Imagine a user trying to navigate your website but struggling to understand the layout, read an image, or fill out a form. These accessibility challenges aren’t just minor inconveniences, they can prevent someone from using your product entirely. As a business analyst, you have a unique opportunity to address these issues early, guiding your team to create digital products that are inclusive from the start. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG, provide a framework to make this possible, and understanding them can significantly influence the usability of the products you work on.
Understanding WCAG
At first glance, WCAG might seem like a technical manual meant for developers. In reality, it’s a practical set of principles for making content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. Perceivability ensures that users can detect content visually, audibly, or through assistive technologies. Operability means that all interactive elements, such as forms and menus, can be used with various input methods, not just a mouse. Understandability ensures content and navigation are intuitive, reducing frustration and cognitive load. Robustness guarantees that your digital product works across different browsers, devices, and assistive technologies. While there are different compliance levels:A, AA, and AAA. Most businesses aim for Level AA as a balance between accessibility and feasibility. For a business analyst, knowing these principles helps you write clear, actionable requirements that designers and developers can implement effectively.
Seeing the Web Through Someone Else’s Eyes
One of the most powerful ways to approach accessibility is by imagining how users with different needs experience your product. Someone relying on a screen reader, for instance, cannot interpret images without descriptive alternative text. Users with motor impairments may not be able to use a mouse at all, making keyboard navigation essential. Even small details, like consistent placement of navigation menus or predictable workflows, can make a world of difference for users with cognitive challenges. By thinking about these scenarios, you gain insights that can shape project requirements in ways that prioritize real usability over simply ticking compliance boxes. It’s not about following rules blindly, it’s about empathizing with the people who interact with your product every day.
Bringing Accessibility Into the Process
The key to successful accessibility is early integration. Accessibility considerations should be included from the moment project requirements are drafted and user stories are created. Collaboration with designers and developers is critical. Your guidance can ensure accessibility is built into the product, not added as an afterthought. Testing tools like Lighthouse and Axe can highlight potential issues, but your role as a business analyst is to interpret these results in the context of user needs. Small adjustments, such as adding descriptive alt text, structuring content semantically, and maintaining consistent navigation, can dramatically improve the user experience. Prioritizing these actions based on impact ensures that the most significant barriers are removed first, without overwhelming the team.
Making an Impact
Accessibility isn’t just about compliance or avoiding legal risks. It’s about empathy and inclusivity. Each time you consider how a user with different abilities experiences your product, you help create a solution that works for everyone. As a business analyst, your ability to advocate for accessible design can shape the overall project outcome, ensuring that the product is usable, effective, and enjoyable. The benefits extend beyond users with disabilities is clearer navigation, readable content, and intuitive interfaces improve the experience for all users. Resources like the W3C WCAG Techniques, WebAIM WCAG Checklist, and accessibility testing tools can provide actionable guidance and support your efforts in creating truly inclusive digital experiences.
Helpful Links
https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/Understanding/understanding-techniques
https://www.webaxe.org/wcag-cheat-sheets/