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Re: Is VoiceOver more similar to NVDA or JAWS with respect to the accessibility tree?

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From: Steve Green
Date: Jun 3, 2020 8:54AM

Since the heuristics are a significant piece of intellectual property for an AT vendor, I would be very surprised if any vendor published theirs. That said, I too would be very interested if there are such lists.

I would also make the point (again) that there is a difference between doing a WCAG audit and an accessibility audit. It is not necessary to use any assistive technologies when doing a WCAG audit, and arguably you should not use them. A WCAG audit should be done by inspection of the code and user interface, using tools where they are helpful. The behaviour of assistive technologies is irrelevant and unhelpful.

By contrast, an accessibility audit can be anything you want it to be, and you may well choose to include testing the user experience with one or more screen readers. The choice of operating system, browser and AT should be determined by factors such as your audience and contractual obligations. I would go so far as to say it's unprofessional to test with a particular platform simply because it's what you've got or what you want to use.

Steve Green
Managing Director
Test Partners Ltd