Applause：2023年數(shù)字質(zhì)量報告 State of Digital Quality

2023

StateofDigital

Quality

APPLAUSE

Contents

03ExecutiveSummary

04Methodology

05FunctionalTesting

11AccessibilityTesting

17LocalizationTesting

22CustomerJourneyTesting

25PaymentTesting

29Conclusion

APPLAUSE

Executivesummary

Forthesecondyear,Applauseanalyzedarepresentativesampleofourtestingdatatoidentifyandanalyzethemostcommon

flawsindigitalexperiencesandmapouthow

companiescanstopthemfromreachingend

users.Weevaluatedexperiencesacrossmore

than16,000individualmobiledevices,1,000

uniquedesktopsand500OSversionstoassessendlesscombinationsofnetworks,browsers,

paymentinstrumentsandintegrationsworldwide.Weholduniqueinsightintothestateofdigital

qualitybasedonourworkwithcompaniesin

diverseindustriesandregions,fromvarying

technologicalmaturitylevels,whoarecreatingawiderangeofapplicationtypes.

Thisyearweincludedadditionaldataaboutthemostfrequentlytesteddevices,configurationsandpaymentinstrumentsindifferentlocales

andindustries,aswellastheaveragenumberofconfigurationstested.Wealsoshared

observationsonthecorecapabilities,practicesandprocessesinplaceatorganizationsat

differentlevelsofcommitmenttodigitalquality.

Somehighlightsfromthisyear’sreport:

→Digitalqualityisanintersectionaldiscipline.

Functionality,localization,accessibility,

payments,customerexperienceandUX

bleedintooneanother.Assessdifferent

componentsofanappordigitalexperience

holistically,notjustinisolation,totruly

understandcustomerencounterswithyour

brand.WithApplausetestersuncovering

morethan200,000defectslastyear,it’sclearthatdevelopmentorganizationshavealong

waytogointhepursuitofexcellence.

→Applause’s2023accessibilityandinclusive

designsurveyfoundthat43%ofrespondents

ratedaccessibilityasatoppriorityfor

theirorganization.Nearlythreequarters

—72%—reportedthattheircompanyhasadedicatedaccessibilityexpertonstaff.

Productdesignersandengineersarebuildingaccessibilityintoproductsandcodesooner

andmoreoftenthaninthepast.

→Asmorepersonalizedexperiencesbecome

thenorm,organizationsmustassess

functionalityandUXacrossmoredevice

combinations,configurations,workflowsanddimensions.Testmatrices—andapplicationsthemselves—arebecomingmorecomplex

andhardertomanage.

→TrainingandtestingtheAIandmachine

learning(ML)enginesthatsupportgreaterpersonalizationrequiresspecializeddata

andknowledgethatmanybusinessesdon’thave—andstruggletofind.Applause’s

AIandVoicesurveyfoundthat86%of

respondentshaveconcernsaboutbiasin

AIthatcompaniesmustaddresstomaintaincustomers’trustandloyalty.

→Thoughcompaniestakemanydifferent

approachestodigitalqualityandprogress

alongdifferentpaths,we’veobserved

somecommonalitiesthatcorrespondto

differentstagesofcommitmentto—and

developmentof—digitalexcellence.Ratherthanformalmaturitymodels,weoffersomesimpleframeworksthatorganizationsmay

usetobenchmarkthestructure,efficiency,effectivenessandscalabilityoftheirdigitalqualityeffortsacrossvaryingdimensions.

Whilecultures,processesandmaturity

levelsaredynamicandthere’snotalways

cleardemarcationwhereonestageends

andanotherbegins,anhonestlookatthe

statusquocanspotlightwhicheffortswill

deliverthegreatestimpacttodigitalquality.

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

3

Methodology

Weanalyzedresultsfromarepresentative

sampleofclosedtestcyclesexecutedbetweenJanuary1,2022andDecember31,2022.AtestcycleishowApplausedefineseachuniquesetoftests:aclientsendsustestingparameters—builds,scope,coverage,etc.—andwecreateatestcyclethatincludesthespecifictestcases

andscenariostobetested.

