Digital accessibility isn’t just about compliance—it’s about ensuring everyone can access and interact with web content effectively. As organizations aim to improve user experience across their digital portfolios, automated remediation tools have gained popularity among digital teams. The rise of automated solutions alongside traditional manual approaches to addressing issues has created new opportunities for organizations to drive efficiency in their accessibility programs.
What is automated remediation?
Automated remediation technology leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and fix many common accessibility issues automatically. By harnessing this technology, organizations can free up valuable development hours, allowing teams to focus on rarer and more complex issues that require human intervention.
Manual vs. automated remediation
While automated remediation tools are powerful allies in the accessibility journey, it’s important to note that they cannot yet detect and address all issues. For that reason, teams should use automated remediation technology in combination with manual testing and remediation to ensure comprehensive accessibility and compliance.
Here’s a brief overview of both methodologies and their unique advantages.
Manual testing and remediation
Manual testing and remediation involve human experts reviewing and fixing accessibility issues. This approach offers:
- Contextual understanding of complex accessibility challenges.
- Nuanced problem-solving for unique situations.
- Comprehensive testing across different assistive technologies.
- Custom solutions for complex interactions.
- Quality assurance with real-world usage scenarios.
Expert testing is needed to identify issues that automated tools might miss. For example, testers may detect the inappropriate use of ARIA labels or ensure that interactive components make sense in context. Additionally, many issues can only be reliably fixed by an experienced human professional.
Automated remediation technology
Automated remediation tools regularly scan websites to find and address common accessibility issues without the need for manual effort. The benefits of these tools include:
- Rapid scanning of large websites and applications.
- Consistent results across similar elements.
- Cost-effective solutions for common issues.
- Scalable implementations for enterprise websites.
- Regular monitoring and reporting.
Modern automated remediation tools can handle many issues, such as missing alternative text, incorrect heading structures, and color contrast problems. However, because they are still limited in scope, they are most effective when implemented as part of a comprehensive accessibility strategy rather than a standalone solution.
How do testing methodologies support remediation?
While automated remediation tools both identify and address common accessibility issues, the term “remediation” itself specifically refers to the process of fixing errors. Finding these errors—whether through automation, manual evaluation, or (ideally) a combination of both—is a necessary first step to improve accessibility.
Let’s explore some of the methods organizations can take to detect issues prior to remediation.
Automated testing
Beyond the testing capabilities of automated remediation technology, organizations can use a variety of automated scanning and monitoring tools to surface accessibility errors. Automated testing solutions can be used for:
- Regular scans using multiple tools.
- Cross-browser compatibility checks.
- Performance monitoring.
- Code validation.
- Regression testing.
Manual testing
Like automated remediation technology, other currently available automated testing tools are not yet capable of identifying all issues. For this reason, organizations should engage accessibility experts to manually evaluate important digital assets. These experts will test for issues impacting various aspects of accessibility, including:
- Screen reader compatibility.
- Keyboard navigation.
- Compatibility with dictation software.
- Mobile accessibility.
A comprehensive manual evaluation should also include use case testing, which involves native users of assistive technologies attempting to complete core tasks, like making a purchase. This practice is essential to understand the real-world usability of a digital experience for people with disabilities.
The business impact of ADA remediation
Implementing an effective accessibility testing and remediation process, leveraging both automated and manual techniques, is both a compliance imperative and a business best practice. Here are a few of the key outcomes that businesses can hope to achieve through these processes:
- Comply with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to avoid costly litigation
- Expand market reach to over one billion people with disabilities worldwide
- Improve user experience for all visitors, not just those with disabilities
- Demonstrate social responsibility and commitment to inclusion
- Enhance brand reputation and customer loyalty
Creating a sustainable remediation process
To establish a sustainable, comprehensive remediation process that supports their digital accessibility goals, organizations should adhere to the following roadmap:
1. Initial assessment
- Gap analysis against WCAG guidelines
- Comprehensive accessibility audit
- Priority setting based on impact
- Resource allocation
- Timeline development
2. Implementation strategy
- Selection of appropriate tools and technologies
- Team training and capacity building
- Development of remediation workflows
- Quality control measures
- Progress tracking mechanisms
3. Continuous improvement
- Regular monitoring and testing
- User feedback collection and analysis
- Updates to accommodate new standards
- Team skill development
- Process optimization
Cost considerations
Implementing a successful remediation strategy can require time and resources. However, it’s important to weigh the short-term costs of accessibility against the long-term benefits of this practice. When budgeting for accessibility remediation, consider:
Common accessibility costs
- Automated tool subscriptions
- Expert consultation fees
- Staff training
- Testing equipment
- Documentation resources
Common accessibility benefits
- Reduced legal risk
- Increased market share
- Improved SEO performance
- Better user experience
- Enhanced brand value
Integrating accessibility into experience creation
The most cost-effective, and sustainable, approach to accessibility is to proactively integrate accessibility into the experience creation process—minimizing the need for reactive remediation altogether. A proactive accessibility strategy involves considering accessibility in design and development as well as content creation.
Best practices for accessible design and development
- Use accessibility-first design principles.
- Implement automated testing in CI/CD pipelines.
- Create accessible component libraries.
- Document accessibility requirements.
- Train developers in accessibility.
Best practices for accessible content creation
- Establish accessible content guidelines.
- Use accessible templates.
- Provide alt text for images.
- Create transcripts for multimedia.
- Use clear and consistent navigation.
Embracing automation: A new era of accessibility
Accessibility isn’t just about fixing code—it’s about creating a more inclusive digital world where technology breaks down barriers instead of building them.
By combining AI-powered automatic remediation tools with human expertise, organizations can efficiently and effectively resolve issues impacting users. And by embracing proactive accessibility practices, teams can even more seamlessly weave inclusion into the fabric of our online world.
