How to get started on accessibility before you even have a product

Test your competitors’ products to discover their accessibility strengths and weaknesses

Take accessibility into account as part of your research and competitive analysis. We often talk about accessibility as a competitive advantage in the marketplace — people with disabilities are often very loyal customers when they find a solution that works well for them.

Five things to consider when testing your competitor’s product

1. Can you use your competitor’s product using only a keyboard?

If you can, they’re thinking about accessibility in a reasonably mature way.

2. When you’re using your competitors’ products with a keyboard, can you see a visual focus indicator?

You should always be able to see the focus outline in an interface as you’re moving through with the keyboard. If you can see it, they’ve done a decent job of making things accessible. If you can’t see it, then there’s opportunity for you to outshine them when it comes to designing for keyboard usage.

3. Do all of the form fields have visible labels that are programmatically tied to their field?

If you click on the label, you should see the focus go into the label’s field. If the product has good form labels, there’s a good chance other parts of the interface are also accessible.

4. What does automated testing tell you about the product?

Automated testing is only part of the solution, but it often serves as a good proxy for the entire picture. A team that has taken good care of accessibility in their product won’t have many issues detectable by automated tools. On the flip side, if their product has a lot of issues detected with automation, there’s a good chance they also have many other accessibility issues.

5. Does their product use semantic markup well?

Do they use <h1> to <h6> for headings? Do they use actual <button> elements and real links for things that are clickable or is all just a mess of <div> and <span> elements with click handlers attached?

How did they do?

This isn’t an exhaustive list, but if you take a look at how well your competitors are performing in each of the above categories, you’ll get a sense of where they’ve valued accessibility. Then you can note opportunities to be more accessible and give your product the competitive advantage.

I know — you’re probably saying, “But we don’t have time for accessibility. We have to get to market faster!”

I get that. I do. But remember this: the reason most people think accessibility takes longer is that they’ve always done it retroactively. That’s what eats up all the time. Doing things right from the start will save time in the long run.

Talk to people with disabilities to find out what they want from your product

People with disabilities are the original life hackers. When a product or solution doesn’t meet their needs, they find a way to fill that need themselves.

Here’s a great example. Many gamers with disabilities modified video game controllers, installing bigger buttons, sip/puff devices, mounts to enable one-handed play, etc.

It took a while, but eventually Microsoft turned that idea into the Xbox Adaptive Controller (XAC). The XAC takes into account the needs of people with disabilities and accessibility features are built into the product. Microsoft has won awards for this brilliant piece of design.

And that’s because Microsoft did the research to figure out what needs aren’t being met by existing controllers.

You can do the same. Go and talk with people with disabilities that use products like yours. See what they’re doing to solve the accessibility problems that they’re facing. Those mods and hacks express a specific need that exists that isn’t being met. Your product can be the one that meets those needs.

What does accessibility success look like?

You’ve done some competitive analysis. You’ve looked at the needs of people with disabilities that aren’t being met. You’ve figured out ways that your product can meet those needs. What comes next? Now it’s time to set a vision for accessibility.

When writing your vision, act like it already happened. Write the product reviews and testimonials that you hope to receive in the first year after launch.

To get your creative juices flowing, think along these lines:

• “I can’t believe how easy it was to use the Flubbberty service. I can’t thank you enough for the attention to detail, and how easily the app worked when I used my assistive technology. I was expecting the worst as I’ve used other competing apps, but your app… it was a dream to use. I didn’t need any help from customer service, and I can’t say that for many apps that I use.”
• “Using the Jobstrrr app was smooth sailing… I was able to apply for new jobs and easily manage the different versions of my resume. I’ve always struggled with that — the other apps I’ve used always represented my resumes as images, but Jobstrrr allows me to make notes and put really useful descriptions on each version so I know exactly which ones I should use for each job application.”
• “You set the bar very high — none of the other podcast services are as easy to use as yours, and I really appreciate the way transcripts are a first-class citizen in the interface. I’m grateful that you invited us to participate in usability studies for the player. I’ve felt connected to your product ever since! I’ll be recommending PodListnnnr to all my friends and encourage them to buy their own license right away.”

All of these fake testimonials tell the story of how accessibility and inclusion will unfold. They’re not bogged down in details, requirements, or implementation. They’re simply statements that you’d love to get from your clients. When you write these, you help set the tone for what’s about to come.

The best part? You don’t even need an actual product to create these.