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From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 1:59PM
Subject: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
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Hey gang

One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing
page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps
and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they
would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the
screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).
What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to
native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if
you have such).
Thanks much, as always.
-B

--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Patrick H. Lauke
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 4:45PM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
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On 18/04/2020 20:59, Birkir R. Gunnarsson wrote:
> Hey gang
>
> One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing
> page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
> The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps
> and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they
> would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the
> screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).

And rather unhelpfully, WCAG2ICT just handwaves the whole thing
https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/#navigation-mechanisms-title

> What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to
> native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if
> you have such).

In most of our testing, we've taken the approach of looking more
generally at the intent of the SC - helping users orient themselves/know
where they are within the context of the app ... seeing if there is
something that gives users an indication of which view/screen/etc they
may be in - taking into consideration standard patterns like top bars on
many native apps (where you often have the title of the current view
page with a "<" back control) or similar, as well as any standard ways
in which a screen/view can (depending on the OS) be given an explicit
name. But nothing as cut and dry as the <title> element on web documents.

Noting also that a lot of the benefits/scenarios outlined in the
understanding document for 2.4.2 really don't quite fit/apply to the act
of using a native app on mobile (generally not multitasking, focused
activity so less chance of "what if the user went away/switched between
apps/needs to know what page they're on when they return", the whole
thing about "site maps or lists of search results", etc).

P
--
Patrick H. Lauke

https://www.splintered.co.uk/ | https://github.com/patrickhlauke
https://flickr.com/photos/redux/ | https://www.deviantart.com/redux
twitter: @patrick_h_lauke | skype: patrick_h_lauke

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 5:00PM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
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Guidance from the Applying WCAG to Non-web ICT documentation would indicate that criterion applies to the software app as a whole and not specific screen titles. https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/. Screen titles can be useful although as already pointed out perhaps less important in a mobile environment -- however, there are abilities now to have multiple windows and apps side by side and if you are switching between apps you could potentially need a reminder of which screen you left off in. I generally say that if a screen title is provided it needs to describe the topic or purpose and if a screen title is not provided then it's not required to add one.

Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:00 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.


Hey gang

One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).
What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if you have such).
Thanks much, as always.
-B

--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 5:36PM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
← Previous message | Next message →

Sounds reasonable, that's what I have been recommending for my team,
but since this is the great resource that it is, I wanted to double
check.
I never pay attention to the screen title myself, usually I can't find
it, probably because it's not there.
Agreed about search and sitemap and all that jazz, and I tend to be a
little bit laxer on form field labeling and grouping.
For one thing group labels are basically non-existent on mobile apps,
you have to hack individual labels to create the illusion of group
labels.
For another the screens are smaller, information sparser and there is
a lot less confusion about labels and purpose of form fields on the
screen.
There is some push back about persistent visible labels, since screen
reader estate is so precious, but I've generally managed to win that
battle.



On 4/18/20, Jonathan Avila < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Guidance from the Applying WCAG to Non-web ICT documentation would indicate
> that criterion applies to the software app as a whole and not specific
> screen titles. https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/. Screen titles can be
> useful although as already pointed out perhaps less important in a mobile
> environment -- however, there are abilities now to have multiple windows and
> apps side by side and if you are switching between apps you could
> potentially need a reminder of which screen you left off in. I generally
> say that if a screen title is provided it needs to describe the topic or
> purpose and if a screen title is not provided then it's not required to add
> one.
>
> Jonathan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:00 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Subject: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not
> click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the
> content is safe.
>
>
> Hey gang
>
> One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing page/screen
> titles on native mobile apps.
> The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps and I
> find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they would on web
> (most of the time they do not automatically announce the screen title,
> sometimes they don't announce it at all).
> What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to native
> mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if you have
> such).
> Thanks much, as always.
> -B
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> > > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: joe@a11yeval.com
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 6:14PM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi All,

I would like to disagree with what has been said. Screen titles are very
important for native mobile apps. The concept of a screen title is very
clearly defined for both iOS and Android.