Weanalyzeddataacrossindustries,testing

categoriesandregionsspanningmorethan

200,000bugs,tensofthousandsofdevices,andthousandsofdevice/OS/browsercombinations.

Testingincludedwebsites,apps,IoTdevices,mobilewebandmobileappsinreal-world

scenarios.

Devicecoverage

Thefiguresinthisreportreflecttestsacrossthefollowingscopeworldwide:

MobileDevices

Mobilemakes

167

Mobilemodels

2,296

MobileOSes

21

MobileOSversions

396

Mobilewebbrowsers

36

Mobilecarriers

573

Media

Set-top/streamingdevices

181

Gamingconsoles

35

SmartTVs

2,270

TVproviders

65

ISPs

164

Desktop

Desktopwebbrowsers35

DesktopOSes10

DesktopOSversions202

PaymentMethods

Credit/debitcards

3,224

E-Wallets

48

Mobilewallets

87

Alternatepayments

83

Home

Smarthomedevices

84

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

4

Functionaltesting

Askadeveloper,aQAengineeranduser

whetheranappworksandyoumaygetthree

verydifferentanswers.Ultimately,however,

individualusersdeterminewhethereachapp

workswellenoughforthemtoadoptit.Startingwiththebasics—frommakingsureuserscan

downloadandinstallanapp,throughvalidatingmorecomplexworkflowsandintegrations,

includingAPIs,IoTandBluetoothconnections—organizationsmustensurebasicfunctionalitybeforereleasinganapptocustomers…which

doesn’talwaysbegintoaddressUXconcerns.

Whilefunctionalteststhemselvesareoftennot

difficult,conductingthenumberoftestsrequiredinthenecessarytimeframe,acrossthespectrumofdevicesandOSconfigurationsneeded,posesachallengeformanyQAanddevelopment

teams.Inaddition,teamsoftenprioritizetestingoverdevelopingtestingstrategyordoingthe

routineworkthatmakestestingmoreefficient

andeffectiveinthelongrun.Raiseyourhand

ifyou’veeverputofftestsuitemaintenance,

releasedwhiletestingwasinprogress,pulledinhelpfromotherdepartmentstocompletetesting,orreleasedwithriskbecausetherewasnotime.

Thedataset

Arepresentativesampleoffunctionaltests.

173,725

bugs

38,920

testcycles

70+

industries

153

countries

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

5

Bugtypedefinitions

BugType

UserExperience

Content

“Thisdoesn’treadright”

Typos,grammaticalissues

Crash

“Theappshutdown”

Appclosesorquitsunexpectedly

Functional(workflowerrors)

“Thisdoesn’tworkright”

Buttonsdon’trespondwhen

clicked,searchesreturnincorrectresults

Lagsandlatency

“Thisistakingtoolong”

Sluggishperformance,freezes

Visual

“Thisdoesn’tlookright”

Misalignedcontentorpage

elements,contentdoesn’tfitanarea

APPLAUSE

Bugtypebreakdown

Seetheprevalenceofeachtypeofbugacrossthedataweanalyzed:

4.8%

17.8%Content4.8%Crash

49%Functional

3.9%Lags&latency24.5%Visual

3.9%

17.8%

24.5%

49%

Thecompositionofbugtypesidentifiedremainsthesameaslastyear.Functional,

visualandcontentdefectscontinuetocompriseover90%ofallbugsfound.While

crashesarethemostcriticalflaw,theycontinuetoplagueappswithnosignofyear-over-yearimprovement.

Forfunctionaltestingdevicecoveragecomparisonsandthemostpopulardevicestested,pleasesee

AppendixA

.

StateofDigitalQuality20236

Howonefintechensuresinnovationandexcellence

AnApplauseglobalfintechcustomerwithaleadingfinancialtradingplatformwas

challengedtomaintainquality,innovationandpersonnelmanagement.Hundredsofappsneededtofunctionseamlesslywithinthehigh-stakesplatform,yetthefirmwasstrugglingtoreleasenewfeatureswhile

maintainingmassiveregressiontestingsuites.Inaddition,alltestershadtobehighlytrainedinfinancialtrading.

