The Digital Accessibility Maturity Model
by Larissa Günther and Minette Mangahas
Where is your org on the path to digital accessibility?
Making websites and digital products accessible is not only the right thing to do, it also presents a tremendous business opportunity for companies and increases adoption and success for projects and organizations. But it can be hard to know where to begin. So we’re developing a rating system called DAMM to fulfill the needs of our clients, and we’d love to know what you think.
The Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (DAMM) is a framework to help determine where your organization falls on the path to long-term success. Teams and organizations can use this model to:
- Gauge your current state and map out next steps.
- Advocate for developing accessibility within your team and organization.
- Improve your current accessibility operations.
- Assure compliance with laws like the European Accessibility Act (enforced 2025) and the American Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act (in Congressional review as of May 2024).
The DAMM is composed of four stages:
Stage 1: Commit to a standard
Stage 2: Understand the status quo
Stage 3: Enable product teams
Stage 4: Have “A11y in our DNA”
Each stage presents sample benchmarks, describing the kinds of activities an organization will typically perform while in a particular phase of its development. These are not meant to be mutually exclusive, and in reality, some of these activities will run in parallel. Try to use this framework as a starting point and a way to envision and define your own organization’s trajectory.
The DAMM stages explained
Stage 1: Commit to a standard
The journey to success begins with a public commitment to accessibility that is acknowledged and invested in by leadership.
This can come in the form of having accessibility as a stated part of a company’s core values, written as part of its mission, and in communications that state that a11y is a crucial factor for its success. There is also the acknowledgement that the inaccessibility of its products presents a risk to the business.
In this phase, a company sets a standard to be followed by the entire organization. This often follows globally recognized criteria such as the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). In this way, all employees are aligned around a common goal and are clear on criteria for success.
Stage 2: Understand the status quo
Once a clear goal for accessibility is set, the next step is to understand where your organization currently stands, how far it is from achieving its goal, and how well teams are equipped to do so.
In this phase, a diagnostic accessibility assessment is conducted into the company products, services, and team capabilities. This can be done by a dedicated internal team or an external consultant (like Thoughtworks).
Stage 3: Enable product teams
After the initial assessment, develop a strategy to bridge the gaps uncovered in the previous stage and prevent the emergence of new ones in the future.
Companies train product teams and empower them to seamlessly integrate a11y best practices in their daily routine. The goal is for accessibility to be included in the daily work of all product teams in a way that feels natural and not like extra effort.
This phase involves actions like regular usability testing with disabled users to incorporate their feedback in the development of products and services.
Stage 4: Have “A11y in our DNA”
In this final stage, the organization is confident that systems are in place to support the development of accessible applications by default. At Thoughtworks, we call this “A11y in our DNA,” which is shorthand for saying it’s embedded in the development process as naturally as writing tests, for example.
To scale and streamline this process, a company may also develop A11yOps (accessibility operations), which is a centralized process for maintaining consistent standards across teams and supporting ongoing accessibility initiatives. Depending on the size and structure of a company, A11yOps can be represented by an accessibility director or a cross-functional team of product managers, designers and developers.
Conclusion
Knowing where you are in the journey is key to knowing where to set goals and mapping out your path to success. The Digital Accessibility Maturity Model provides a starting point for charting the steps along this path and giving orgs benchmarks along the way.
But as with any map, it is not prescriptive about the precise route from origin to destination. Rather, it can also be used as a template that is customized by each organization, because what your path looks like may depend on your size, culture, and operating models. You will need more granular steps along the journey, which are defined by your domain and expertise.
No matter where you are on your journey from Stage 1 to 4, it’s important to remember that accessibility is about making people’s lives better — whether they are internal employees using company systems or customers who are using your online or mobile platforms. That’s why it’s also good for business and the world.
Authors
We are Larissa Günther, a senior software developer and Minette Mangahas, a principal design strategist at Thoughtworks. We are passionate about enabling clients fulfill their full potential through inclusive design and accessible digital products and services. All opinions stated here are our own. We would also like to credit the Design System Maturity Model by Ben Callahan, which served as an inspiration for DAMM.