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What is Within Scope for a WCAG 2.0 Conformance Check?

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From: Clerkendweller
Date: Feb 18, 2009 11:45AM


How do we know if we are testing everything? WCAG 2.0 says that a
conformance claim may be for a single web page or complete process:

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#conformance

But what exactly should conform? It's more than just content, since
the way the web page or complete process functions also has WCAG
requirements (e.g. error indication, timing, auto-updating, mark-up
order, etc). But which functionality do we need to check?

1) the specification for the page/process
2) what the page/process seems to do
3) everything the page can be used to do?

For example on a registration form, assume the web site's
specification says there is a surname field. The actual
implementation includes two fields for family names to cater for
international use. So I guess both of these need to conform (2
above). Let's say the form returns a conforming response page with an
error message if both of these are left blank. But what happens if
putting a weird value like "-1" in one of these name fields means the
page displays a non-conforming response page? The "-1" wasn't
intended in the specification, but the page can do this (3 above).

Is this a conformance claim failure?