ThefintechteamedwithApplauseto

overseecomprehensivedeliveryand

engagementmanagement,recruitinga

highlyskilledteamofover50testersfromover70countrieswithfinancialservices

experiencetoworkacross18engineeringteams.ApplauseownstheQAfunction

atthefintechpartnerandprovidesbest

practicesandguidanceonteststrategies.

Thefintechhaspreventedlostrevenuebyminimizingbugsescapingtoproduction,

hasdeeperinsightintocommonfunctionalissuesandhasaQAteamatthereadythatcanscaleasneeded.

Functionaltesting

framework:corecapabilitiesandpractices

Inourinteractionswithclientsaroundtheglobe,Applauseseesawiderangeofapproachesto

digitalquality.Ournewframeworksdetailthestageswecommonlyobserveascompaniesprogresstodigitalexcellence,complete

withexamplesofthetypesoforganizational

capabilitiesandactivitiesthatcharacterizeeachstage.Whilemostcompaniesandteamsmix

practicesfromdifferentstagesinthefollowingtable,asinglestagetypicallydefinesthe

business’sprevailingapproachtoquality.

Thoughitmayseemlikethere’snoclear

demarcationbetweenlevels,thosewhoareclosesttotheprocesswillatsomepoint

recognizethattheshiftfromonepointtothenexthasoccurred.

Theframeworkcanserveasavaluablestarting

pointforunderstandingyourorganization’s

progressalongitsdigitalqualityjourney

andhowtoleveluptoreapthecompetitiveadvantagesassociatedwithimprovedqualityandusability.

Ifyourorganizationisintheprocessofestablishingorenhancingsystemsto

ensurequality,usethisreportasaguideto

developplansthatcoverthemostcommon

devices,emergingformsofpayment,and

keyconsiderationsaroundaccessibilityand

localization,asthesearetrendsApplausesees

organizationsembraceastheyimprovequalityandUX.

StateofDigitalQuality20237

Functionaltestingframework

Lackofformalsystems,processesanddocumentation—whileindividuals

mayhavetheirownmethodsand

documentation,theorganizationhasnoconsistentmethodologyorapproachtoquality.

Examplesoftypicaltestingactivitiesandprocesses:

→Conductingreactivetestingafterdevelopment

→Runningtestswithoutdocumentingtestcasesortestrunresults;or

documentingpoorly

→Runningtestcasesinconsistently

→Skippingtestcasedocumentationor

writingtestcasesinwaysthatmake themdifficulttofolloworreproduce→Practicingsomeexploratorytesting

anddogfooding

→Usingdisparateenvironmentsfor

development,testingandproduction

Digitalqualityemergence:

Earlystagesofdefiningand

documentingprocessesandprocedures;establishingsomeconsistencyand

structurearoundtestefforts.Teamsmayhavetheirownuniqueprocesses,effortsmaystillbesiloed.

Examplesoftypicaltestingactivitiesandprocesses:

→Documentingtestcasesforfeature-basedtests

→Ensuringtestcasesarewrittenclearly

→Definingadevicecoveragematrix→Maintainingaknownissues/bug

backloglist

→Testingreleasespre-production→Conductingunit,smokeand

regressiontestingformajorapp

componentsorworkflows

→Performingexploratorytestingfor

newfeatures/appchanges

→Recordingtestrunresults

→Automatingfrequentlyexecuted/

rarelychangedtests

qualityessentials:

Digital

Theorganizationhasaclearprocessinplaceandusesabroadrangeoftestingtypes.Somereportingisinplace.

Focusoncoverage,scalabilityandefficiencyacrosstheorganization.

