The decision is slightly more complex than an either or situation. Often the decision is based on product spread, headcount and budget. 

I believe that a strategically planned mix of an in-house team and an outsourced team as a combination will allow you to stretch your budget and implement accessibility effectively. 

In-house accessibility team 

As an organisation focusing on inclusion you want to own the accessibility mandate. 

Accessibility Lead / Head 

It is critical to have someone responsible for accessibility and who drives the mandate Across the organisation.

Responsibilities:  

• Shape the the accessibility culture of the Organization to go beyond compliance
• Create and align the accessibility strategy and budgets
• Partner with internal teams to bring alignment on accessibility.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders right from the executive leadership to the disability community.
• Build, manage, and develop a team of accessibility specialists.

Accessibility program manager

Focus on implementing the accessibility strategy and working towards compliance across product teams.

Responsibilities: 

• Work closely with stakeholders across the company, both technical and non-technical, to ensure accessibility awareness and compliance.
• Train product teams on accessibility practices.
• Partner with external vendors to provide documents  accessibility testing and compliance
• Managing VPATs and versioning.
• Managing customer relations on accessibility.

We have seen when Twitter Rolled out audio tweets without captions. The deaf community was soon to react. A perfect example of why each organisation needs a person who leads accessibility companywide and product wide.

Outsourced accessibility team

When it comes to accessibility subject matter experts or accessibility testers, you might find it beneficial to outsource due to multiple criteria:

• Product schedule
• Budgets
• Trained accessibility experts
• Access to disabled people as a part of testing team
• Availability of the needed assistive technology

Above all the flexibility to increase or decrease the team due to project schedules. 

Outsourcing is a way to have the relevant skills available without increasing head count and maximising your budget.

So why not the best of both worlds, and in-house team that owns accessibility and an outsourced team that delivers on the promise.

Need more information? Will be happy to get on a 1 hour tête-à-tête focused discussion on accessibility. Write to sales@barrierbreak.com

The post Why outsource rather than hire in-house accessibility testing teams? appeared first on Leader in Offshore Accessibility Testing | Section 508 Compliance | WCAG Conformance | BarrierBreak.