Accessibility Testing

By Qautomation on June 17, 2019 • ( Leave a comment )

What is Accessibility Testing?

Accessibility Testing is a crucial part of software testing that ensures digital products, such as websites, applications, and software, are usable by people with disabilities. The primary goal of accessibility testing is to verify whether individuals with disabilities can access, navigate, and interact with the software effectively and without encountering barriers. Disabilities can come in various forms, including visual impairments, hearing impairments, motor disabilities, cognitive limitations, and more. Accessibility testing aims to identify and address potential issues that could hinder these individuals from using the software or accessing its content. The testing process involves evaluating the software against various accessibility standards and guidelines, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines provide a set of criteria and best practices to make digital content more accessible to all users, regardless of their disabilities. Some common areas that accessibility testing focuses on include:

Keyboard Accessibility: Ensuring that all functionalities of the software can be accessed and operated using only a keyboard, as some users may not be able to use a mouse.
Screen Reader Support: Verifying that screen readers can interpret the content and provide accurate information to users with visual impairments.
Color Contrast: Checking that there is sufficient contrast between text and background colors to make content readable for people with low vision.
Alternative Text: Ensuring that non-text elements like images have appropriate alternative text descriptions, enabling screen readers to convey their meaning to users.
Form and Label Accessibility: Validating that forms and input fields have proper labels and instructions for users who may rely on assistive technologies.
Video and Audio Accessibility: Making sure that multimedia content includes captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions for users with hearing or visual impairments.
Focus Indicators: Verifying that interactive elements display clear focus indicators for keyboard users.
Consistent Navigation: Checking that navigation elements are consistent across the software, making it easier for users to find and access content.

Why Accessibility Testing?

Accessibility testing is essential for several important reasons:

Inclusivity: It ensures that people with disabilities can access and use digital products, just like anyone else. Inclusivity is a fundamental principle of modern society, and software should be designed to accommodate the diverse needs of all users.
Legal and Regulatory Compliance: In many countries, there are laws and regulations that require digital products to meet specific accessibility standards. Failing to comply with these laws can lead to legal consequences and reputational damage.
Ethical Responsibility: Making software accessible is a matter of ethical responsibility. Digital products have become integral to daily life, and denying access to people with disabilities would be unfair and discriminatory.
Broader Audience Reach: By ensuring accessibility, software can be used by a larger audience, including people with disabilities. This increases the potential user base and market reach for the product.
Business Advantage: An accessible product can provide a competitive advantage in the market. Users are more likely to choose software that is inclusive and user-friendly.
Better User Experience for All: Many accessibility improvements benefit all users, not just those with disabilities. For example, clear navigation and keyboard support can enhance the experience for all users, including those on mobile devices or with slower internet connections.
Positive Brand Image: Organizations that prioritize accessibility demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility and inclusivity. This can enhance the brand’s image and reputation.
Avoiding Retrofitting Costs: Fixing accessibility issues after development can be more time-consuming and expensive. Incorporating accessibility from the beginning saves resources and effort.
Government and Institutional Requirements: In some cases, government agencies, educational institutions, or businesses may require accessible software to be eligible for contracts or partnerships.
Continuous Improvement: Accessibility testing encourages continuous improvement of the software’s usability and design. Regularly evaluating and addressing accessibility issues can lead to a better overall product.
Future-Proofing: As technology evolves, accessibility will become an even more critical aspect of software development. By implementing accessibility testing now, developers can future-proof their products and stay ahead of changing regulations and user expectations.

Which Disabilities to Support for Accessibility?