Examplesoftypicaltestingactivitiesandprocesses:

→Maintainingadefineddevice

coveragematrixbasedondataaboutwebsite/appusage

→Conductingregressiontestingforallworkflows

→TestinguseracceptanceandUXfornewfeatures/appchanges

→Leveragingtestautomationfor

repetitivetests;reviewingand

updatingautomationscriptsregularly

→Documentingtestcases/suitesforallfeatures

→MeasuringqualityKPIswithdataandreporting

Digitalqualityexpansion:

Qualityisembeddedinthecompany’sDNAandbuiltintoallproductsand

experiencesfromendtoendwithtestingandfeedbackthroughouttheSDLC.

Examplesoftypicaltestingactivitiesandprocesses:

→TestingthroughouttheSDLC,includingin-sprinttestinginpre-production

→Incorporatingthevoiceofthecustomerintoproductdesign

→DeliveringexceptionalUXand

experiencesacrossalltouchpoints

→Maintainingastrongtestcasemanagementprocess

→Automatingallrepetitiveteststhathumanscan’tdobetter

→Reviewingandrefiningtestingprocessesregularly

→Proactivelybalancingmanual

functional,exploratoryandautomatedtesting;documentingwhentouse

eachtesttype

→Exploringnewtestingprocessesto

boostquality,efficiencyandcoverage

→DrivinginnovationthroughouttheSDLC

→Usingreportstoanalyzetrendsandidentifyareasforimprovement

恩Digitalqualityexcellence:

8

StateofDigitalQuality2023

Functionaltestingrecommendations

Proactivelyexaminehowwellyourtestingpracticesserveyourorganization,andmostimportantly,yourendusersandclients.Totrulyimprove,youneedtounderstandyour

currentstate,whichmaybesiloedorinconsistent

acrossdifferentteams,products,groupsand

evenindividualteammembers.Findwhat’s

workingandreplicatethat—aswellaswhat’snotworkingandneedstobeaddressed.Ifyourorganizationhasachievedexcellence,think

aboutwhatyouneedtodotomaintainthat

positionandhowyoucanserveasanexemplarforotherteamsandbusinesses.

Exceptionalqualitydoesn’tjustrequiretimefortesting;itdemandstimeformanaging

testingstrategyaswellascapturingand

evaluatingdata.Buildintimefordevelopers

andtesterstodocumentprocesses,review

withteams,andregularlyupdatetoensuretheystillworkandthateveryone’sfollowingthose

processes.Organizationsthatdon’tinvestin

thefoundationalelementsofaqualityprogram,includingdocumentingprocesses,managingtestcasesandrecordingtestrunresults,willspend

unnecessarytimebringingnewteammembers

uptospeed,tryingtoestablishwhattestswere

runandhow,andhopelesslybacktrackingtofindwhenandhowadefectslippedthrough,with

nopreventativemeasuresinplacetokeepthebreakdowninsystemsfromrecurring.

Recognizethatachievingexcellencedoesn’tmeantheworkisdone.Ideally,asyourQA

practicesimprove,you’lluncoverproblemsearlierinthedevelopmentcycle,whenthey’reeasier

andlessexpensivetofix,ratherthanwhentheyreachproduction.Ifyou’renotfindingdefects

duringtesting,that’sgreat—butthatdoesn’tmeanyoushouldstoptesting.Itonlytakes

onedefecttoreachproductiontodamagethe

customerexperience,and,dependingonseverity,impactrevenue.Excellenceisaconstantly

movingtargetasnewtechnologiesand

innovationscometomarket.Whileyoumaybe

highlyautomatedandmaturewithsomeapps,tomaintaincompetitiveadvantage,you’lllikelyhavetodevelopnewfeaturesthatyourcustomers

demand.It’scrucialtomaintainyourinvestmentinquality.Theabilitytoquicklyadaptandscaledependsonmaintainingthecapabilitiesyou’vebuilt.Guardthemfiercelytoreduceriskand

maintainyourcompetitiveadvantage.

