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Re: Research on mixed teams

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From: JP Jamous
Date: Mar 12, 2018 1:43AM

I don't think there is but industry standards recommend that there are 2 testers per team. The first is sighted and the second is totally blind.

Having both extremes allows each to be an expert in his or her area. Also, the team builds synergy that way by being very efficient. All success criteria get covered.

The team can work alone or together when testing. The most important part is that they both assemble the report or share their notes. That way, all that apply to WCAG Level AA are accounted for.

Some sighted testers like to turn off their machines and run screen readers. I am not against that, but they won't be as keen as totally blind users for various reasons. It would be best to give each tester the success criteria he or she is an expert at.

One last part to keep in mind. While it takes a while for the team members to learn how to work with each other, the psychological part that plays a huge role amongst team members applies to those teams. For example, if the 2 individuals are not comfortable working with each other, you will have team issues. That is more from a management prospective. I witnessed that first-hand. I had some sighted folks that I was able to work with them very comfortably and quickly. We got so much done in a short period of time while having fun and joking around. Whereas, others I had to slow down to their own speeds and be cautious of their feelings etc.

I hope that helps.