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Re: Screen Readers as a Development Tool for Web Developers

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From: Andrews, David B (DEED)
Date: Jul 17, 2015 12:58PM

On the whole I agree with Jennifer -- as I usually do! Anyway, as others have pointed out, this is a complex issue, and if I had to do so, I could argue it either way. I have even worked with developers, and given demonstrations at conferences, to developers, on using screen readers for testing.

However, in the end, I think it doesn't work well. Unless you use a screen reader on a regular basis, you simply aren't going to be very good at it. In an ideal world, developers would be able to test using screen readers, but they already have a huge amount on their plates, so I think it is unrealistic to expect them to be experts in this too.

Jennifer's visual tools are ultimately the best solution, but until they exist, we may just have to rely on accessibility professionals to do testing.

Dave



-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum [mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Jennifer Sutton
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 1:44 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Screen Readers as a Development Tool for Web Developers

As evidenced by a recent thread:
http://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?threadp00

specifically this message from me:
http://webaim.org/discussion/mail_message?id(769

I continue to believe that expecting folks to learn how to use screen readers is not going to scale. And it too often takes people down rat holes that are not important. I find that this is especially so when folks have never seen real people who use a screen reader. Using a screen reader is not like using a browser.

Examples include both the difficulties people are having with understanding how to implement ARIA correctly, as well as, as far as I am concerned, the issues that are going to increasingly arise with the implementation of accessible SVG.

I realize what a complex issue this is (again, as evidenced by the thread cited above), but it seems to me that we've been having this expectation for many years, and it's not working particularly well.
If it were, we'd all be going out of business. [Some of you may not have that objective, but I do, even if my bank account may disagree.]

So, as I see it, we need a new way, and it seems to me that that way will involve meeting devs and designers where they are, i.e.
including relevant prompts (and visual replication of screen reader standard behaviors) in the off-the-shelf (commercial or opensource) tools they're already using.

If I were independently wealthy, and if I were a coder, I'd shut up and do it myself.

Dennis, for the record, this conversation has gone on many times in the past. Below my name are a small selection of links that, while they may have an older perspective, still outline the issues, I believe.

My conclusion: we have no choice, today, but I believe a paradigm shift would pay off hugely. And it *could* be (though I have no evidence for this, except hope) that digital publishers might be of great help in getting us there, given the large quantity of content and increasing requirements they have.

Best,
Jennifer
[hereby promising not to continue to step up on this Soap Box]

Should Sighted Developers Use Screenreaders To Test Accessibility Accessibility NZ http://accessibility.net.nz/blog/should-sighted-developers-use-screenreaders-to-test-accessibility/

Setting up a screen reader test environment http://www.iheni.com/screen-reader-testing/

Screen reader tips for Web Designers and Developers http://davidakennedy.com/2014/11/10/screen-reader-tips/

webaim Testing with Screen Readers - Questions and Answers http://webaim.org/articles/screenreader_testing/