Application must support people with disabilities like –

Visual Impairments: Users with visual disabilities may have partial or complete vision loss, color blindness, or other visual impairments. Providing options for larger text, high contrast, and compatibility with screen readers are essential for supporting this group.
Hearing Impairments: Users with hearing disabilities may be deaf or hard of hearing. Providing captions or transcripts for audio content is crucial for making multimedia content accessible.
Motor Disabilities: People with motor disabilities may have limited or no use of their hands or fine motor control. Supporting keyboard navigation and minimizing the need for precise mouse interactions are important for this group.
Cognitive Disabilities: Users with cognitive impairments may face challenges with memory, focus, and comprehension. Creating clear and consistent designs, avoiding distracting elements, and providing simple instructions can assist this group.
Neurological Disabilities: Neurological conditions like epilepsy may require consideration when incorporating flashing or rapidly changing content to avoid triggering seizures.
Speech Disabilities: Some users may have speech disabilities and rely on alternative methods of input, such as voice recognition software.
Learning Disabilities: Users with learning disabilities may require additional support in understanding content and interactions. Providing clear instructions and well-organized layouts can be beneficial.
Temporary Disabilities: It’s important to remember that disabilities can be temporary. Users recovering from injuries or surgeries may need temporary accessibility features.
Age-Related Disabilities: As people age, they may experience a range of physical and cognitive changes that can impact their digital interactions. Creating accessible products benefits users of all ages.

Web Accessibility Guidelines:

Web Accessibility Guidelines are a set of defined rules to make web contents accessible to people with disabilities. There are number of guidelines defined by different countries. Section 508 and WCAG guidelines are popular accessibility standard guidelines in use today.

1. Section 508– Section 508 is the accessibility standard defined by the US government, to make sure that all US government websites can be accessed by people with disabilities. As per section 508 guidelines all electronic and information technology should be accessible to disabled users.

2. WCAG– Web Content Accessibility Guidelines or WCAG define the standards for accessibility for individuals, organizations and governments worldwide. WCAG 2.0 has been accepted as an International Standards Organization (ISO) standard, and many countries have adopted WCAG 2.0 as their legal standard for web accessibility. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: Includes both WCAG1.0 and WCAG2.0 specifications.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0

The W3C’s first incarnation of WCAG in 1999 was a huge leap in web accessibility, bringing together years of useful work by developers from across the world.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 had 14 guidelines and divided them into 3 priority levels:

Priority 1 – the most basic level of web accessibility

Priority 2 – addressed the biggest barriers for users with disabilities.

Priority 3 – significant improvements to web accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0

The current set of guidelines has been in force since 2008 and will run for many years yet. The guidelines are more technologically neutral than WCAG 1.0, allowing them to stay useful for longer.

By designing WCAG 2.0 around principles and not technology, the W3C created an ethical statement as well as useful guidance.

The principles of WCAG 2.0 are:

* Perceivable

* Operable

* Understandable

* Robust

The principle of a website being perceivable is all about the senses people use when browsing the web. Some of your users may have difficulties with one or more of their senses, making them reliant on assistive technology to browse your website.

The three main senses that the guidelines can help with are sight, sound and touch. With WCAG 2.0, you can make sure that users can perceive all the information on your website.

Operable

The principle of a website being operable is about the actions people take when browsing. This covers the different ways in which your users browse the web. Some of them may have motor difficulties, which means they use their keyboard to navigate and some users who have sight impairments often prefer to use a keyboard rather than a mouse too.

The main issues for making your website operable are, ensuring good keyboard-only navigation, avoiding setting time limits for your users and helping them out if they make errors on forms.

Understandable

Making a website understandable is a different kind of task to the first two principles. A perceivable and operable website means nothing if your users can’t understand it.

Your website must use clear terms, have simple instructions and explain complex issues. You must also make your website function in a way that your users understand, by avoiding unusual, unexpected or inconsistent functions.

Robust

A robust website is one that third-party technology (like web browsers and screen readers) can rely on. Your website must meet recognised standards, such as using clean HTML and CSS. This minimises the risk of your users relying on technology that cannot correctly process your website.

WCAG 2.0 levels

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 are organised into three levels of conformance:

Level A – the most basic web accessibility features

Level AA – deals with the biggest and most common barriers for disabled users

Level AAA – the highest (and most complex) level of web accessibility

For most websites, Level AA plus some Level AAA is the best target. That’s because some of the highest-level guidelines simply can’t be applied to all websites. However, one of the problems with the three-tier structure is that if people know they can’t attain AAA, they won’t even look through the guidelines to see where they can improve accessibility. With all of your projects, you should comply with all the guidelines you can, whether you want Level AAA or not.

Starting with Level A is a great way to make progress and begin helping out your users. Level AA is the standard many governments are using as a benchmark as this level targets the most common and most problematic issues for web users.

For detailed information refer W3C guidelines : https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/

Accessibility Testing Tools: