studies on costs and benefits: different approaches, different results
DESCRIPTION
Reflection on studying the impact of (costs and benefits of) a new international policy. Potential costs and benefits of requiring web accessibiliy for private organisations in the Netherlands are discussed.TRANSCRIPT
Studies on Costs and Benefits: Different approaches, different results
Thea van der Geest
DREAM Madrid Network Event13-15 June, 2012
ONCE Foundation Technosite
Charles Eames: What is design?
Finding the sweet spot of design
1. If this one represents the interest and concerns of the design office
2. And this the area of genuine interest of the client
3. And this the concerns of society as a whole
Blogpost Uday Gajendar, Finding the Sweet Spot of Design. Interactions ACM May/June 2012
Finding the sweet spot of design
1. If this one represents the interest and concerns of the design office
2. And this the area of genuine interest of the client
3. And this the concerns of society as a whole
4. Then it is in this area of overlapping interest and concern that the designer can work with conviction and enthusiasm
Finding the sweet spot of design
1. If this one represents the interest and concerns of the design office
2. And this the area of genuine interest of the client
3. And this the concerns of society as a whole
4. Then it is in this area of overlapping interest and concern that the designer can work with conviction and enthusiasm
Note. These areas are not static – they grow and develop – as each one influences the others
Note. Putting more than one client in the model builds the relationship – in a positive and constructive way
Costs and benefits analysis (CBA): finding the sweet spot of accessibility
The sweet spot is not a single point, it is an area
The area is defined in a complex mix of needs, interests, concerns of
many different stakeholders
The area is changing
CBA: assessing whether the design/intervention/policy has found its
sweet spot
Costs and benefits: more than inputs and outputs
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources invested
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Column Elizabeth Churchill, Impact! Interactions ACM, May/June 2012
Assessing changes
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Intentions-Status quo-Need, concern-Policies
Costs & Benefits analysis
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Intentions-Status quo-Need, concern-Policies
Critics of CBA:-Indicators: just $$$$. “Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing” -Utilitarian view on policies-Focus on short-term benefits that are easily measurable
Regulatory Impact assessment: collecting evidence
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Intentions-Status quo-Need, concern-Policies
Do nothing-No intended change-Changes
COMPARE on indicators
Not Costs & Benefits analysis of accessibility
Accessibility tests against standards
Monitoring accessibility over time
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outputs T1-What resulted-Products
Outputs T2-What resulted-Products
Compare
Indicators for web accessibility benefits
Web Accessibility Initiative of W3C :
Business case for web site owners:
Social benefits
Technical benefits
Financial benefits
Legal benefitsMinistry of Economic Affairs and Innovation: “Can you please prove the business case of web accessibility for non-governmental organisations? “
Project steps
Step 1:
Indicators of web site benefits from literature, e.g. about ROI of usability
Validation of indicators in focus groups with 18 private organisations
Step 2A:
Followed 4 very different organisations in the process of making their website
completely conform national web guidelines (which include WCAG 2.0).
Interviews and extensive site check at 3 points in the process.
Step 2B:
Questionnaire for 50 random organisations and 22 accessibility-aware
organisations. The sites of the latter were checked (quickscan)
Reports available in English
http://www.utwente.nl/ctit/cfes/docs/
Examples of 30 costs and benefits indicators: ‘hard’ returns
‘(Reduction of) building, development , maintenance, documentation costs
(Reduction of ) production, graphic design, editing of content costs
(Reduction of) Multi-channel costs
Increasing visitor numbers
Increasing conversion (to other channel, to purchase)
Reduced drop-off from site, reduced user error rate
Better search engine ranking
Better technical performance, load times, reduced bandwidth
Better multi-platform, mobile phone performance
Examples of 30 costs and benefits indicators:‘Soft’ returns
Legal compliance, avoiding fines
Better position in tenders
Increased user, customer satisfaction
Improved public imago of organisation
Increased (visibility of) corporate social responsibility
Increased job satisfaction employees
Costs & Benefits analysis: indicators
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Intentions-Status quo-Need, concern-Policies
Organisations don’t know about indicators
Costs Benefits
Inputs - What was done- Resources
Outputs -What resulted-Products
Outcomes- What happened - Changes
Intentions-Status quo-Need, concern-Policies
- Costs of building are known, costs of content creation are not- For informative sites, it is hard to assess success- Estimated extra costs for new sites: 5-10%
The good news: Reasons to invest in accessibility
Societal or corporate responsibility, ‘doing the right thing’
Perceived benefits, such as:
Search engine success
Mobile phone and cross-platform performance
Guidelines speed up the specification and development process
Better, validated code, faster loading pages, better peek performance
SNS bank:
15-30% reduced traffic to call center. One call = 7,50 – 12,50 euro. Annual cost reduction: 1,7 million euro
The not so good news: no progress on meeting standards
Possible reasons
Fail/pass nature of standards
Fast changing content, e.g. Twitter, Youtube added
Content provided by many different people (user-generated) > CMS must enforce/enhance accessibility
Cost and benefit analysis:Design the chair, evaluate the sitting