Accelerating accessibility in the public sector

The public sector is truly unique. No other space serves a diverse population across a large volume of varying services. Public sector leaders must adapt to delivering equitable digital accessibility experiences to their constituents. This is a massive opportunity for improvement, as a 2023 study found 28.6 accessibility errors on the average government homepage. With one in four adults in the U.S. navigating a disability, deciphering how to access critical government services shouldn’t be an additional hindrance.

From an accessibility standpoint, the public sector does a better job than most, but these organizations exist to serve their constituents. Digital accessibility is not a nice to have; it’s a must for ensuring that public sector organizations fully live up to that duty. While there is a new sense of urgency for compliance with federal guidance on accessibility and with W3C guidelines for web accessibility, state and local governments are set to experience the most disruption. Legacy IT stacks, siloed systems, backlogs and a lack of cohesion affect most organizations within the public sector.

It takes time to implement and scale change. While some entities have implemented major changes to meet the public’s needs, true digital accessibility means creating engagement beyond usability. The most effective way for government agencies to ensure they are creating equitable digital experiences is by designing with people with disabilities in mind from the start.

Change is a three-step process
Regulations force state and local governments to fill the digital accessibility gaps plaguing them. Effective change starts with three steps: research, remediation and governance.

The public sector’s first step is to review existing accessibility concerns, feedback and known issues across digital experiences. This is crucial as it helps define target personas with different physical and cognitive abilities for field research. Your time spent in the field or an accessibility lab, understanding how someone with different accessibility needs navigates applications or websites, is invaluable.

It’s time to move away from the programmatic punch list and prioritize empathy and impact by fostering human connections. Your captured user feedback is the key to implementing usability-specific test plans that address unique concerns, making your role in this process integral and valued in going beyond usability and into useful and desirable experiences.

Once the research is complete, teams need to understand their remediation plans. This includes assessing what accessibility fixes must be implemented and creating an action plan to prioritize issues based on their severity and impact. Lastly, government organizations must internally decide how improving accessibility can be managed and implement new processes and strategies to successfully execute long-term changes.

This level of understanding empowers entities to develop a roadmap that helps prioritize improvements and establishes new processes and strategies. This commitment to continuous improvement helps organizations maintain compliance while continuously enhancing their digital accessibility, a goal we are all motivated to achieve.

Influence of technology
Technology plays a critical role in this. A deep look at an entity’s technology stack could significantly improve the understanding of the accessibility issues at hand. Aging technology is one of the biggest culprits behind agencies not meeting accessibility compliance requirements. Some agency IT departments rely on legacy systems that have been around for decades, and old and new technologies sometimes don’t play nicely together. Adapting the overall tech strategy enables entities to scale accessible experiences quickly while making the most of their tech investments.

A three-step approach combined with readying the technology stack enables agencies to quickly implement the required design principles validated by user needs and meet compliance regulations.

Continuous improvement for continuous connection
It’s clear government agencies need a multi-layered approach to ensure they are meeting the needs of their constituents and remaining compliant with regulatory requirements. As governments continue to navigate these intricacies, it’s critical that they create accessible experiences from the get-go. These shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Employing a three-step process for managing accessibility allows the public sector to develop enduring partnerships with the disabled community by keeping them front of mind at every stage. When constituents know and feel their voices are being heard, a connection is formed and areas for improvement are provided continuously.

This won’t happen overnight. The public sector has historically struggled with managing accessibility, updating its processes and training its staff. Organizations must partner with experts focused on end-to-end transformation, which includes accessibility in every product designed.

Government agencies that proactively meet regulatory requirements showcase their commitment to providing equitable experiences and remain compliant. As the public sector looks ahead, things need to be designed for people with disabilities in mind from the start. When they are, experiences are inevitably better for everyone.

David Schell, senior principal, product and experience design at Launch by NTT DATA, is a passionate and experienced digital leader with a focus on insight driven design. Specializing in building brands in the digital space, informed user experiences, digital strategy and cross-platform product development. Throughout his career, Schell has worked for various clients in varying industries. Clients such as Adobe, AT&T, Pearson, Volkswagen, Cisco, Lee, Google, Intuit, Kaiser Permanente, Intrawest, Toyota and Lexus. Prior to joining Launch, Schell worked on the client side, where he built and led a 100+ person international product and experience design team for Pearson, the world’s largest education company.