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

9

Theroleoftestautomation

It’simpossibletoautomateallaspectsofQA.Aneffectivetestautomationstrategy,however,is

acrucialcomponentonthejourneytoDevOps

andexceptionaldigitalquality.Unfortunately,

toomanyorganizationsstruggletoestablish,

maintainandexpandtestautomationtotake

fulladvantageofthismethodoftesting.Whenateamunderstandsthepurpose,objectivesand

limitationsofautomation,it’spossibletodevelopastrategythatscaleseasilyandfreesuphumantestersfortasksautomationsimplycan’thandle.

Teamsthatdedicatethetimeandeffort

necessarytodefiningastrategy,selectingandimplementingtools,anddevelopingalibraryofautomationscriptsgivethemselvesimproved

coverage,aswellasrelieffrommonotony.

Frequentlyruntestswithrepeatablestepsand

anexpectedoutcomeofferthegreatestreturnontheinvestmentinautomation.Teststhatrequire

complicatedsetuparealsostrongcandidates

forautomation,asanerrorsettingupatestcanbecostlyintermsoftestertimeandcancause

releasestoslip.However,automatedteststhat

createfalsepositivesandbreakregularlycauseproblemsforteams,ratherthanreducingburden.

Inaddition,theapproachyourteamtakesto

automation,suchasscriptedtestsversuslow

code/no-codesolutions,influenceswhichtestsarethebestcandidatesforautomation.Choosecarefullybeforeautomating.

Top5teststoautomate

Ourrecommendationsforthetop5

teststoautomatefallintothecategoriesbelowandarefrequentlyrepeatedandeasilyscripted:

5.PerformanceTests

2.RegressionTests

4.IntegrationTests

3.SmokeTests

1.UnitTests

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

10

Accessibilitytesting

TheWorldHealthOrganization’slatestestimateisthatoneinsixpeople,or16%oftheglobal

population,liveswithsomeformofdisability.1

Inaddition,manypeopleexperiencetemporarydisabilitiesduetoinjury,illnessandagingat

somepointintheirlives.Furtherestimates

suggestthatfriendsandfamilyofpersonswithdisabilities(PWD)accountforanapproximate3.3billionpotentialconsumerswhoactbasedontheirconnectiontoPWD.2Leadingglobal

enterprisesacrossallindustrieshaverealizedthatdigitalexperiencesthatpeoplewith

disabilitiescannavigateeasilyoftencreatea

betterUXforalloftheircustomers.Inaddition,someaccessibilityfixes,likeaddressingmissingorunclearlabels,enableautomationengineerstobuildmoreautomationandmovefaster.

It’sclearthatafocusonaccessibilityhelps

everyone,andasorganizationscommittomoreinclusivedesignandbetterdigitalaccessibility,thebargetshigherforbusinesseseverywhere,fromallsectors.Whileinnovationhelpsenableanexpandedtotaladdressablemarket,thefact

1“

Disabilityandhealth.

”WorldHealthOrganization,March7,2023.

2“

2020GlobalEconomicsofDisability.

”ReturnonDisabilityGroup,September1,2020.3“

2022WebsiteAccessibilityLawsuitRecap.

”A,2023.

remainsthatorganizationsmustmeetglobal

accessibilitycomplianceinaccordancewith

nationalaccessibilitylawsaroundtheworld,asnotdoingsocreateslegalexposure.Infact,in2022,intheU.S.alone,therewere2,387webaccessibilitylawsuitsfiled,whichincludesan

increaseof143%incompaniesthatreceivedmultiplelawsuitsyearoveryear.3

Thedataset

Arepresentativesampleofaccessibilitytests.

