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Re: Hardware and Software required for AccessibilityTesting

for

From: ckrugman
Date: Dec 3, 2009 5:30PM

As a screen reader user that is skilled in usage whether there are standards
or not the bottom line is that If I can't access it because the standards
did not fit the situation and it was not tested individually then the bar is
never too high. If standards were rigorously enforced and applied we would
not have sites that have inaccessible captcha, consumer survey sites that
present product descriptions in an image or JPEG format only that is not
readable with screen reading software. sites that responses to be dragged
and dropped without keyboard alternatives, and on and on. Perhaps we need to
be focusing on the practical applications of accessibility compliance rather
than the theoretical.
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Parks" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: "WebAIM Discussion List" < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 11:18 AM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Hardware and Software required for
AccessibilityTesting


>
> On Dec 3, 2009, at 4:42 AM, Sam S wrote:
>
>> Dear All,
>>
>> I need to to test some websites for accessibility.
>> The websites should be tested thoroughly for WCAG 2.0 Compliance and
>> need to
>> provide high level of accessibility/usability.
>>
>
> So far the responses have listed various hardware/software
> combinations to test the user experience with. And there are a variety
> of sites and tools out there that test for compliance, for instance
> <http://www.cynthiasays.com/
> >, or WebAIM's own WAVE tool.
>
> And I don't mean to discount the value of real-world testing, but if
> your content is properly structured and coded to standards and "best
> practices", and your presentation markup is tested for color contrast,
> isn't the idea then that you don't need to do individual testing?
>
> Isn't that what the "standards" are for? So that every developer
> doesn't *need* to become an accessibility expert, nor do they need to
> do real-world tests on each site?
>
> I realize I'm talking about an ideal world here, which the "Table
> Navigation" thread clearly shows we have not yet reached, in terms of
> the standards themselves, or their implementation by AT. But the
> principle that in order to "do the right thing" on accessibility,
> developers need to be testing their sites with multiple versions of
> screen readers, magnifiers, voice-recognition technology, etc., seems
> to be setting the bar a bit too high.
>
> ******************************
> Keith Parks
> Graphic Designer/Web Designer
> Student Affairs Communications Services
> San Diego State University
> San Diego, CA 92182-7444
> (619) 594-1046
> mailto: <EMAIL REMOVED>
> http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/communications
>
> http://kparks.deviantart.com/gallery
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
> A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, served with a side of
> slaw.
>
>