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Re: Wai Aria how useful?

for

From: ckrugman
Date: Jul 27, 2010 6:42PM

It is also important to note that here in the U.S. most rehab agencies will
provide JAWS or Window Eyes for their rehab clients who are receiving
equipment.
Chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
To: < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 12:05 PM
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Wai Aria how useful?


>" NVDA is rapidly growing in popularity. Whilst it lacks some of the
>functionality that other screen readers provide, it's increasingly used as
>a backup option and in time I think we'll see it gain primary ground as
>well.
>
> Jaws is undoubtedly the most popular primary option, but the WebAIM survey
> reports that 49% of people use more than one screen reader. Of the
> alternatives, NVDA is the most popular with nearly 26% of people choosing
> it.
> http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey2/"
>
> I am very familiar with the results of the WebAIM survey. I was one of the
> respondents. I think that the survey supports my view that NVDA in most
> cases it is not the best platform for user testing. Only 3% of respondents
> listed NVDA as their primary screen reader. I believe that user testing
> should be conducted using the user's primary screen reader and browser
> combination unless you are testing for use in a closed environment where
> the user will not have a choice of platform, including their OS, AT and
> other software.
>
> I believe that there is a risk in assuming that the population of survey
> respondents is fully representative of screen reader users in general. My
> gut instinct is that the population may have been a bit more tech savvy.
> For example 10% of the respondents reported that they do not have a
> disability. I would be very surprised to find that 10% of JAWS users do
> not have a disability. I would also expect that 10% is heavily
> concentrated among accessibility experts. Even among the 90% of
> respondents who reported a disability I would not be surprised to learn
> that there was a disproportionate representation of folks who could be
> considered technology and/or accessibility experts. I am not suggesting
> that the results of the survey are invalid, just that some of the more
> surprising findings such as use of multiple screen readers, and recent
> updates of AT may not truly reflect the screen reader user population in
> general.
>
> NVDA is a good tool for troubleshooting problems. It helps us confirm when
> problems are related to the AT and not the application, document, or
> system under test. We are starting a pilot program to evaluate NVDA and/or
> SAToGo as a supplemental assistive technology for our staff who use a
> screen reader. Since most of our staff who use a screen reader are not
> technologists and most could be considered "average" in their computer
> skills, it will be interesting to get their feedback on the usefulness of
> a second screen reader.
>
> Mike Moore
>
>
>