Guide section 17 of 31
Accessibility
Accessibility is part of each component specification and the Definition of Ready, not a final visual-polish task.
| Area | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Contrast | Target WCAG-compliant contrast; the recovered guide used at least 4.5:1 for normal text. |
| Color independence | Do not encode good/bad or selected/unselected only with red/green or color; add icon/text/shape cues. |
| Focus/tab order | Set a logical order matching visual reading order. Remove decorative objects from tab order. |
| Keyboard use | Test navigation and interaction without a mouse, especially navigators, slicers, buttons and bookmarks. |
| Alt text | Add meaningful alt text to objects conveying information; dynamic alt text may be driven by measures. |
| Screen readers | Use clear titles/labels and do not depend on hover-only report tooltips for critical information. |
| Labels | Avoid unexplained jargon; label comparisons and units explicitly. |
| Chart comprehension | Use readable axes/labels, purposeful sort and redundant cues for status. |
| Tooltip dependence | Tooltips are ancillary; essential conclusions must remain visible. |
| Font sizes | Validate at the actual embed/desktop/mobile viewport; do not shrink type to force dense layouts. |
| Interaction targets | Keep controls usable in the intended device context; use mobile-specific layout when needed. |
| Semantic color | Stable meanings across the report suite. |
| Show data / accessible table | Set meaningful sort because accessible data views inherit/report the visual's ordering. |
Power BI platform fact — current check Microsoft documents author-configurable accessibility features including alt text, tab order, titles/labels, markers and report themes. Microsoft also cautions against putting critical information only in tooltips.