The are the title of the current View (iOS) and Activity (Android). Screen
title are also very useful for screen reader users when they are present.
The are more helpful on Android than in iOS IMO.

On Android, the screen title (if present) is announced when a new screen
loads, can be updated dynamically if the content changes, and if the app id
resumed (by choosing it from the recent apps, it is automatically announced
once the app loads from its saved state.

On iOS, the screen title is automatically marked as a heading. If the View
is part of a flow and uses a NavigationController, when the user goes to a
new screen, the Back button visually shows the title of the previous screen
and this title is included in the back buttons accessible name.

The screen title can be set on Android by using an android:label attribute
in the AndroidManifest.xml file
(https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element) or by
using the .setTitle method in the Java file at runtime
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity#setTitle(java.
lang.CharSequence)). The title can be set on iOS by using a
UINavigationController or a UINavigationItem and setting the title property
of the UINavigationItem
(https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uinavigationitem/1624965-ti
tle). A UINavigationController automatically added a UINavigationItem. It
can also be set in xCode. In iOS the entire header is called a Navigation
Bar
(https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/bars/navi
gation-bars/)

While the titles technically are for developer use, TalkBack and VoiceOver
do take advantage of them.

Thankx,
Joe Humbert
Accessibility Champion
Native Mobile accessibility Novice

-----Original Message-----
From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 7:36 PM
To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
Subject: Re: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps

Sounds reasonable, that's what I have been recommending for my team, but
since this is the great resource that it is, I wanted to double check.
I never pay attention to the screen title myself, usually I can't find it,
probably because it's not there.
Agreed about search and sitemap and all that jazz, and I tend to be a little
bit laxer on form field labeling and grouping.
For one thing group labels are basically non-existent on mobile apps, you
have to hack individual labels to create the illusion of group labels.
For another the screens are smaller, information sparser and there is a lot
less confusion about labels and purpose of form fields on the screen.
There is some push back about persistent visible labels, since screen reader
estate is so precious, but I've generally managed to win that battle.



On 4/18/20, Jonathan Avila < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Guidance from the Applying WCAG to Non-web ICT documentation would
> indicate that criterion applies to the software app as a whole and not
specific
> screen titles. https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/. Screen titles can be
> useful although as already pointed out perhaps less important in a
> mobile environment -- however, there are abilities now to have
> multiple windows and apps side by side and if you are switching between
apps you could
> potentially need a reminder of which screen you left off in. I generally
> say that if a screen title is provided it needs to describe the topic
> or purpose and if a screen title is not provided then it's not
> required to add one.
>
> Jonathan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:00 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Subject: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>
> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do
> not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender
> and know the content is safe.
>
>
> Hey gang
>
> One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing
> page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
> The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps
> and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they
> would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the
> screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).
> What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to
> native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if
> you have such).
> Thanks much, as always.
> -B
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> > > > archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
http://webaim.org/discussion/archives

From: Birkir R. Gunnarsson
Date: Sat, Apr 18 2020 9:05PM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
← Previous message | Next message →

Neat, I need to set up dev environments to play with these and get a
full feel for how they are used, it's so easy to do for HTML, you just
write it and load it in a browser.
Thanks for the info, this looks very interesting.


