At this week’s Usability Matters lunch and learn webinar, Heather Moore and Linn Vizard shared their insights and anecdotes from their experience designing accessible web projects, conducting user research, and usability testing for accessibility.
Key points discussed in the webinar included why you would test for accessibility, different types of impairments, assistive technology, the difference between usability and accessibility testing, and automated testing tools vs. testing one-on-one with real users.
Here are my notes and some of the social conversation from the webinar:
Why Accessibility Testing?
- Design for as many people as possible
- One in ten people are severely disabled
- One in two people over the age of 65 have reduced capabilities
- We are all temporarily enabled at some point in our lives
- Strengthen the code: testing may reveal technical jargon usage
- Accessible websites improve search engine optimization (SEO)
- Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is the law in Ontario, Canada.
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Timestamps – [time]am read as "am", AM and A.M. read as "A" "M" #UMWebinar
— Black Lives Matter (@deconspray) November 27, 2014
Accessibility Standards
- AODA follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level A and Level AA standards
- WCAG 2.0 consists of four guiding principles: Perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust
- Good reference for accessible websites is Gov.UK website
Types of Impairments
- Many types of impairments affect how people use your website
- Visual impairments (color blindness or low vision) and hearing impairments (loss of hearing or reduced hearing) are often the first two that come to mind
- Other impairments include mobility impairments (broken wrist, arthritis) and cognitive impairments (memory loss or reading impairments)
Assistive Technology
- Screen readers are used by people with visual impairments. You’ll find an array of free and paid options including JAWS (Windows), NVDA (Windows), VoiceOver (Apple), and TalkBack (Android).
- Screen magnifiers increase the size of the content on the screen. Examples: ZoomText, browser options)
- Voice recognition includes Dragon NaturallySpeaking
- Eye tracking, alternative keyboard, and many others
Considerations for Testing
- What assistive technology will you use?
- What device will you test on?
- What will you test? Code, color contrast, keyboard accessiblity
Automated Testing Tools
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Tool for checking code for #accessibility http://t.co/E6gxmr1rvu #UMWebinar #a11y #accessible
— Black Lives Matter (@deconspray) November 27, 2014
- HTML Code Sniffer can test your code against all levels of WCAG 2.0 as well as Section 508. Available as a browser extension or you can cut and paste
- Color Contrast Checker (important for people with color blindness or any user, depending on environmental conditions: low/bright light). It can be used on text, images, icons. Allows you to adjust color in the tool.
- Color Contrast Analyzer by The Paciello Group is another color contrast tool you can use to test for different types of color blindness
- Sim Daltonism for Mac OSX, is a color blindness simulator which filters the area around the mouse pointer
- All tools require some accessibility knowledge to interpret results
What’s the Difference Between Usability and Accessibility Testing?
- Usually refers to one-on-one testing
- Methodology is the same: task-based and think-aloud
- Differences are in setup and type of technology you’re accessing
- Be more aware of how you give prompts: visual prompts
- Tasks may be different, dependent on assistive technology used
- May need to adapt the tasks, it can take longer to work through tasks on assistive technology
- More specific recruiting with accessibility testing
Considerations for Testing for Accessibility
- Recruitment can be challenging: consider professional recruiters or your personal network
- Easiest to test in someone’s home, so they can use their own setup
- Recording can be a challenge, since you can’t control the setup
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Set up #usertesting for #a11y: it's important to remember the specifics of the user's set ups and settings. #UMWebinar #technology
— Usability Matters (@umatters) November 27, 2014
- Be aware users may not be using the most recent assistive technology
- If testing in a lab, be sure your facility is accessible
Accessibility Testing Facilitation
- Echo technique: repeating the last word the user said
- Boomerang technique: generic question that pushes questions back to the user
- Columbo technique: leaving pauses, prompting the user
- Use large printed material, or provide an accessible alternative
- Avoid visual (location or color) cues
Analyzing Test Results
- Identify quick wins
- Reproducing issues is critical
- Share results: reports, video clips, etc.
Thank you to Usability Matters for uploading their presentation slides on Slideshare.
