Understanding the Accessibility Usability Score (AUS)

The Accessible Usability Scale (AUS) offers a consistent way to measure and compare accessibility over time. AUS scores are based on the perceived usability of your product by assistive technology users. This article covers the basics of using and interpreting AUS.

What is the AUS?

The Accessible Usability Scale (AUS) is a 10-question survey that provides a score out of 100 to reflect how usable a digital product is for assistive technology users. It was inspired by the System Usability Scale (SUS), a widely used usability questionnaire developed in 1986 by John Brooke. Unlike the SUS, which focuses on general usability, the AUS is designed specifically to capture the experiences of people using assistive technologies.

Which request types provide AUS scores?

AUS scores are only available from these request types:

• Self-Guided Task – always includes an AUS score.
• User Interview – AUS is optional. Select it only if your session is focused on usability.

AUS is not suitable for informational interviews. If you choose to include AUS in a User Interview, keep in mind that the score is only meaningful when usability is the primary focus of your questions.

How many requests do I need to run for a reliable AUS score?

To get reliable AUS insights, we recommend running:

• 5–7 User Interviews or Self-Guided Tasks per key task
• A minimum of 3 sessions will give you a directional sense, but 5–7 testers using different assistive technologies will give you more robust data

To ensure a balanced perspective, include:

• 3 screen reader users
• 2 alternative navigation users
• 2 screen magnification users

This combination helps ensure your AUS score reflects a range of assistive technology experiences.

Understanding and using AUS scores

What makes a “good” AUS score?

It depends on what your goals are. You can compare your AUS score with the average or compare it with your own customized baseline.

The average AUS score is 65, derived from 2,100 usability sessions across different assistive technologies:

• Screen magnification: 72 AUS average
• Alternative navigation: 67 AUS average
• Screen reader: 56 AUS average

Learn more about setting an AUS score target that’s right for you.

How do you compare your results to the average or track progress over time?

Create a benchmarking project to measure and track your AUS scores overtime. Choose the product or task flow you want to measure. Select key tasks, then run User Interviews and/or Self-Guided Tasks for AUS scores. Repeat regularly to track improvements.

Learn more about how to create a benchmarking project.

Support and troubleshooting

If you have questions or require platform support, email support@makeitfable.com.