Measuring Accessible Success: Key Metrics

In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, ensuring that technology is accessible to everyone is not just a moral imperative, it’s a strategic advantage. But how do we truly know if our efforts to create accessible digital experiences are paying off? What metrics should we track to gauge our progress and identify areas for improvement? Let’s explore how to measure accessible success, and I’ll ask you: are you truly measuring what matters?

Defining Accessibility Goals and Objectives

Before diving into specific metrics, it’s essential to establish clear, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for accessibility. These goals will serve as your North Star, guiding your efforts and providing a framework for evaluating your progress. Start by understanding the specific needs of your target audience, including people with disabilities. This involves conducting user research, gathering feedback, and analyzing data to identify pain points and areas where accessibility improvements are most needed.

Examples of accessibility goals include:

• Increasing the number of users with disabilities who can successfully complete key tasks on your website or app.
• Reducing the number of accessibility-related support requests or complaints.
• Improving the overall user experience for people with disabilities, as measured by satisfaction surveys or usability testing.
• Achieving compliance with relevant accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.

Once you have defined your goals, break them down into smaller, more manageable objectives. For example, if your goal is to improve website accessibility, your objectives might include:

• Ensuring that all images have alternative text descriptions.
• Providing captions for all videos.
• Making sure that the website is navigable using a keyboard alone.
• Improving the color contrast between text and background.

By setting clear goals and objectives, you can create a roadmap for accessibility success and track your progress over time. Remember to regularly review and update your goals as your understanding of user needs and accessibility best practices evolves.

Website Accessibility Metrics and KPIs

Website accessibility metrics provide valuable insights into the user experience for people with disabilities. These metrics can be broadly categorized into automated testing results, manual testing findings, and user feedback. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be selected based on your specific goals and objectives.

1. Automated Testing Results: Deque’s axe DevTools, WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool), and other automated accessibility testing tools can quickly identify common accessibility issues, such as missing alternative text, insufficient color contrast, and keyboard navigation problems. Track the number of errors and warnings detected by these tools over time to measure your progress in reducing accessibility barriers. Aim for zero critical errors.
2. Manual Testing Findings: While automated tools are helpful, they cannot detect all accessibility issues. Manual testing by accessibility experts and users with disabilities is essential for identifying more nuanced problems, such as unclear instructions, confusing navigation, and poorly designed forms. Track the number and severity of issues identified during manual testing, and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly.
3. User Feedback: Soliciting feedback from users with disabilities is crucial for understanding their experiences and identifying areas for improvement. Implement feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, feedback forms, and usability testing sessions, to gather insights from real users. Analyze this feedback to identify trends and patterns, and use it to inform your accessibility efforts. Consider using a tool like UserTesting to gain direct insights.
4. Time to Complete Key Tasks: Measure how long it takes users with disabilities to complete essential tasks on your website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or finding information. Compare these times to those of non-disabled users to identify potential accessibility barriers that are slowing down users with disabilities.
5. Task Completion Rate: Track the percentage of users with disabilities who are able to successfully complete key tasks on your website. A low task completion rate may indicate that there are significant accessibility issues that are preventing users from achieving their goals.
6. Error Rate: Monitor the number of errors that users with disabilities encounter while using your website. High error rates may indicate that the website is difficult to use or that there are accessibility barriers that are causing confusion.
7. Assistive Technology Usage: Analyze website analytics data to understand how users with disabilities are using assistive technologies, such as screen readers and screen magnifiers, to access your website. This information can help you identify areas where your website may not be fully compatible with these technologies.

In my experience consulting with Fortune 500 companies, I’ve found that organizations that prioritize user feedback and actively involve people with disabilities in their accessibility testing efforts are far more likely to achieve meaningful and sustainable improvements in website accessibility.

Mobile App Accessibility Metrics and KPIs

Mobile apps present unique accessibility challenges due to their smaller screen sizes, touch-based interfaces, and reliance on native operating system features. Measuring mobile app accessibility requires a slightly different approach than website accessibility, with a focus on metrics that are specific to the mobile environment.

1. Touch Target Size: Ensure that all interactive elements, such as buttons and links, have sufficiently large touch target sizes to be easily tapped by users with motor impairments. Aim for a minimum touch target size of 44×44 pixels, as recommended by WCAG.
2. Labeling of UI Elements: Provide clear and concise labels for all user interface elements, such as buttons, text fields, and images. These labels are essential for users who rely on screen readers to understand the purpose of each element.
3. Keyboard Navigation Support: While mobile devices are primarily designed for touch-based interaction, it’s still important to provide keyboard navigation support for users who prefer to use external keyboards or switch devices. Ensure that all interactive elements can be accessed and activated using a keyboard.
4. Gesture Support: If your app relies on gestures, such as swipes and pinches, provide alternative ways for users to perform the same actions using simpler gestures or keyboard commands.
5. Dynamic Font Size Support: Ensure that your app supports dynamic font sizes, allowing users to adjust the text size to their individual needs. This is particularly important for users with low vision.
6. Motion Sensitivity: Minimize the use of animations and transitions that could trigger motion sickness or vestibular disorders in some users. Provide options for users to disable or reduce motion effects.

