Accessibility Maturity Models: What, Why & How
Presentation to the Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup by Andrew Hedges, Assistiv Labs on September 19, 2023
A presentation at Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup in September 2023 in Portland, OR, USA by Andrew Hedges
Presentation to the Portland Accessibility and User Experience Meetup by Andrew Hedges, Assistiv Labs on September 19, 2023
Co-founder of Assistiv Labs Longtime web dev & engineering leader Found on the socials @segdeha
Spawn of Capability Maturity Model (CMM), invented in the 1980s by the DOD as a way to figure out why contractors were delivering software late and over budget. What, Why & How
Collage of images from the 1980s showing men and women (with some truly amazing outfits and hair) sitting at various personal computers and workstations.
“The term ‘maturity’ relates to the degree of formality and optimization of processes, from ad hoc practices, to formally defined steps, to managed result metrics, to active optimization of the processes.” – Wikipedia
Maturity models define “a set of structured levels that describe how well the behaviors, practices and processes of an organization can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes.” – Wikipedia
Dimensions measured vary by domain States for each dimension 1. Initial 2. Repeatable 3. Defined 4. Managed/capable 5. Optimizing/efficient
*DAMM = Digital Accessibility Maturity Model
“Each dimensional outcome has a range of suggested proof points, which includes any evidence or necessary measures that can be used to determine the maturity of each dimension. Progress towards achieving maturity is attained by creating the proof points described for each dimension.” – W3C
ICT Development Lifecycle
ICT Development Lifecycle: UX
W3C
Level Access
AbilityNet
“Conformance testing provides information about the level of accessibility conformance of a particular product. Maturity modeling provides information about the ability of an organization to produce accessible products over the long term.” – W3C
The irony is that you need to be at a certain level of organizational maturity to get buy-in to do an assessment. Or do you?
Define what you hope to accomplish:
The W3C lists 32 roles within an organization who should give input to an accessibility maturity assessment. Better just to start if waiting until all 32 roles are covered means you never do.
Changing an organization’s culture is work that is slow and hard. You’ll find quick wins in some areas and other places where the pace and scope never feel like enough. Is it worth it? What’s the alternative?
