Select Representative Pages
If a UTAS template kit has been
used, then a page using each template
type should be evaluated, and also any pages that have page elements
other than straight text. Alternatively, consult
the site statistics for your site, and test the pages used most frequently.
The World
Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Evaluation Process may
also be followed, but the approach taken by the Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching, which as been vetted by Vision Australia, is tailored to
the following conditions:
- Many University staff use Information Technology Resources
Computer Lease machines with a specific suite of software
- Most Computer Lease machines are ‘locked down’ so
that no additional software can be installed
Techniques will work in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox in Windows and through a similar path in these browsers in Macintosh. Higher versions of each browser may
have slightly different techniques.
Evaluate your site
1. CHECK METADATA IS PRESENT:
WHY: Assists users with finding content (W3C
WAI Checkpoint 13.2 – Priority 2)
TECHNIQUE:
- View the page source
- Internet
Explorer: View -> Source
- Mozilla Firefox: View -> Page Source.
EVALUATION:
2. TEST DOWNLOAD SPEED
WHY: 20% of students (2007) - 33% of businesses and households (2007) still use dialup connections of 56K or less
TECHNIQUE:
EVALUATION: Pages should render in 8 seconds
on 56K modem, and not longer than 15 seconds..
3. TURN OFF IMAGES:
WHY: Users with slow Internet connections tend
to browse with images turned off.
TECHNIQUE:
- In Windows:
- Internet Explorer: Tools
-> Internet Options…-> Advanced -> Multimedia:
Show Pictures – OFF.
- Mozilla Firefox: Tools -> Web Developer …-> Images-> Disable Images -> All Images.
- In Macintosh:
- Internet Explorer: Edit -> Preferences
-> Web Content -> uncheck ‘Show pictures.
EVALUATION: Check that all navigation, functions
and key content are still readable and usable. Is the site identifiable?
4. TURN OFF THE SOUND:
WHY: Audio files should have transcripts
(W3C
WAI Checkpoint 1.1 – Priority 1) Users who are deaf,
or hard of hearing, or any user who cannot hear sound on their
machine cannot perceive the information presented through speech,
sound effects, or music.
TECHNIQUE:
- Change operating system
setting.
EVALUATION: Is the same level of
information present as text equivalents?
5. CHANGE THE FONT
SIZE:
WHY: users need to be able to change
the size of text, to compensate for the resolution or size of their
device, or because of a visual impairment. This is not possible
if a font is fixed in size (W3C
WAI Checkpoint 3.4 – Priority 2) and should be able to
customise their experience of the web (W3C
WAI Checkpoint 11.3 – Priority 3).
TECHNIQUE:
- In Windows:
- Internet
Explorer: View -> Text Size -> Largest.
- Mozilla Firefox: View
-> Text Size -> Increase Ctrl++.
EVALUATION: Check if all text changes
size and that all text is still readable.
6. CHANGE SCREEN RESOLUTION - testing the site in small screens:
WHY: To see how much page content
users with small screens will lose. Novice users may be confused
by scroll bar, and not access content at bottom of page. The increasing use of small hand-held devices makes it important to have site branding and navigation near the top left of the screen. Users with limited vision who are magnifying the page will see the top left first, and will have to scroll to see the rest of the page.
TECHNIQUE:
- Change operating system
setting to 800 x 600. The page SHOULD fit on a screen of this width.
- Also check at a screen size of 640 x 480.
EVALUATION: Examine the page at 800 x 600. Is there horizontal scrolling? Examine the page at 640 x 480. Examine reduction
in screen real estate - does the page still carry enough information
to engage the user? Is the most important information close to
the top left hand corner of the page? - Please note that it is not suggested that the screen should fit in a 640 x 480 screen, rather that the page should have the most important information near the top left, particularly for recruitment sites. The best possible option is to allow the page to 'reflow'.
7. TEST COLOUR CONTRAST,
AND CHANGE THE DISPLAY COLOUR TO BLACK AND WHITE:
WHY: When foreground and background
colours are too close to the same hue or brightness, they may not
provide sufficient contrast when viewed using monochrome displays
or by people who have difficulty seeing certain colours (W3C
WAI Checkpoint 2.2 – Priority 1).
TECHNIQUE:
EVALUATION: Is the text contrast
sufficient?
PAGE RENDERING FOR COLOUR-BLIND USERS:
WHY: Approximately 1 in 10 people have some form of colour blindness.
