Every digital platform, whether it's a website, a web app, or a mobile app, has a lifecycle. We have the idea, we develop it, we use it and make it evolve, then the end of life of the platform arrives and it is replaced by a new technology, or a new version.
There is a belief that making a digital platform accessible is extremely difficult and extremely expensive. This is not necessarily wrong, but not necessarily true. For example, if we decide to validate the accessibility of our digital platform at the end of development, it will be difficult and costly to correct the accessibility problems that have crept in during development. Since accessibility was not considered throughout the course of the project, we may find ourselves faced with unforeseen costs and faced with budgetary or delivery pressure which in turn lead us to decide not to go ahead with digital accessibility for our visitors.
However, there is a way to be more economical and efficient in our support for digital accessibility for our properties. By integrating accessibility into each of the stages of development of our digital platform, we ensure that the needs and particularities of our users with disabilities are considered from the stage of project planning on. This allows for better technological, design, and code choices that will facilitate accessibility and create an accessible experience from the start, from the first iteration. When we get to the final validation of accessibility, the fixes are much smaller.
Finally, when you work with developers, designers, and writers who are familiar with the concepts and principles of digital accessibility, you can make content accessible from the start by eliminating rework. Clearly, you save time and money, which is what all public and private organizations like to hear.
|
Stage |
Without Accessibility |
With Accessibility |
|
Planning |
No specific consideration |
Inclusion of personas with limitations, accessibility standards |
|
Design |
No specific consideration |
Design by considering personas, accessibility standard |
|
Development |
No specific consideration |
Accessibility included in requirements and validated in the iterative development loop |
|
Tests |
Detection of compliance problems at the end of the project, heavy remediation phase |
Accessibility validation and correction included in test cycles |
|
Maintenance et evolution |
Accessibility regressions with updates; Difficulty prioritizing accessibility fixes that have accumulated over time |
Accessibility validation included in the test cycle, detection and regression correction. Accessibility is part of the life cycle; it is considered in a usual way
|
What's the next step?
We’ll be taking breaking down each stage in the digital lifecycle in the next posts to come, until then if you're looking for an amazing digital partner? Ciao is here, reach out and tell us about your project!