Accessibility testing is an important aspect of software development as it ensures that a software product is inclusive and usable by the widest possible range of people, including those with disabilities. As WHO reports show, Approximately 16% of the population has disability issues, with 1 in 6 people having significant disabilities. By including accessibility testing in the normal software testing life cycle, it can cater to this large market and remove barriers for people with disabilities, thus improving customer satisfaction and increasing market reach.

What is Accessibility Testing ?

Accessibility testing is the process of evaluating a product, service, or environment for accessibility, which refers to the degree to which it can be used by people with disabilities. This can include testing for compliance with accessibility standards, such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), as well as testing for usability by people with various types of disabilities, such as visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.

Accessibility testing may include manual testing, automated testing, and user testing with people with disabilities. The goal of accessibility testing is to identify and address barriers that prevent people with disabilities from fully using and interacting with a product or service.

Why Accessibility Testing is important?

Accessibility testing is important for several reasons, including legal compliance, inclusivity, and positive business and social benefits. Many countries have laws and regulations mandating accessibility for products and services, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States and the Equality Act in the United Kingdom. Accessibility testing can help ensure compliance with these laws.

Additionally, making products and services accessible to people with disabilities through accessibility testing helps to ensure that they are inclusive and usable by the widest possible range of people. It also has positive business benefits, such as improving search engine optimization, increasing customer satisfaction, and reducing the likelihood of costly legal action.

Furthermore, making products and services more accessible can also have a positive social impact by helping to remove barriers and enable people with disabilities to participate more fully in society. It’s also important to note that accessibility is a human right, and testing for accessibility is important to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to access the products and services they need.

What are the disabilities that every application should support?

Every application should support accessibility for users with a wide range of disabilities, including but not limited to:

• Visual impairments: Support for users who are blind or have low vision, by providing alternative text for images, high contrast text and controls, and support for screen readers.
• Auditory impairments: Support for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, by providing captioning or transcripts for audio content, and support for sign language interpretation.
• Motor impairments: Support for users who have difficulty using a mouse or keyboard, by providing keyboard-only navigation and controls that can help disabled people to operate with a switch or other assistive device.
• Cognitive impairments: Support for users with cognitive disabilities, by providing clear and consistent navigation, a simple and predictable interface, and avoiding features that could cause confusion or disorientation.
• Speech impairments: Support for users who have difficulty speaking, by providing text-to-speech and speech-to-text functionality.
• Epileptic seizures: Support for users who are prone to seizures, by providing options to minimize flashing or strobing effects and to turn off animations.

It’s also important to keep in mind that some users may have multiple disabilities, and an application should be designed to be flexible and adaptable to support the unique needs of each user. Additionally, accessibility should be considered not only for permanent disabilities but also for temporary ones like a broken arm or a device with a small screen, and also for users with situational limitations like using a device with a poor internet connection.

What are the steps of Accessibility Testing?

The steps of accessibility testing typically include the following:

1. Planning: Identify the scope of the testing, such as which pages or features of a website or application will be tested, and which accessibility standards or guidelines will be used.
2. Preparation: Gather the necessary tools and resources for testing, such as screen readers, keyboard emulators, and color contrast analyzers.
3. Manual testing: Conduct manual testing of the product or service using a variety of assistive technologies and by simulating different types of disabilities. This can include testing for keyboard accessibility, screen reader compatibility, and color contrast.
4. Automated testing: Use automated tools to scan the product or service for accessibility issues, such as missing alt text or improper use of headings.
5. User testing: Involve users with disabilities in testing to get feedback on the usability and accessibility of the product or service.
6. Reporting: Document the results of the testing, including any issues found and their severity.
7. Remediation: Address any accessibility issues that were identified during testing, either by making changes to the product or service or by providing alternative solutions.
8. Verification: Verify that any changes made to the product or service have resolved the accessibility issues and that the product or service is now compliant with the relevant accessibility standards.
9. Maintenance: Develop a maintenance plan to ensure the accessibility of the product or service is maintained over time.

It is also important to note that accessibility testing should be integrated into the development process and not only be done at the end of development. This approach called Accessibility-Driven Development (ADD) allows to prevent and fix accessibility issues early in the development process making it more cost-effective.

What Accessibility Testing tests?

Accessibility testing tests for a wide range of issues that can impact the usability and accessibility of a product or service for people with disabilities. Some examples of what accessibility testing may test for include:

• Keyboard accessibility: Testing to ensure that all functionality of the product or service can be accessed and controlled using only a keyboard, without the need for a mouse.
• Screen reader compatibility: Testing to ensure that the product or service can be used with screen readers, which are assistive technologies that read text aloud for users who are blind or have low vision.
• Color contrast: Testing to ensure that the text and background colors used in the product or service have sufficient contrast, which helps users with low vision to read the text.
• Alt text: Testing to ensure that images and other non-text elements in the product or service have alternative text that can be read by screen readers.
• Headings: Testing to ensure that headings and other structural elements in the product or service are used correctly, which helps users with cognitive disabilities to understand the content.
• ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications): Testing to ensure that the product or service uses ARIA roles, states and properties correctly, which help to improve accessibility for users with assistive technology.
• Navigation: Testing to ensure that the navigation of the product or service is clear, consistent and easily understandable, which helps users with cognitive disabilities to understand and navigate the content.
• Audio and Video: Testing to ensure that the audio and video content in the product or service is accessible, which includes providing captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions.

These are just a few examples, and the specific accessibility issues that are tested for may vary depending on the product or service being tested and the accessibility standards or guidelines that are being used.

Example for Test Cases Accessibility Testing

• Verify that all images have appropriate alternative text descriptions.
• Verify that all videos have captions and audio descriptions.
• Verify that all forms can be completed using only a keyboard.
• Verify that all buttons and links have visible text labels.
• Verify that all headings are properly structured and nested.
• Verify that all color contrasts meet the minimum requirements.
• Verify that all text is resizable up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
• Verify that all form controls have associated labels.
• Verify that all error messages are clearly associated with the relevant form control.
• Verify that all functionality can be operated using only a keyboard, including all navigation, buttons, and links.
• Verify that all content is organized and presented in a logical, consistent and meaningful way.
• Verify that all ARIA roles, states and properties are used correctly.
• Verify that all the audio and video content can be paused, stopped or muted.
• Verify that the user can turn off animations, flashing or strobing effects.
• Verify that the website or application is compatible with common assistive technologies, such as screen readers, magnifiers, and switch interfaces.

Please note that this list is not exhaustive and depends on the type of application or website. Testers may need to execute other test cases. Keep in mind that accessibility testing should be an ongoing process and not only be done at the end of development.

TestCrew – Your Best Software Quality Partner

In, TestCrew we are keen to implement quality tests regularly as well as provide international standards software-testing training. TestCrew also provides all technical, functional, and non-functional software quality test services related to user experience, which ensure the security and protection of end products from vulnerabilities and the risks of penetration, as per the standards of ISTQB and Test Maturity Model Integration Professional certification (TMMi).

In addition to that, TestCrew also offers software quality consulting services, you can also know more about what we do by visiting the various communication channels mentioned on our page, LinkedIn, email, or through our unified number.