The Scaled Accessibility Model (SAM)

This model defines what needs to be in place to create accessible and inclusive products. It does not matter whether you're aiming for mere compliance or something else entirely. It is a framework for the required processes and resources.

This model is how we work at inklusivo. We've translated decades of experience to a model that can support different organisations and goals. We don't like reinventing the wheel.
The Scaled Accessibility Model (SAM) sketches a goal state that can be guiding for creating roadmaps and setting up milestones. It aligns very well with the practice of backcasting: "if we want to attain a certain goal, what actions must be taken to get there?"

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• The model
  • Resources
  • Skills
  • Direction
• The role of management
• Conclusion

The model

Central to this model are the practitioners. They are the people who create and build. In the context of digital experiences this means people like developers, designers and content writers. It can translate to other (non-digital) practices as well. For practicality, we've restricted the scope of this article to focus on the digital.
The practitioners are like the engine of creation. Motivating, directing and facilitating practitioners is at the core of getting results. Modern leadership is servant leadership.

How do we do this? Our method comes from experience and aligns with the book "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" by Daniel H. Pink. This bestseller explains there are 3 factors that motivate people: autonomy, mastery and purpose. SAM was not invented to copy this practice. It comes from experience and insights, but does align perfectly.

The following sections cover the various parts of this model:

• The resources that practitioners depend on
• The skills that practitioners depend on
• The direction that practitioners get from a mission/vision, from requirements and mandate from management, and from peers through community and culture

Resources

In computer science, garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) is the concept that flawed, biased or poor quality ("garbage") information or input produces a result or output of similar ("garbage") quality.

― Garbage in, garbage out on Wikipedia

You might be familiar with the expression "garbage in, garbage out". It's very hard to build good things with bad parts. It's hard to build a straight tower with crooked building materials. Or to build a solid building without a strong foundation.
Accessibility is not very different in this. It's very hard to build an accessible website when the component library or Design System doesn't offer the right building blocks. It's hard to design a contrasty experience without a useful palette. And it's very hard to test that same contrast when you don't have the right tools for testing.
If you want to make it easy to produce accessible experiences, the route to accessibility should be paved and without barriers. If accessibility takes too much time, effort or energy, verify that proper resources are offered.

This need for resources aligns with the need for Autonomy as mentioned in the book Drive. By giving people proper resources, you give them the means to act autonomous. They can strive for accessibility on their own as they have everything they need.

Resources might include:

• Tooling
• Branding
• A component library
• A Design System
• Documentation

For example, the accessibility guild at VodafoneZiggo has a list of tools that are tested and approved for use on their hardware. No demotivating search for tools that may or may not work, but a shared effort that makes things easier for everybody.

Skills

Resources are great, but you need to know how to utilise them as well. Skills need to be built and supported. This can be done in many ways. It can come from conversations with others, onboarding, internal education, external training and even good supportive documentation can help.

The need for skills aligns with the need for Mastery as mentioned in the book Drive. By supporting people to improve their skills, you give them the means to obtain mastery. They can apply and display their skills in creating accessible experiences.

Skills can be supported with:

• Training
• Awareness (general accessibility training)
• Documentation

For example, the accessibility guild at ING has their own internal training program. The documentation of their Design Systems does not just tell people what to do, but also why certain things are important for accessibility. Two points that both contribute to skills.

If the effort to create accessible products is considered hard and complicated, verify that proper skills are facilitated.

Direction

If a person is like a captain, then they now have the right boat and equipment, and the skills to get it moving. But where should they be going?

People appreciate direction. This aligns with the need for Purpose as mentioned in the book Drive. It is about the desire to do something that has meaning and importance.
Meaning can be fully intrinsic. A person can have an ethical drive to make accessible experiences and build something that is inclusive. This can be further strengthened, awakened or fostered by having a community and culture of accessibility. A group of people with the same purpose can share experiences and frustrations. Together they can be more effective, often even negating issues with resources or skills. A strong drive can overcome barriers. If you recognise yourself in this, find people who are like-minded.

Importance can also be extrinsic. By making accessibility part of requirements, it is communicated as being something of importance. Making clear what an organisation values is adding importance.

Direction can come from:

• A company-wide mission or vision
• A mandate from management
• Requirements
• Intrinsic motivation
• Community and culture (be part of online communities and/or visit meetups!)
• Feedback from users

For example, the vision of IKEA is "to create a better everyday life for the many people". That's a great vision that ties in perfectly with creating inclusive products and services.

If there is a clear effort to create accessible products, but the efforts come across as ad hoc, disorganised or uncoordinated, verify that proper direction is given and supported.

The role of management

A lot of this model focuses on the practitioners, and their needs. The goal of management is the model. The goal is to make sure the model and its factors are in order. Make sure everybody has the right resources and skills. Give people a mandate, add accessibility to your requirements, and make sure people are connected with their colleagues. Maybe join that community to show people they are being seen (in a good way).
Facilitate intrinsically driven people and guide their individual efforts to support. It is your task to make sure all aspects are taken care of.

Conclusion

SAM sketches a picture of what needs to be in order for people to flourish and build accessible. This model was previously presented at NCDT in 2025 as Scaled Accessibility: How Big Dutch Companies Manage Accessibility. This article expands on that thanks to the eyes, minds, feedback and insights of other people. If you want to work with this model (either with or without us) please let us know. We've got more where this came from, and your shared experience can only improve it further!