Why Brazilian Organizations Invest in Accessibility? A Strategic Analysis of Motivations, Policies, Benefits and Barriers

Accessibility is a key requirement in any software system that requires user interaction since it is concerned with the development of products and services that can be used by a wide range of users, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities. Many studies were conducted to understand the lack of accessibility observed in many digital products and concluded that the lack of knowledge and awareness, and the lack of management commitment and executive support were the main factors that hinder accessibility adoption in the software development process, suggesting that many organizations do not recognize the business importance of accessibility in digital markets. On the other hand, some organizations consistently invest in accessibility. In this manuscript, we present a study conducted with professionals involved in the decision-making processes of some of those organizations to uncover their strategic views on the development of accessible products, mainly regarding their motivations, policies, barriers, and benefits obtained from investing in accessibility. To accomplish our goals, we adopted an exploratory sequential mixed methods, starting with a qualitative study to explore the views of participants, followed by a quantitative study designed based on factors identified in the first study. In total 15 professionals participated in our qualitative study and 31 professionals participated in our quantitative study. Our findings suggest that in these organizations: i) accessibility demands are mostly generated by internal policies and cultures in tactical and strategic layers; ii) organizations are mostly driven by a mix of ethical, business, and regulatory factors, such as to promote digital inclusion, increase brand reputation and yet comply with current legislation; iii) policies to ensure accessibility adoption mostly include hiring people with disabilities, making accessibility validation mandatory with well-defined processes, and including accessibility in the definition of done (DoD) for all features; iv) perceived benefits are primarily associated with stronger brand reputation, better software quality and increased digital inclusion; v) the more critical barriers to accessibility adoption are linked to the lack of awareness and knowledge among stakeholders and the technical team, in addition to the lack of commitment across management levels and struggles with legacy systems.