30,541

bugs

1,273

testcycles

23

industries

17

countries

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

11

BugType

UserExperience

Screenreaders

“Myscreenreaderisn’tworking”

Readabletextforscreenreadersismissing

OtherA11y

“Thisisn’tworkingforme”

PooruserexperienceforPWD

Video

“Ican’ttellwhat’sgoingoninthisvideo”

Missingclosedcaptionsoraudiodescriptions

Zoom

“Ican’tseewhatIneedto”

Textgetscutoffwhenauserzoomsinbeyondacertainpoint

Bugtypedefinitions

BugType

UserExperience

Animation

“Idon’tknowwhat’shappeningonthescreen”

Ausercan’tseecontentthatmoves,suchasanimationtellinguserstoperformanaction

Color

“Thisdoesn’tmakesense”

Userscan’tidentifyinformationcommunicatedonlythroughcolor

Color

contrast

“Thisalllooksthesame”

Insufficientcolorcontrastratio

HTML

validator

“Thispageseemslikesomethingismissing”

IssuesinHTMLcodethatdonotimpactthekeyboardnavigationandscreenreaderbehavior

Keyboardnavigation

“Ican’tusemykeyboardtonavigate”

Peopleusingalternativekeyboardsorspeechinput

devicesaskeyboardemulatorscannotnavigateapage

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

12

Bugtypebreakdown

Seetheprevalenceofeachtypeofbugacrossthedataweanalyzed:

Screenreaders

Colorcontrast

KeyboardnavigationOtherA11y

Zoom

Color

HTMLvalidator

Video

Animation

12.6%9.2%

6.9%2.8%

1.6%I1.5%

.38%

.16%

64.8%

Screenreaderdefectscontinuetomakeupthevastmajorityofallaccessibilityerrors.Bugtypedistributionsremainedconsistent,typicallyfluctuatinglessthan2%+/-fromlastyear.

Foraccessibilitydevicecoveragecomparisonsandthemostpopulardevicestested,pleasesee

AppendixB

.

APPLAUSE

Creatingacultureofinclusivity

Aleadingvideoconferencingsolutionprovider

madeasignificantcommitmenttomakeitsvideo

conferencingapplicationcollaborative,accessible

andinclusiveofallpeoplewithvaryingabilities

andbackgrounds.Itembracedashiftlefttobring

inclusivedesignandinnovationearlierintheSDLC.

ItsfocuswentbeyondsimplymeetingWCAG

standards:Itwantedtostimulateinnovationinits

organizationthatwouldderivefrominvolvingthemostdiversepopulationitcould,emblematicofitsusersaroundtheworld.

Asitdevelopeditsempathy-basedapproach

toinclusivedesign,itralliedteammembersto

becomeambassadorsandhelpspreadtheword

throughouttheorganization.Thecompanygot

managementbuy-in,andasmomentumcontinued,thecompanypartneredwithApplausetoprovide

educationsessionsincludingPWDdemonstratingtheirinteractionswiththeconferencingplatformtobroadenawarenessoftheoverallempathy-basedinclusivedesignprogram.Tokeepupmomentum,itbuiltarepository,anaccessiwiki,thatservesasaresourceemployeescanusetogetawiderangeofinformationaroundaccessibility—fromWCAG

standardsexplainedtointernalinitiatives,inclusivedesignbasicsandmore.

StateofDigitalQuality202313

Accessibilityframework:corecapabilitiesandpractices

Assumesthatmany/mostoftheelementsfrom

thecorrespondingstageofthefunctionaltestingframeworkareinplace.

Whileaccessibilitytypicallystartswith

conformanceandcompliance,onceorganizationsembraceempathy-baseddesignand

development,theuserexperienceimproves

dramatically.Ourcustomerswhohaveadaptedtofocusoninclusivedesignreportthatthis

shiftcreatesacycleofongoinginnovationthatbenefitsallusers,notjustPWD.

APPLAUSE

StateofDigitalQuality2023

14

Accessibilitytestingframework

Limitedunderstandingofapplicablelawsandregulatoryrequirements.

Lackofformalsystems,processesanddocumentation,noconsistent

methodologyorapproachtoaccessibilityorinclusivity.

Examplesoftypicalaccessibilitytestingactivitiesandprocesses:

→Identifyingsomeaccessibilityissues;resolvingorremediatinghigh-priorityA11yissuesthatareidentified

→AssessingconformancetoWCAGand/orlocallyapplicableregulationsonceorinfrequently

→Emphasizingriskmitigation;makingchangesinresponsetocustomer

complaintsorthreatsoflegalaction

→Relyingsolelyonautomatedtools

Digitalqualityemergence:

Earlystagesofdefininganddocumentingprocessesandprocedures;establishing

someconsistencyandstructurearoundaccessibility.

