The DAMMIT System for Digital Accessibility Maturity
Finally, a framework for building accessible digital experiences that won’t make you swear (as much).
Have you ever found yourself muttering, “dammit, another accessibility problem!”? Perhaps it was a frantic email from legal about a possible lawsuit, a public complaint escalating on social media, or a development sprint grinding to a halt over an unexpected accessibility bug. These are the all-too-common “dammit moments” that digital product managers, directors, and agency leads face when accessibility isn’t built into the core of their operations.
These reactive scrambles aren’t just frustrating and inconvenient. They’re symptoms of a deeper, systemic issue: a lack of mature, integrated accessibility practices. But what if there was a way to assess where you stand, understand your pain points, and chart a clear course forward, all while keeping a bit of your sanity (and humor)?
Introducing The DAMMIT System: a playful, yet profoundly practical, framework designed to help you assess your organization’s digital accessibility maturity. It’s time to move beyond reactive “DAMMIT!” reactions to proactive, strategic progress.
Unpacking the system: What each letter means
Every letter in DAMMIT stands for a critical component of assessing and growing your digital accessibility maturity:
- D = Digital: This encompasses the full spectrum of your online presence. We’re talking about everything from your public-facing websites, through downloadable PDFs and documents, to native mobile applications, internal applications, and even physical kiosks. If it’s digital and your audience uses it, it’s covered.
- A = Accessibility: More than just checking boxes, this is about true usability and inclusion for all. It’s about designing and building experiences that work for all users, ensuring equitable access to information and services.
- M = Maturity: This refers to the progressive stages of integration and effectiveness of accessibility practices within your organization. It’s about moving from sporadic efforts to a consistently embedded, strategic approach.
- M = Model: This is the structured framework itself, consisting of a clear roadmap that helps you assess your current state and identify clear pathways for growth.
- I = In: This emphasizes that accessibility must be deeply integrated into your existing processes, workflows, design systems, and development pipelines. It’s never an add-on or an afterthought.
- T = Teams: This acknowledges that digital accessibility maturity is a shared effort. It happens within the collective expertise and commitment of all your teams, whether they are small, medium, or large, cross-functional or specialized.
Navigating the DAMMIT maturity levels: Where do you stand?
Understanding your current DAMMIT level is the first step toward building truly inclusive and robust digital services. Let’s explore where your organization might fall:
Level 1: Reactive/Chaotic
- Characteristics: At this foundational (and often painful) level, there’s typically no formal accessibility process in place. Issues are discovered reactively, usually through a formal complaint, public outcry, or, worst-case, a legal challenge. Accessibility is seen as an emergency fix, an afterthought to be bolted on last-minute. Training is non-existent or ad-hoc, and leadership buy-in is minimal until a crisis hits.
- DAMMIT Moment: “OMG, the legal team just called – we have a lawsuit over our application! DAMMIT, we need to fix this NOW!” Or, “Another public complaint on social media about our forms? DAMMIT, what do we even do?!”
- Path Forward: Urgent need for foundational awareness training, basic audits to identify critical barriers, and initial remediation planning focused on high-impact areas. This stage requires swift, decisive action to mitigate immediate risks.
Level 2: Fragmented/Tool-Dependent
- Characteristics: Awareness of accessibility has begun to spread, and your teams might be using one or more automated scanning tools. There might be an individual accessibility champion, but efforts are inconsistent, and comprehensive manual testing is rare. There’s a false sense of security based on automated scores, missing critical user experience issues. Leadership buy-in is often limited to doing just enough to avoid getting sued.
- DAMMIT Moment: “DAMMIT, our automated scan looks great, but a screen reader user still can’t complete this critical transaction!” Or, “We fixed that one page, but the new feature we launched yesterday completely broke accessibility. DAMMIT!”
- Path Forward: This stage demands a move beyond superficial checks. It requires investing in a holistic approach that includes automated and manual testing, the introduction of strategic accessibility consulting, and beginning the process of embedding accessibility earlier into design and development workflows. Understanding the “why” behind the rules becomes crucial.
