Master The Art Of Accessibility Testing in 2021

 

We’re all living within our own Digital Era when smartphones and apps on the internet influence every aspect of our lives in some way. How much time do we spend playing with our phones or laptops every day? It has increased dramatically over the last few years.

You have to recognize that not all people can use the latest mobile or online apps in the same way. There are people with disabilities that stop them from using certain types of programs.

A program should be developed with a range of users in mind. Nearly one billion people which is 15% of the global population have disabilities in some form.

It is our main responsibility as an organization to prioritize accessibility testing prior to we release any apps for our customers.

In the below section, we will discover the accessibility process, some of the disabilities which need to be taken into consideration prior to releasing software applications to the users who will use them.

In case, if you’re the one who is in search of finding a top-notch Accessibility Testing service provider then, try Sun Technologies’ to transform your global businesses by reducing external risks, and costs at the same time. We follow a three-layered security approach to test and validate any type of web application.

Read our case study about how we re-engineered an automated clearing house PowerBuilder application by clicking here. 

What is Accessibility testing?

Accessibility testing is the extent to which a piece of equipment or system is usable by those with the greatest variety of capabilities and characteristics to meet a particular purpose within a defined setting.It is the method that allows an application for use by the largest variety of users. Accessibility is also seen as a way of providing equal treatment for all and the same opportunities to everyone regardless of abilities and conditions.

 

Types of accessibility testing

Automated testing

Automated testing is a crucial beginning point to evaluate your site's current levels of accessibility. It allows you to monitor the most important pages as well as to conduct a broad assessment of your entire site without the need to examine each page separately. For retailers with several hundred or more templates for product pages automated testing is a great method to start without being overwhelmed.

Here's a list of factors to take into consideration when selecting an automated testing tool:

 

·        It evaluates your entire site including the login page and shopping carts, users' journeys, user-generated content as well as other pages that have dynamic content or functions.

·        It offers an analysis of your accessibility status, with actual information to support it.

·        The results are easily understood by everyone in your group, which includes developers, project managers, QA testers, marketers as well as members of your legal staff.

·        It is easy to integrate with your existing technology stack.

Reviewing Manual Code

Automated testing acts as a crucial element of accessibility on the web, it's not enough to cover all WCAG requirements. No matter if it's commercial or free the tools will only get you to a certain point. A large portion of the success criteria requires manual inspection. For instance, an automated tool will detect alt text, but it isn't able to tell you if the alt text is appropriate to accessibility.  If your staff doesn't have the expertise in-house to carry out a manual code inspection then you'll have to think about using an outside company to complete this task.

 

UX Review

In the course of reviewing user experience, it is important to think about accessibility. While accessibility is often confused with usability, these two terms are very distinct:

Accessibility is generally a reference to the conformity to the standards, like WCAG in the creation of an app, website, or other documents. This could include anything from text and color to multimedia and images.

 

Usability refers to the actual experience that users have when using the website and includes user interface design.

The benefit is that accessibility improvements could increase the accessibility for everyone regardless of their disabilities. One of the differences between them is the fact that testing for usability may be based on input from real individuals, not robots. This is where user testing is the key.

 

User Testing

Testing of users should involve people who are usability experts as well as those who make use of the latest technologies in their daily lives. Businesses across the world recognize that automated software doesn't always detect all WCAG problems and are responding to the growing demands from the disabled community for accessibility testing. Furthermore, testing users makes an excellent business decision.

 

Best Accessibility Testing Automation Tools

·        Dragon

·        AChecker

·        Jaws

·        Wave

·        Axe

·        Dynomapper

·        SortSite

·        Accessibility valet

·        EvalAccess 2.0

 

Benefits of Accessibility Testing 

 

Avoiding Legal Issues - A lot of states have come up with the requirement that websites be able to meet the accessibility standards before going live. Testing for accessibility must be conducted to comply with legal requirements.

 

Potential Growth Opportunities in the Organization - One in five individuals living with a disability, making up 19 percent of the British population. If the application is developed following accessibility guidelines, it will reach those with disabilities too and could lead to an increase in revenue for your business.

 

Get Accurate Search Results - When the website was designed taking accessibility into consideration it will be able to display rich text that will allow search engines to locate websites faster because search engines will search for words when searching the contents.

 

Improved User Experience - When digital material is made accessible, it could benefit users who use the application in the way you intended. Because accessibility is a key factor in making the app's navigability, clarity of text appearance, as well as many other aspects more attractive and user-friendly.

 

Best Practices of Accessibility Testing

 

Smaller Sample Sizes 

This is why we do not recommend finding 50 or more participants with a specific disability. It will be a huge expense and inefficient. Thirdly even with the assistance of a specialist panel partner, there could not be that many individuals who meet your requirements.

 

Two-Person Team

 We discovered that having a team of two increases efficiency and productivity. We typically recommend one person to act as the moderator, whose primary responsibility is to concentrate the attention of the participant. The other person will serve as tech support. This should be someone who comprehends how to supervise, monitor and support the technology that is used throughout the session.

 

Utilize Fewer Tasks

Keep the focus on a handful of key tasks. This is because those who depend on assistive technology for example, such as screen readers, usually require a longer time to finish the tasks.

Take care to define your target audience Be Specific about Your Audience: The personas or user profiles that you design to test individuals who are not disabled also apply to those with disabilities. But, you have to be aware of the kinds of disabilities you'll need to test.

 

Find Help Recruiting

As we've mentioned before we strongly recommend you find an agency that is specialized in the recruitment of disabled individuals. Always trying to locate participants using your usual channels may not be time-consuming and unproductive.

 

 

Set Aside Time for Two Meetings

This is one of the most important things you may not consider in case you've never completed an accessibility test in the past. Plan your budget and the timeline for the project to include two distinct sessions with the participants: 

1)Tech Check 

 2)) Testing Session. 

This will decrease the possibility that major technical issues could arise during the principal test session.

 

Conclusion

Accessibility testing is an approach that gives in-depth insights on how easily one can navigate, access, and understand web/mobile applications/content. It is crucial to be aware that accessibility isn't just for those with disabilities but can be beneficial for everyone, including children, older adults or people with a left hand, and many more. Like any other test accessibility tests, accessibility can also be evaluated using manual or automated techniques, adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guideline standards. 

 

Contact us today for the best Accessibility Testing Services.