In the growing digital landscape, it\u2019s a significant challenge to meet and cope with customer expectations, changing trends, use of technology, and expand the user base for digital applications. Many applications today fail to realize their full potential because they do not consider the complete end-user requirements during the design and development phase.<\/p>\n
It requires an exceptional effort to create and develop new technology accessible to all users. For example, let us think of releasing a web application to the market that should be accessible to everyone, including individuals with blindness, deafness, and other physical and cognitive challenges. It is here that the vital role of accessibility applications and testing comes into play.<\/p>\n
What is Accessibility Testing?<\/strong><\/p>\n It is a technique that validates and verifies digital content in the form of applications (web, mobile, desktop, etc.) available to all users, including those with disabilities like vision impairments, deafness, and other cognitive conditions.<\/p>\n This testing ensures accessibility to the entire application for all abled and disabled individuals and utilizes the features without conventional interactions like a mouse, keyboard, etc.<\/p>\n Accessibility Testing Guidelines:<\/strong><\/p>\n Organizations can build web and other digital applications by adhering to WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), ADA compliance, Section 508 compliance, and VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) guidelines and standards.<\/p>\n World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)<\/strong> sets the following guidelines for Accessibility testing:<\/p>\n Why is accessibility testing so important?<\/strong><\/p>\n The below aspects bring out why Accessibility testing is so critical in the current era,<\/p>\n Regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n Further, with the proliferation of digital applications at a rapid pace, it is important to ensure accessibility to all users. This access should follow IT accessibility laws and policies, various initiatives from the public, federal agencies, individuals, and organizations that have been taken up to support technology brought in to achieve accessibility.<\/p>\n Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973<\/span>\u2013 To make electronic and information technology (EIT) accessible to people with disabilities. It applies to all federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, and use EIT.<\/p>\n Some of the other related laws are:<\/p>\n Accessibility Testing and Services<\/strong><\/p>\n Focus Areas- Requirements and Consideration<\/strong><\/p>\n It is essential to analyze and develop accessibility applications with more straightforward visuals, clear-cut content, and effects while considering people with a wide range of impairments, such as:<\/p>\n Above disabled individuals require special enablements in the software to perceive complete information in the application\/web page. Application UI is expected to (web, offline, desktop) meet particular requirements that should solve the pain points of disabled individuals.<\/p>\n Accessibility Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n Accessibility Testing- Assistive Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n Organizations should perform Accessibility tests in all phases. However, it currently falls short of expectations. While testing the application, below are the basic usability features that the testing team expects to meet minimum accessibility requirements.<\/p>\n Below are the details of tools and technologies for accessibility testing. These tools facilitate organizations\u2019 testing of their desktop, web, and mobile applications.<\/p>\n Auditing Tools<\/strong><\/p>\n There are numerous tools available on the market. They look over the applications when enabled or installed, examine them thoroughly, and return the list of accessibility issues in the page or application component.<\/p>\n Automation tools:<\/strong><\/p>\n The automation tool runs on top of applications as it checks the web pages and returns information on accessibility errors. Additionally, it provides browser extensions. These tools can be installed and integrated with task runners and automation frameworks like Selenium and Cucumber.<\/p>\n Assistive Technology<\/strong><\/p>\n Screen Readers have been one of the broadest assistive technologies that provide better usability for people accessing a web page or other applications.<\/p>\n A few assistive features to consider are:<\/p>\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n Cigniti has a dedicated expert team to perform accessibility testing leveraging the aforementioned tools and solutions. The testing team owns the testing across various stages, such as SIT, sanity\/smoke, regression, UAT, and functional and performance testing.<\/p>\n Cigniti associates are skilled in business requirement analysis, documenting requirements with clarity, implementing and strategizing test plans, designing and executing test scenarios, and providing maintenance support, among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Perceivable<\/strong><\/td>\n An interface and information must be presentable for the end-user to perceive\u2014for example \u2013 alt text in images.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Operable<\/strong><\/td>\n Navigation must be accessible and operable throughout the user interface. For example \u2013 Keyboard navigation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Understandable<\/strong><\/td>\n The user interface\u2019s content must be readable using a meaningful statement instead of color-coded instructions.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Robust<\/strong><\/td>\n The user interface\u2019s content must be robust to be accessible by all users, for example \u2013 When a user accesses a URL on different viewports like desktops, mobiles, and tablets.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n \n
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