On 4/18/20, = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I would like to disagree with what has been said. Screen titles are very
> important for native mobile apps. The concept of a screen title is very
> clearly defined for both iOS and Android.
>
> The are the title of the current View (iOS) and Activity (Android). Screen
> title are also very useful for screen reader users when they are present.
> The are more helpful on Android than in iOS IMO.
>
> On Android, the screen title (if present) is announced when a new screen
> loads, can be updated dynamically if the content changes, and if the app id
> resumed (by choosing it from the recent apps, it is automatically announced
> once the app loads from its saved state.
>
> On iOS, the screen title is automatically marked as a heading. If the View
> is part of a flow and uses a NavigationController, when the user goes to a
> new screen, the Back button visually shows the title of the previous screen
> and this title is included in the back buttons accessible name.
>
> The screen title can be set on Android by using an android:label attribute
> in the AndroidManifest.xml file
> (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element) or
> by
> using the .setTitle method in the Java file at runtime
> (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity#setTitle(java.
> lang.CharSequence)). The title can be set on iOS by using a
> UINavigationController or a UINavigationItem and setting the title property
> of the UINavigationItem
> (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uinavigationitem/1624965-ti
> tle). A UINavigationController automatically added a UINavigationItem. It
> can also be set in xCode. In iOS the entire header is called a Navigation
> Bar
> (https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/bars/navi
> gation-bars/)
>
> While the titles technically are for developer use, TalkBack and VoiceOver
> do take advantage of them.
>
> Thankx,
> Joe Humbert
> Accessibility Champion
> Native Mobile accessibility Novice
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 7:36 PM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>
> Sounds reasonable, that's what I have been recommending for my team, but
> since this is the great resource that it is, I wanted to double check.
> I never pay attention to the screen title myself, usually I can't find it,
> probably because it's not there.
> Agreed about search and sitemap and all that jazz, and I tend to be a
> little
> bit laxer on form field labeling and grouping.
> For one thing group labels are basically non-existent on mobile apps, you
> have to hack individual labels to create the illusion of group labels.
> For another the screens are smaller, information sparser and there is a lot
> less confusion about labels and purpose of form fields on the screen.
> There is some push back about persistent visible labels, since screen
> reader
> estate is so precious, but I've generally managed to win that battle.
>
>
>
> On 4/18/20, Jonathan Avila < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> Guidance from the Applying WCAG to Non-web ICT documentation would
>> indicate that criterion applies to the software app as a whole and not
> specific
>> screen titles. https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/. Screen titles can be
>> useful although as already pointed out perhaps less important in a
>> mobile environment -- however, there are abilities now to have
>> multiple windows and apps side by side and if you are switching between
> apps you could
>> potentially need a reminder of which screen you left off in. I
>> generally
>> say that if a screen title is provided it needs to describe the topic
>> or purpose and if a screen title is not provided then it's not
>> required to add one.
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
>> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
>> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:00 PM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>> Subject: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>>
>> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do
>> not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender
>> and know the content is safe.
>>
>>
>> Hey gang
>>
>> One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing
>> page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
>> The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps
>> and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they
>> would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the
>> screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).
>> What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to
>> native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if
>> you have such).
>> Thanks much, as always.
>> -B
>>
>> --
>> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
>> >> >> archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>> >> >> >> archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>> >>
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
> >
> > > > >


--
Work hard. Have fun. Make history.

From: Sailesh Panchang
Date: Wed, Apr 22 2020 7:57AM
Subject: Re: WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
← Previous message | No next message

My experience and advice mirrors Joe's.
Thanks Joe for the specific links.
Screen titles is a problem for large apps on Android and iOS) that I
am reviewing especially when implemented inconsistently: present on
some / absent on some.
Screen titles also help partly meet functional performance criterion:
302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities. (Sec
508).
Thanks,
Sailesh


