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Accessibility Feedback & the User Experience

Feedback mechanisms are essential for collecting and sharing constructive input, evaluations, or suggestions for improvement. They can be as simple as a quick chat or as formal as a survey or review and are instrumental in providing actionable insights and exposing what's working well and what needs to be changed.

Why should you implement an accessibility feedback mechanism?

By prioritizing feedback and incorporating it into your accessibility work, you not only identify and address accessibility issues but also actively help prevent unintentional discrimination.

Careful consideration of users' specific needs and challenges will lead to a feedback mechanism that more effectively captures their experiences and provides real, actionable data for addressing accessibility issues.

Best Practices for the Best Accessibility Feedback Mechanism

  • An accessibility feedback mechanism should include all digital Information Communication Technologies (ICT) forms, from your website and social media to your digital documents, organizational software, and file storage systems.

  • All accessibility and communication policies must outline a detailed plan for collecting, analyzing, and addressing user feedback on accessibility issues. This plan should include the following:

    • Feedback Channels: Provide clearly defined and easily accessible channels for users to submit feedback, such as email, online forms, or dedicated accessibility hotlines. See "Multiple Channels" below.
    • Confidentiality: The same user privacy and confidentiality when submitting feedback as any other information.
    • Response Timelines: Develop specific timelines for acknowledging and responding to user feedback.
    • Feedback Analysis: Engineer a process for analyzing feedback to identify patterns, trends, and specific accessibility barriers.
    • Implementation of Improvements: Develop a clear plan for implementing changes based on user feedback, including tracking and measuring their impact.

The W3C provides these best practices to make sure your feedback mechanism is:

  • simple to use,
  • not reliant on complex menu systems,
  • available in all stages of the process (the entire user journey)
  • a process that responds helpfully to any feedback submitted,
  • easy to complete - does not make the user provide unnecessary information.

Provide Multiple Feedback Mechanisms

As mentioned in the "Best Practices" section above, you should include multiple ways for people to provide feedback.

Different disabilities may require different feedback methods, like text-based forms, audio recordings, or specialized communication tools. 

Here are a few examples:

  • Web Chat or Web Call: This is an option for providing feedback using fully accessible live chat or a video call.
  • Phone: A dedicated feedback phone number, ideally with a feature to automatically call via Voice User Interfaces (VUIs) with simple voice menus. Be sure to create a regular message retrieval cadence.
  • Web Form: A simple contact form with no more than three required fields. Make sure to use best practices when developing an accessible web form and follow the guidance of the W3C.
  • Email: A dedicated email address with an email link using the "mailto:" protocol with prefilled "To:" and "Subject:" fields.

A feedback mechanism is only valuable if it's used and acted upon. Actively encourage user input, provide clear instructions, and demonstrate that their feedback matters.

Resources

Maggie Vaughan, CPACC
Content Marketing Practitioner
DubBot