The Hidden Costs of Accessibility Audits: A Project Manager’s Guide

Pair accessibility audits with your standard QA process. It reduces the chance of late‑phase surprises that derail both your budget and your timeline.

Why Accessibility Audits Matter for Project Managers

As a project manager, you already juggle deadlines, budgets, and stakeholder expectations. Accessibility might feel like a “nice‑to‑have,” but neglecting it early on creates hidden costs that can triple in later project phases.

Boehm’s curve — which shows us that fixing problems later costs exponentially more — is a useful starting point. But there’s also what I call the Unknown Factor : Nobody does it wrong on purpose. Teams miss issues because they don’t know they exist, or they underestimate their impact. That’s why accessibility needs to be scoped and measured deliberately, not as an afterthought.

Step 1: Define What You’re Auditing

Accessibility is measured against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). Most legal requirements still cite WCAG 2.1 , but you’ll want to check against WCAG 2.2 to future‑proof your project.

Practical approach for PMs:

• Keep the WCAG 2.2 open in one tab.
• Create a document where you list which criteria apply, which might apply, and which don’t (with a short note why).
• This gives you a scope baseline and a good defense if questioned later.

Step 2: Distinguish Between Objective and Subjective Criteria

Some criteria are easy to measure:

• Alt text : Does every image have an alt-attribute? (SC 1.1.1)
• Captions : Are they present for video? (SC 1.2.2)
• Contrast : Does text meet the ratio? (Use tools like WebAIM Contrast Checker.)

Others require judgment calls:

• Plain language : WCAG suggests content should be understandable. The EU’s Accessibility Act even requires B1‑level language for banking services. But jargon often makes this subjective.

As a PM, plan extra time for criteria that require human review , not just automated testing.

Step 3: Anticipate Common Failures

According to the WebAIM Million report (analysis of 1M websites), the most frequent failures are:

• Low contrast text (79.1%)
• Missing alt text (55.5%)
• Missing form input labels (48.2%)
• Empty links (45.4%)
• Empty buttons (29.6%)
• Missing document language (15.8%)

Contrast is tricky because tools can’t always test backgrounds like gradients or images. But the others? They’re pure tech debt : Things that should have been done right the first time.

Step 4: Address the Tech Debt

For PMs, here’s the takeaway:

• Missing labels, empty links/buttons, and no document language aren’t “nice extras.” They’re baseline functionality that slipped through.
• Fixing them later eats into timelines and budgets.
• Make them part of the Definition of Done to avoid rework.

Step 5: Plan for Content Effort Too

Accessibility isn’t just development. Writing good alt text is nuanced. You need to decide:

• Is the image decorative or informative?
• What’s the context?
• What description actually helps the user?

Use resources like the Alt Text Decision Tree or Nielsen Norman Group’s guidelines. As a PM, budget for content work — not just code fixes.

Summary: Don’t Freak Out, But Don’t Delay

Accessibility audits may feel overwhelming, but with the right process, they’re manageable. For project managers, the key is:

• Scope early : Define which WCAG criteria apply.
• Budget realistically : Factor in subjective criteria that need human review.
• Prevent tech debt : Make accessibility part of your Definition of Done.
• Expect ROI : Addressing accessibility early saves money, prevents fines, and improves user experience.

Accessibility isn’t just compliance. It’s risk management, cost control, and user satisfaction — all things good project managers are measured by.

If you’d like to stay ahead on accessibility without getting lost in technical jargon, check out A11y News — my newsletter breaking down complex accessibility and WCAG updates into actionable insights.

Tools & Resources for Accessibility Audits

Pro Tip: Pair accessibility audits with your standard QA process. It reduces the chance of late‑phase surprises that derail both your budget and your timeline. Here are some trusted tools and references that can guide your accessibility audits. From automated checkers to practical writing guides, these resources will help you move from theory to actionable improvements.

• WCAG 2.2 Guidelines The official benchmark for accessibility compliance, with detailed success criteria.
• WCAG‑EM Report Tool Helps you document which WCAG criteria apply to your product and track compliance.
• WebAIM Contrast Checker A straightforward tool to test color contrast for accessibility compliance.
• WebAIM Million Report Annual study analyzing accessibility barriers across the top 1,000,000 homepages.
• WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tool Automated checker that detects many common WCAG compliance failures.
• W3C Alt Text Decision Tree A practical guide for deciding when and how to write image descriptions.
• Nielsen Norman Group on Writing Effective Alt Text Best practices for writing descriptive, useful alternative text.