Examplesoftypicalaccessibilitytestingactivities,resourcesandprocesses:

→Designatinganownerofthe

accessibilityprogramandidentifyingorganizationalchampions

→Performingperiodicassessments

andautomatedcheckstoensure

conformancetoWCAGandcompliancewithlocallyapplicableregulations

→Offeringtrainingonaccessibilitybestpracticesandinclusivedesign

→Providingdevelopersand/orproductownersaccesstoPWD

→Conductingdesignreviewsandin-sprinttestingtoidentifyproblemsearlierintheSDLC

→EngagingPWDtoperformusabilitytestsandprovidefeedback

qualityessentials:

Digital

Theorganizationhasaclearprocessfor

ensuringaccessibilityinplaceanduses

varioustestingtypes.Somereportingisinplace.Focusoncoverage,scalabilityandefficiencyacrosstheorganization.

Examplesoftypicalaccessibilitytestingactivities,resourcesandprocesses:

→Documentingbestpracticesand

checkingthemduringdevelopment

→Maintainingaknowledgebaseandofferingtrainingonbestpractices

→Holdingempathy-baseddesignanddevelopmentworkshopswithPWD

→IncorporatinginputfromPWDinto

thedesignanddevelopmentprocess;benchmarkingtounderstandthe

validityofcustomercriticismsaround

accessibilityandusability

→Providingattestation(VPATS)

Digitalqualityexpansion:

Theorganizationprioritizesinclusivityatalllevels;testingandfeedbackfromPWDoccurthroughouttheSDLC

Examplesoftypicalaccessibilitytestingactivities,inclusivedesignresourcesandprocesses:

→CreatingaCenterofExcellencewithguidanceondesignanddevelopmentbestpractices

→Requiringongoing,mandatorytrainingonaccessibilitybestpracticesand

inclusivedesign

→Followinginclusivehiringpracticesanddevelopingadiverseworkforce

→Goingbeyondattestationand

demonstratingthoughtleadershipininclusivedesignandproduct

development

→Incorporatingaccessibilityintothecompany’scontractingandprocurementprocess

→Usinganalyticstodriveprioritiesandcontinuousimprovement

恩Digitalqualityexcellence:

15

StateofDigitalQuality2023

Accessibilitytestingrecommendations

Knowwhichlocalandregionallawsgovern

yourbusinessandmakesureyou’rein

compliance.Ithappens:Wemeetwithcustomerswhosimplydon’tknowthatthey’reviolatingthe

law.Evenifyou’relocatedoutsideofEurope,forexample,theEuropeanAccessibilityActwillhavestrictpenaltiesforcompaniesdoingbusiness

intheEUthatfailtocomply.Inaddition,certain

industriesmaybesubjecttoadditionalregulatory

requirements,liketheTwenty-FirstCentury

CommunicationsandVideoAccessibilityActformediaandtelecommunicationsproviders.

Findalliesintheorganizationwhoare

passionateaboutaccessibilitytoserveasambassadorsanddriveawareness;getanexecutivesponsor.Timeandtimeagain,

customersdescribethisscenariototheir

accountteamsatApplause:Onepersoninthe

organizationchampionsaccessibility.Theyseekoutlike-mindedcolleaguesandstartsharing

ideas.Theystartmakingsomechangesthatpayoff.Theygetanexecutivesponsoronboard.

Leadershipstartsunderstandingandembracingthevalueofinclusivedesign.Thegrass-roots,

bottom-upeffortscombinewithtop-down

supportandthen:Awareness.Training.InputfromPWDintothedesignprocess.Empathy.Inclusion.AbetterUXforall.

Prioritizescreenreaders.Websitesmustbe

accessiblydesignedinorderforscreenreaders

toprovidethefullexperienceofthewebpageto