TECHNIQUE:
EVALUATION: Is the contrast sufficient, is any information unclear?
8. TEST FOR NAVIGATION
BY KEYBOARD:
WHY: Users with physical impairment
or temporary disabilities use keyboard rather than mouse.
TECHNIQUE:
- Use ‘Tab’ key
for forward navigation, ‘Shift Tab’ for reverse navigation.
EVALUATION: Can the site be navigated
in a logical order and all functionality used?
9. DISABLE STYLE SHEETS:
WHY: If page layout is controlled
by style sheet, page must degrade into sensible order. Since style
sheets are a new feature, older browsers will not support them
and it will take a while for new browsers to support them in a
standard way (W3C
Checkpoint 6.1 – Priority 1).
TECHNIQUE:
- In Windows:
- Internet
Explorer: Tools -> Internet Options…-> Accessibility-> check ‘Ignore
font styles specified on Web pages’ and ‘Ignore font
sizes specified on Web pages’.
- In Mozilla Firefox: Tools -> Web Developer …-> CSS -> Disable Styles -> All Styles ’.
- In Macintosh:
- Internet Explorer: Edit -> Preferences
-> Web Content -> uncheck ‘Show style sheets.
EVALUATION: Check that the page
still makes sense (although
it may look totally different) and is rendered in a sensible order.
10. VIEW PAGES WITH
AN ALTERNATIVE “HIGH CONTRAST” COLOUR SCHEME:
WHY: Some users may have high contrast
setting, or may be working in high-glare environment
TECHNIQUE:
- Change operating system
setting, (In PC: Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Accessibility
Options).
EVALUATION: Is all information present
and readable?
11. DISABLE SCRIPTS,
APPLETS AND PLUG-INS:
WHY: Some users may have scripts
disabled for security reasons. Scripts, applets, and other non-HTML
objects may not be accessible or may not run on a particular user's
system. (W3C
Checkpoint 6.2 – Priority 1, and W3C
Checkpoint 8.1 – Priority 1 for important information)
TECHNIQUE:
- In Internet Explorer:
Tools -> Internet Options…-> Security -> Internet
-> Custom Level…-> change settings as appropriate.
- In Mozilla Firefox: Tools -> Web Developer …-> Disable -> Disable Javascript.
EVALUATION: Confirm that alternatives
are available for all scripted elements that are important for the function of the page or site.
12. TRY THE SITE IN
A RANGE OF BROWSERS AND OPERATING SYSTEMS:
WHY: You cannot control what your
people use to access your site, so you should aim for integrity
of information, not appearance.
TECHNIQUE:
- Try at least Mozilla Firefox and Internet Exploror
- and operating systems (at least Microsoft
2000 and XP and a current Mac OS).
EVALUATION: Although the page may
look different, is all information present and clear?
13. USE A VOICE BROWSER:
WHY: To test if your page makes
sense if you had to listen to it instead of reading it.
TECHNIQUE:
EVALUATION: Is equivalent information
available through the voice or text browser as is available through
a browser and is the information presented in a similar logical
order as when viewed through a browser? Does it still make sense?
14. USE AT LEAST TWO
ACCESSIBILITY EVALUATION TOOLS:
WHY: All evaluation tools put slightly
different emphasis on the results, so it is possible to overlook
certain aspects, particularly those that require user judgement
to rectify.
TECHNIQUE:
EVALUATION: Rectify all W3C
Priorities, definitely all Priority 1 issues, and any Priority
2 and 3 if possible. Some Priority 2 and 3 issues may have more
significance (effectively Priority 1) depending on the structure
and design of your page.
15. VALIDATE HTML
AND STYLE SHEETS:
WHY: As languages used on the Internet
evolve (such as XML), support for accessibility grows. New language
features are more likely to have this support than older features
(W3C
Checkpoint 11.1 – Priority 2). Deprecated features (those
being phased out or replaced) should not be used because these
features have been removed because of compatibility issues and
replaced with elements that are more compatible with a wide range
of browsers and access devices (W3C
Checkpoint 11.2 – Priority 2)
TECHNIQUE:
16. Check non-HTML file types, eg PDF, for accessibility
WHY: A text equivalent is required for all non-text elements (W3C Checkpoint 1.1 - Priority 1).
TECHNIQUE:
SUMMARISE THE RESULTS:
Summarize the types of problems encountered and ways
to address any problems identified.
For more information, please call Maria Moore (phone
(03) 6226 6387 or email Maria.Moore@utas.edu.au).
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