How does accessibility testing integrate with CI/CD pipelines for continuous compliance monitoring?

Embedding accessibility testing into the CI/CD pipeline is essential for maintaining compliance and preventing the accumulation of accessibility debt. This process involves integrating accessibility checks at various stages of development, from using linters and unit tests early on to employing CLI scanners in CI/CD, and conducting end-to-end (E2E) accessibility checks alongside functional tests. Key steps include identifying critical user journeys, shifting left with linters, configuring CLI scanners, setting thresholds and gates, scheduling production monitoring, and systematically triaging and remediating issues. The approach emphasizes the importance of both automated and manual testing to address the full spectrum of WCAG compliance issues, acknowledging that automation can detect 60-80% of issues while manual audits are necessary for assessing content clarity and nuanced interactions. The workflow is scalable across different browsers, devices, and teams, with centralized dashboards and audit trails facilitating governance. Accessibility should be tracked as a continuous KPI, aligned with business outcomes to ensure organizational visibility and compliance.