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From: Tim Harshbarger
Date: Aug 5, 2016 6:40AM

I would strongly advocate that you start with automated testing before you even bother with doing any type of screen reader testing.

I think the key is just to ensure that the only tests you automate are always correct. If it says there is a defect, it should always be a defect. That simplifies things a great deal.

While automated testing won't catch everything that manual testing will, it is faster and cheaper to do.

Also, if you are working with other developers, it is a lot easier to teach them how to use the automated tool and its results.

Personally, I think it is essential to test with screen readers if you want to produce high quality user interfaces. However, testing with a screen reader adds a lot more complexity.

To test well with a screen reader, you need to know how to operate it and understand what kind of information it is going to convey if everything is working correctly. One of the tricky parts comes when you run into defects. Most of the time, it is fairly easy to determine if the defect is related to application code. Other times, it is difficult to figure out if the problem is the application code, the browser, or the screen reader.

My suggestion would be to check the code frequently with automated testing and then follow up with screen reader testing less frequently.

Thanks,
Tim