becomes much easier than constantly playing catch-up. Teams that get this right find they're building better products, not just more accessible products.
That's what this whole series was about.
Taking accessibility from something that happens to you to something you actively manage and improve. Because at the end of the day, building products that work for everyone isn't just good business. It'll sound soooo much like a cliche when I'll say it, but I'll say it anyway.
It's the right thing to do.
I've put together a list of all the emails in this series you can review.