QA Accessibility-testing

QA Accessibility Testing

How and why you should learn to test websites for accessibility

Purpose of accessibility testing

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - 1990• Section 508 –Federal law (compliance standards) - 1998,

2000, (2017?)• WCAG 2.0 – w3C – not law, guidelines. These are used

across the world to measure accessibility in software• People with Disabilities (PWD) – the entire reason

behind all this legislation and interest

These are the kind of people I test for:

Joseph Haynes – Keyboard OnlyAngie DeMatteo - JAWS

Rudy Alphonso - ZoomText

What we’ll cover

1. Standards and Guidelines – Section 508 & WCAG 2.0 2. Skills – tools, Assistive Technology, automation3. Job posts – asking for more than your average QA job4. Legal – who is at risk? Who can mitigate risk?

Quick, very quick background• Section 508 – current and refresh• WCAG 2.0 and how it fits in:• “Because

WCAG 2.0 was written to be technology neutral, the language and phrasing of the Success Criteria can be applied to any technology found on the Web.” -- Access Board (Federal Agency which coordinates federal agencies around issues of people with disabilities) They are the agency which is guiding Section 508 refresh.

• YouTube video of someone using NVDA screen reader• CNIB screen reader demo – also NVDA

How to test against these standards and guidelines

• START with a list of expected results (usual QA test process)

• CONTINUE with usability testing for people using Assistive Technology (AT) (Add this to your test plan)

• FINISH when you have demonstrated and taught accessibility to stakeholders (Project Management, Product Management, Development) (education is primary adjunct to testing)

Is accessibility a checklist item?

• Yes, if you want to do it incorrectly.• Bias of employers, business people, recruiters• Bias of QA professionals

• No, if you understand the purpose of this testing• Holistic approach encompasses the PWD factor• Acceptance Criteria will evolve based on continuous

demonstrations – inspect and adapt

First keyboard only, then WAVE

• well done accessibilityhttp://www.apapracticecentral.org/about/accessibility.aspx

• many issueshttp://www.petco.com/avoderm-cat-food

How does QA fit into this?Business, Product Management, Business Analyst/ Requirements AnalystDev/ QA, Project Management (everyone is involved and needs education)Some requirements from jobs on job boards, August 8,

2016:Test Engineer – Dept. of Homeland Security:“Interface with multiple stakeholders and teams including development, business analysts, change management, configuration management, QA, client UAT testers, etc.” Software

Test Engineer I at DIT, Inc. – entry level in Johnstown, PA“S/he will also assist clients with User Acceptance and UI/UX testing, Section 508 and Web Accessibility, and web application security.”

More from current job postings• Software QA Tester (Washington State Dept. of Enterprise)• “Planning, implementation, and testing of usability for Web

sites and Web-based applications including: Web site effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction; user’s ability and time it takes to find information and complete services online.

• Experience with user-centered design including: Early focus on user tasks and needs; ability to observe, measure, and record a user’s behavior; and implement feedback using an iterative design process.”

Risks of inaccessible software

• Lawsuits• CU Boulder example of universities• Colorado Bag n’ Baggage (WSJ write-up)• Department of Justice (DOJ) role (also EEOC, Dept. of Trans., FCC

etc.)• Employment – Dept. of Homeland Security – one employee

(attorney) had issues

How much do lawsuits cost?• Doesn’t take many aggrieved individuals to prevail –

Seattle School District: one blind mother

• Seattle School District: “According to the board’s briefing on the issue, the cost to implement the decree is estimated to be between $665,400 and $815,400 over its three-and-a-half year term, including $385,000 to hire an accessibility coordinator, and $150,000 for an audit and corrective action plan. Web accessibility testing has been budgeted at $90,000, and another $105,000 will be needed to train the staff designated in the agreement.”

How to test• Keyboard Only

• WCAG: “Guideline 2.1: Make all functionality available from a keyboard.”

• WAVE/ Color Contrast Analyzer– extensions, add to certain browsers• JAWS/ NVDA – screen reader (NVDA is free, but please give a

donation!)• Captioning (videos, for deaf/ hard of hearing)• Automation (SSB BART) One enterprise level accessibility audit tool

Outcomes

• Do not expect perfection. Think of this as continuous improvement.

• Not possible to satisfy all requirements. Be satisfied with 80/20• Expect:

• Educate all involved• Prioritize issues by severity of impact on target audience (keyboard trap)• Learn all you can about accessibility• Teach, teach, teach!

Elianna JamesPresident, ‘I Break Websites LLC’

Almost 20 years in software, including QA engineer, requirements writer, UX design and accessibility consultant eliannaj@yahoo.com www.ibreakwebsites.com

Sue UyetakeSue Uyetake is a Computer Engineer who has installed, coded, supported, trained, written about, and tested software. Now

coding automated tests at DigitalGlobe in Cloud Services, her passion is in the communication aspects of Quality Assurance. sue.uyetake@gmail.com https://suecodingblog.wordpress.com

Thank you!• Section 508 US Access Board• WCAG 2.0 – checklist by Luke McGrath• WebAim – WAVE toolbar • Color Contrast Analyzer - The Paciello Group provides free• NVDA screen reader, free/ low cost, • JAWS screen reader, wide use in US and especially government• Introduction tutorial on accessibility (basic concepts for dev/

designers)