Building an Accessibility Roadmap: An Enterprise Architect’s Journey
How I turned digital inclusion from a checkbox into a strategic priority
I once delivered a 50-slide accessibility plan before I’d ever spoken to a single user. It fell flat when testers pointed out every major scenario I’d missed, keyboard navigation, colour contrast, and even essential form labels. That wake-up call taught me to start with people’s needs, not PowerPoints.
Now, as an enterprise architect, I begin every digital initiative with a simple question: “Who might be left out?” In this article, I’ll walk you through how I build inclusive roadmaps from day one, turning well-intentioned ambitions into real-world impact.
Why Accessibility Needs an Architectural Lens
From One-Off Fixes to Strategic Capability
Accessibility often starts with a quick patch: a label here, a colour tweak there. Yet that piecemeal approach puts you on a hamster wheel of endless bug-fix cycles. As an enterprise architect, I’ve seen boardrooms insist on transparent accessibility KPIs. Investors and regulators expect clear reporting on digital inclusion. Without an underlying architecture, pilots stall in isolated pockets and never scale.
Key drivers include:
Investor and regulator pressure for clear accessibility reporting
The risk of siloed pilots that never scale without architectural backing
My ‘Aha’ Moment
Early in my career, I ran a workshop to review an e-learning platform’s screen-reader support. We uncovered missing data feeds in our logging layer, no way to capture real usage metrics. The realisation hit me: without mapping our capabilities first, we were flying blind. Redesigning our data architecture to include accessibility metrics saved months of rework and prevented a costly retrofit down the line.
Lessons learned:
A simple workshop exposed missing data feeds for screen-reader metrics
Mapping capabilities first saved me months of rework
Six Common Traps in Accessibility Programmes
Underused Analytics & Reporting
Many teams spin up a central data hub but never agree which accessibility metrics matter most. I’ve seen projects stall because no one defined success.
Central data hub, but no clear accessibility KPIs
Tip: Draft your top three dashboards before code hits production
Hidden Data in Legacy Systems
In one large client engagement, we overlooked PDFs and embedded media locked away on old servers. That blind spot cost weeks of catch-up work.
Overlooking third-party content or PDFs stuck on servers
Tip: Catalogue every data feed in your capability map
Ignored Capability Gaps
I’ve watched teams rush to rehost an application without adding any AI-driven checks. The result? Repetitive manual reviews for missing image descriptions.
Rushing to rehost without new AI/ML checks
Tip: Identify two advanced features (e.g. automated image descriptions) that deliver ROI
Leaving Change Management to Last
Shifting to a locked-down cloud module forced one client into awkward workarounds because nobody trained staff in the new processes.
Cloud modules with zero customisation, forcing new processes
Tip: Build in fortnightly training and feedback loops
Escalating Licence & Hosting Fees
In another project, I modelled only three years of costs, and was blindsided when ongoing platform fees tripled by year four.
Early cloud savings swallowed by annual platform costs
Tip: Model five-year TCO and pin down cost-escalation clauses
Managing External Providers
I once inherited a vendor contract with vague SLAs on accessibility. Months later, we were scrambling to chase fixes for inaccessible content.
Loose SLAs leave you chasing fixes for inaccessible content
Tip: Tie SLAs to conformance metrics and a quarterly review cadence
A Practical Roadmap for Inclusion
As an enterprise architect, I’ve guided teams through countless migrations. Here’s the step-by-step plan I swear by when making accessibility part of every digital move.
Set Your Accessibility Vision
Before you write a single line of code, decide if you’re doing an “incremental rehost” or a “complete reinvention.” Early in my career, I treated it as a tech upgrade, a big mistake. Now I link every migration to broader ESG and net-zero targets. That alignment keeps sponsors on side and gives your project purpose beyond IT.
Plan Analytics & Integration
Don’t leave your reporting to chance. Sketch out the three dashboards you cannot live without, map every data flow and API, and build your integration backlog straight from your capability model. On one project, I saw weeks shaved off implementation simply because we knew exactly which carbon-audit feeds had to be live on day one.
Embed Change Management
Accessibility succeeds or fails on people, not platforms. Appoint an executive sponsor who can clear roadblocks and local champions who rally the teams. Launch quick training sprints, gather honest feedback, and iterate fast. I still recall a quarterly feedback loop that turned a stalled rollout into a live-by-month’s-end success.
Negotiate Contracts Wisely
In negotiations, secure firm price caps, meaningful service credits and clear exit clauses. Don’t accept vague uptime promises; tie performance to your own accessibility scorecards. I learned this the hard way when a vendor’s broken SLAs nearly derailed a major public sector site launch. Now, every contract under my watch demands measurable conformance.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve seen time and again, weaving accessibility into upgrades from the very start stops rework and builds lasting inclusion. When you treat every cloud move or system refresh as an opportunity to strengthen your accessibility strategy, you protect users and your reputation in one go.
Treat every cloud or digital upgrade as a chance to weave in your inclusion strategy
My offer: I can guide your team through each pitfall, let’s talk about your next step