Accessibility Test Plan Template

Start early. Integrate automated scans into CI so every pull request catches regressions. Run manual testing during the QA phase before each release, not as a one-time audit after launch. Retrofitting accessibility into a shipped product costs 5-10x more than building it in from the start. Include accessibility criteria in your [acceptance criteria](/glossary/acceptance-criteria) for each story so developers test as they build.

No. Automated tools catch approximately 30-40% of WCAG violations. They are effective at finding missing alt text, contrast failures, missing form labels, and invalid HTML. They cannot evaluate whether alt text is meaningful, whether focus order is logical, whether screen reader announcements make sense in context, or whether custom widgets are genuinely usable with assistive technology. Automated scans are a starting point, not a finish line.

At minimum, test with VoiceOver (macOS/iOS) and NVDA (Windows). These two cover the majority of screen reader users. If you have budget, add JAWS (Windows, common in enterprise environments) and TalkBack (Android). The [smoke test template](/templates/smoke-test-template) can help define a minimal screen reader test suite that runs on every release.

Use the same risk-based approach you use for bugs. Critical: users with disabilities cannot complete a core flow at all (keyboard trap, missing form labels on checkout). Major: functionality is degraded but a workaround exists (poor contrast, missing heading structure). Minor: cosmetic or best-practice issues that do not block functionality (redundant ARIA roles, non-standard but functional widget patterns). Fix critical issues before release. Schedule major issues within one sprint. Track minor issues in the backlog.

In many jurisdictions, yes. The EU European Accessibility Act (2025) requires WCAG 2.1 AA for digital products serving EU customers. US ADA lawsuits increasingly reference WCAG 2.1 AA as the standard. Canada, UK, and Australia have similar regulations. Beyond legal compliance, accessibility expands your addressable market. Roughly 15-20% of the global population has some form of disability. Accessible products also perform better for all users in constrained environments: bright sunlight, noisy rooms, temporary injuries. ---