Level 3: Emerging/Tactical
- Characteristics: You’re making progress. There are dedicated resources or roles for accessibility, some formal training has occurred, and basic processes are starting to emerge. Accessibility is often integrated into a specific project phase (e.g., QA), but it’s not yet deeply embedded across the entire digital lifecycle. Teams might be improving, but often after the fact, leading to rework.
- DAMMIT Moment: “DAMMIT, we missed that critical accessibility requirement again during design review, now we have to redesign half the UI!” Or, “We built it accessibly, but then the content team published uncaptioned videos. DAMMIT, we need to get everyone on the same page!”
- Path Forward: To advance, organizations at this level need to formalize processes, implement comprehensive role-based training, integrate accessibility directly into design systems, and establish consistent quality assurance throughout design and development. Crucially, begin incorporating user research and usability testing with people with disabilities to truly validate experiences and uncover real-world friction. Proactive rather than reactive becomes the new mantra.
Level 4: Integrated/Proactive
- Characteristics: At this level, accessibility is routinely considered from the very conception of a digital product. Teams are well-trained, processes are formalized, tools are intelligently integrated into workflows, and, crucially, user testing with people with disabilities is a standard, non-negotiable practice. Leadership actively champions accessibility, viewing it as a core component of digital excellence and public service.
- DAMMIT Moment (Rare & Positive): “DAMMIT, we actually caught that obscure accessibility issue during a user test before launch – crisis averted!”
- Path Forward: Maintaining excellence and seeking continuous improvement are key. This involves refining Research Operations (Research Ops) programs or systems to more maturely support ongoing disability community engagement and partnerships, ensuring continuous feedback loops. It also means actively exploring opportunities to hire people with disabilities onto product and service delivery teams, further embedding lived experience into your operational DNA. This fosters an accessibility-first culture and drives thought leadership.
Level 5: Optimized/Strategic
- Characteristics: This is the pinnacle of digital accessibility maturity. Accessibility is not just embedded; it’s a deeply ingrained part of the organizational culture, workflows, and strategic planning. It’s a continuous, self-sustaining process that naturally drives innovation, enhances user satisfaction, and builds profound public trust. Accessibility is no longer a separate task but a fundamental aspect of digital product quality and a clear competitive advantage. Your Research Operations actively foster deep, reciprocal partnerships with the disability community, and people with disabilities are integral members of your product and service delivery teams, influencing decisions from the ground up.
- DAMMIT Moment (Celebratory!): “Wow, DAMMIT, our user satisfaction scores for this fully accessible application are through the roof. And, we’ve opened up our services to a whole new segment of the population!”
- Path Forward: For organizations at Level 5, the focus shifts to sustaining excellence, sharing best practices, driving continuous innovation, and leveraging accessibility for broader social impact and industry leadership, knowing that your processes are built on the most authentic user insights.
Why a “DAMMIT” system?
While the name is designed to be memorable and perhaps even elicit a chuckle of recognition, the underlying principles of the DAMMIT System are robust and strategically vital. A structured maturity model provides:
- A clear roadmap: It helps you understand where you are and precisely what steps are needed to advance.
- Justification for resources: By identifying gaps and potential risks, it provides concrete data to advocate for budget, staffing, and tools.
- Accountability & consistency: It moves accessibility beyond individual heroics to embedded, repeatable processes across all teams.
- Continuous improvement: It fosters a mindset of ongoing growth and refinement, ensuring your digital services evolve with user needs and technological advancements.
The DAMMIT System helps transform those frustrating, reactive “DAMMIT!” moments into proactive, confident steps towards true digital inclusion. It brings clarity and calm momentum to what can often feel like an overwhelming challenge.
Charting your course: Ready to stop saying “DAMMIT!”?
Understanding your organization’s current maturity level is the crucial first step. Whether you’re stuck in reactive chaos or striving for integrated excellence, a clear assessment provides the foundation for progress.
I specialize in helping State and Local governments, enterprises, and growing tech organizations navigate the complexities of digital accessibility. I can help you honestly assess your current DAMMIT maturity level, expose and explain any gaps, and develop a tailored, actionable roadmap to grow over time.
Ready to stop saying “DAMMIT!” and start building digital experiences that genuinely work for everyone?
