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Re: Accessibility user testing

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From: Lucy Greco
Date: Jul 15, 2016 1:16PM

there is a lot to doing this but mostly you run it like any other user
test i would not use hangouts i would use skipe if you can as it is easyer
for the user to share screens with you and tends to be more accessable i
run user tests like this all the time i am the screen reader user and my
clients find this method works well lucy

Lucia Greco
Web Accessibility Evangelist
IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
University of California, Berkeley
(510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
Follow me on twitter @accessaces


On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 12:09 PM, Zack McCartney < <EMAIL REMOVED> >
wrote:

> Hi there!
>
> First off, hello all! This is my first post, excited to start learning more
> about web accessibility.
>
> Anyway, I work at a web development agency and I've been tasked with
> running a usability test on a web application we've built with a
> participant using a screenreader. Our development team just made a bunch of
> updates to the site to move it closer to ADA (Americans with Disabilities
> Act) compliance, so we're trying to find out if our first pass actually
> improved the site's accessibility and what work still needs to be done.
>
> The problem is: I've never run a usability test with a participant using a
> screenreader. I have basic experience running usability tests, so I have an
> ok handle on how to moderate a test session, but I want to learn the basics
> of testing the user-friendliness of web accessibility features.
>
> Specifically:
>
> - Do y'all have any advice on how to test the usability of a site's
> accessibility features?
>
>
> - What adaptations, if any, should I think to make to my typical
> usability test setup?
> - The participant and I will be connecting over the phone, I'm hoping
> over video call, with him sharing his screen. I have no idea if
> this'll
> work or if asking him to navigate through a video conferencing
> app (Google
> Hangouts) could complicate the test unnecessarily.
>
>
> - Should I provide the participant instructions or can I (or rather,
> typical of interacting with the web via screenreader) leave them in the
> dark, let them figure out the site on their own?
> - For a typical usability test, I'd want to the participant to know
> as little as possible about the site under test, as I want to learn
> how
> people figure out how to use a site on first encounter. But, I don't
> know
> if omitting usage instructions — part of our dev team's
> accessibility work
> — would prevent the user from even interacting with the site. I want
> them
> to at the very least to be able to access the site, even if it's
> still
> tricky to use on screenreader.
>
>
> Thanks!
> Zack McCartney
>
> PS Sorry if my question shows my ignorance of web accessibility i.e.
> anything sounds goofy or dumb. I'm totally new to the topic, trying to get
> up to speed. :)
> > > > >