On 4/18/20, Birkir R. Gunnarsson < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> Neat, I need to set up dev environments to play with these and get a
> full feel for how they are used, it's so easy to do for HTML, you just
> write it and load it in a browser.
> Thanks for the info, this looks very interesting.
>
>
> On 4/18/20, = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I would like to disagree with what has been said. Screen titles are very
>> important for native mobile apps. The concept of a screen title is very
>> clearly defined for both iOS and Android.
>>
>> The are the title of the current View (iOS) and Activity (Android).
>> Screen
>> title are also very useful for screen reader users when they are present.
>> The are more helpful on Android than in iOS IMO.
>>
>> On Android, the screen title (if present) is announced when a new screen
>> loads, can be updated dynamically if the content changes, and if the app
>> id
>> resumed (by choosing it from the recent apps, it is automatically
>> announced
>> once the app loads from its saved state.
>>
>> On iOS, the screen title is automatically marked as a heading. If the
>> View
>> is part of a flow and uses a NavigationController, when the user goes to
>> a
>> new screen, the Back button visually shows the title of the previous
>> screen
>> and this title is included in the back buttons accessible name.
>>
>> The screen title can be set on Android by using an android:label
>> attribute
>> in the AndroidManifest.xml file
>> (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/activity-element) or
>> by
>> using the .setTitle method in the Java file at runtime
>> (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity#setTitle(java.
>> lang.CharSequence)). The title can be set on iOS by using a
>> UINavigationController or a UINavigationItem and setting the title
>> property
>> of the UINavigationItem
>> (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uinavigationitem/1624965-ti
>> tle). A UINavigationController automatically added a UINavigationItem.
>> It
>> can also be set in xCode. In iOS the entire header is called a Navigation
>> Bar
>> (https://developer.apple.com/design/human-interface-guidelines/ios/bars/navi
>> gation-bars/)
>>
>> While the titles technically are for developer use, TalkBack and
>> VoiceOver
>> do take advantage of them.
>>
>> Thankx,
>> Joe Humbert
>> Accessibility Champion
>> Native Mobile accessibility Novice
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
>> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
>> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 7:36 PM
>> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>>
>> Sounds reasonable, that's what I have been recommending for my team, but
>> since this is the great resource that it is, I wanted to double check.
>> I never pay attention to the screen title myself, usually I can't find
>> it,
>> probably because it's not there.
>> Agreed about search and sitemap and all that jazz, and I tend to be a
>> little
>> bit laxer on form field labeling and grouping.
>> For one thing group labels are basically non-existent on mobile apps, you
>> have to hack individual labels to create the illusion of group labels.
>> For another the screens are smaller, information sparser and there is a
>> lot
>> less confusion about labels and purpose of form fields on the screen.
>> There is some push back about persistent visible labels, since screen
>> reader
>> estate is so precious, but I've generally managed to win that battle.
>>
>>
>>
>> On 4/18/20, Jonathan Avila < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>>> Guidance from the Applying WCAG to Non-web ICT documentation would
>>> indicate that criterion applies to the software app as a whole and not
>> specific
>>> screen titles. https://www.w3.org/TR/wcag2ict/. Screen titles can be
>>> useful although as already pointed out perhaps less important in a
>>> mobile environment -- however, there are abilities now to have
>>> multiple windows and apps side by side and if you are switching between
>> apps you could
>>> potentially need a reminder of which screen you left off in. I
>>> generally
>>> say that if a screen title is provided it needs to describe the topic
>>> or purpose and if a screen title is not provided then it's not
>>> required to add one.
>>>
>>> Jonathan
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: WebAIM-Forum < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > On Behalf Of
>>> Birkir R. Gunnarsson
>>> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2020 4:00 PM
>>> To: WebAIM Discussion List < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = >
>>> Subject: [WebAIM] WCAG 2.4.2 (page title) and native mobile apps
>>>
>>> CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do
>>> not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender
>>> and know the content is safe.
>>>
>>>
>>> Hey gang
>>>
>>> One dilemma I've faced lately is outlining guideines for testing
>>> page/screen titles on native mobile apps.
>>> The concept of a page title is not as clearly defined for mobile apps
>>> and I find that screen readers don't use it as aggressively as they
>>> would on web (most of the time they do not automatically announce the
>>> screen title, sometimes they don't announce it at all).
>>> What would you recommend as guidelines for 2.4.2 as they relate to
>>> native mobile apps and what is your experience from user testing (if
>>> you have such).
>>> Thanks much, as always.
>>> -B
>>>
>>> --
>>> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
>>> >>> >>> archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>>> >>> >>> >>> archives at http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>>> >>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
>> >> >> at
>> http://webaim.org/discussion/archives
>> >>
>> >> >> >> >>
>
>
> --
> Work hard. Have fun. Make history.
> > > > >


--
Sailesh Panchang
Principal Accessibility Consultant
Deque Systems Inc
381 Elden Street, Suite 2000, Herndon, VA 20170
Mobile: 571-344-1765