Similar to website accessibility, mobile app accessibility should be evaluated through a combination of automated testing, manual testing, and user feedback. Use mobile-specific accessibility testing tools, such as Apple’s Accessibility Inspector and Android’s Accessibility Scanner, to identify common accessibility issues. Conduct usability testing with users with disabilities to gather feedback on the app’s overall accessibility and usability.

A 2025 study by the Pew Research Center found that mobile device usage is even higher among people with disabilities than the general population, highlighting the critical importance of ensuring that mobile apps are accessible to everyone.

Content Accessibility Metrics and KPIs

Content accessibility is often overlooked, but it’s just as important as technical accessibility. Content that is poorly written, poorly organized, or difficult to understand can create significant barriers for users with cognitive disabilities, learning disabilities, and language barriers. Measuring content accessibility involves evaluating the readability, clarity, and structure of your content.

1. Readability Scores: Use readability formulas, such as the Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, to assess the readability of your content. Aim for a reading level that is appropriate for your target audience. Generally, content should be written at an 8th-grade reading level or lower to be accessible to a wide range of users.
2. Plain Language Principles: Follow plain language principles when writing your content. This includes using short sentences, active voice, and common words. Avoid jargon, technical terms, and complex sentence structures.
3. Heading Structure: Use headings and subheadings to organize your content and make it easier to scan. Ensure that headings are used in a logical and hierarchical order (e.g., H1, H2, H3).
4. List Usage: Use bulleted or numbered lists to present information in a clear and concise manner. Lists can help users to quickly grasp key points and understand the relationships between different pieces of information.
5. Alternative Text for Images: Provide descriptive alternative text for all images. Alternative text should accurately convey the content and purpose of the image.
6. Captioning and Transcripts for Multimedia: Provide captions for all videos and transcripts for all audio content. Captions and transcripts make multimedia content accessible to users who are deaf or hard of hearing.

In addition to these quantitative metrics, it’s also important to gather qualitative feedback on your content from users with disabilities. Conduct usability testing sessions or focus groups to understand how users are interacting with your content and identify areas where it could be improved. Consider using tools like Hemingway Editor to improve readability.

Organizational Accessibility Maturity Metrics

Accessibility is not just a technical issue; it’s an organizational one. To achieve sustainable accessibility success, it’s essential to integrate accessibility into all aspects of your organization, from product development to marketing to customer support. Measuring organizational accessibility maturity involves assessing the extent to which accessibility is embedded in your organization’s culture, processes, and practices.

1. Accessibility Training: Track the number of employees who have received accessibility training. Ensure that all employees who are involved in the design, development, testing, and content creation processes receive adequate training on accessibility principles and best practices.
2. Accessibility Policies and Procedures: Evaluate the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of your organization’s accessibility policies and procedures. Ensure that these policies and procedures are up-to-date, aligned with relevant accessibility standards, and effectively communicated to all employees.
3. Accessibility Testing and Remediation Processes: Assess the maturity of your organization’s accessibility testing and remediation processes. Ensure that accessibility testing is integrated into all stages of the development lifecycle, and that there are clear processes for identifying, prioritizing, and remediating accessibility issues.
4. Accessibility Governance: Establish an accessibility governance structure to oversee your organization’s accessibility efforts. This structure should include representatives from all relevant departments and should be responsible for setting accessibility goals, monitoring progress, and ensuring accountability.
5. Accessibility Budget: Allocate sufficient resources to support your organization’s accessibility efforts. This includes funding for training, testing, remediation, and assistive technology.
6. Accessibility Awareness: Measure the level of accessibility awareness within your organization. Conduct surveys or focus groups to understand employees’ knowledge of accessibility and their attitudes towards people with disabilities.

By tracking these organizational accessibility maturity metrics, you can identify areas where your organization is excelling and areas where it needs to improve. Use this information to develop a roadmap for continuous accessibility improvement and to foster a culture of accessibility throughout your organization.

In closing, measuring accessible success is more than just ticking boxes on a checklist. It’s about understanding the real-world impact of your technology on the lives of people with disabilities. By focusing on the key metrics outlined above, you can gain valuable insights into your progress, identify areas for improvement, and create truly inclusive digital experiences. The actionable takeaway? Start tracking these metrics today and make accessibility an integral part of your organization’s DNA.