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Re: Now that IBM will no longer be supporting HPR

for

From: Shane Anderson
Date: Nov 13, 2006 3:10PM

Hi Josh

Sighted users who test with a screen reader should not do so as a
replacement to AT user testing but rather in addition to AT user testing.
Many developers who do have access to AT users for testing, also test with
screen readers or other AT devices. I test with several other tools not just
one accessibility evaluator. The reasoning is that you find different issues
when you look at things from a different angle. When I listen to a web site
with a screen reader (with the display turned off) I am able to recognize
problems that may not surface otherwise. It can be very helpful.

Shane
WebAIM.org



I don't know how wise it is for designers and developers, who are not
> normally screen reader users,
> to do their own testing with demo versions. I would suggest that a
> better approach for testing it to use real
> users of the assistive technology (AT), in order to get a clear picture
> of the accessibility and usability of what
> you are testing. I would argue that it can be counterproductive to
> develop a site and test it yourself when you are
> not familiar with the AT that you are testing with. I would hazard a
> guess that many users who are on this list
> who are testing with demo versions of JAWS are spending most of their
> time getting to grips with using the screen reader,
> rather than testing how well their site performs.
>
> I realise this post may annoy some people, but its better to track down
> some users of AT who are totally familiar with
> their devices and then let them test the site.
>
> That way the results will not be skewed.
>
> My two cents
>
> Josh
>
>