An impostor? A web designer, not accessibility expert.

1. accessibilityand the importance of user testingSydney web accessibility forum 2007WANAU - Web Accessibility Network for Australian Universities

2. An impostor?A web designer, not accessibility expert.

3. A sad beginningInvalid code, poor semantics, no idea.

4. Moving to standardsA long slow process (still going).

5. An introductionRoger Hudson introduced me to a process that we still follow today - watch, listen, take note.

6. A rude awakeningMy first accessibility user testing experience.

7. Lesson 1 - more linksMore.. More.. More..

8. Solution 1:Link from heading, descriptive links, hide sections if necessary.

9. Lesson 2: content blending Semantic markup is not necessarily enough.

10. Solution 2:Structural headings - headings that describe sections of the page.

11. Lesson 3: form confusionWhen forms do not use correct form elements, confusion can follow.

12. Solution 3:Use correct form elements.

13. Another rude awakeningWatching a screen magnifier user in action.

14. Lesson 4: Dropdown hellDropdowns and fly-out menus can be totally inaccessible for some users.

15. Solution 4:Avoid dropdown and fly-out menus altogether. They negatively affect many groups

16. Lesson 5: images for contentWhen enlarged, images can become unreadable.

17. Solution 5:Avoid images for important content.

18. Seeing is believingWatching users in action is vital for web designers, developers and managers.

19. When in doubt - testIf you are unsure about a page or function – sit down with specific user groups and test!

20. Don’t believe the hypeThere are many urban myths circulating the web. Testing is the only way to check and document.

21. Some of our tests1. Cognitive impairment2. Data tables3. Source order, skip links and structural headings

22. Cognitive impairment“People with cognitive disabilities and learning disorders are a relatively large proportion of the disabled population and often overlooked or ignored. Their needs are very hard to meet through a website – not just a matter of design, markup and CSS. You also need to get commitment from site owners to re-write the content in a more appropriate way.”

23. Data Tables“The id and headers attributes are the most effective way to make complex data tables accessible. Although slightly more difficult to code than scope, the apparent poor screen reader support for scope, and its lack of support for more than two levels of heading, means that this is probably not an effective accessibility option.”

24. Source order “Most screen reader users expect navigation to be presented before content. There appears to be little evidence to support the view that screen reader users would prefer content first, or find sites easier to use when this occurs.”

25. Skip links“Many experienced users do not need skip links. But less experienced screen reader users are likely to find skip links useful for moving directly to specific sections of the page. In our opinion, websites should continue to provide visible skip links at the top of pages.”

26. Structural labels“All of the research participants found the structural labels to be useful. The inclusion of structural labels seems to be an effective and relatively simple solution to the significant problem some screen reader users have in identifying the different elements on a page.”

27. Where to now?Possibly a series of tests on JavaScript driven dropdowns and fly-outs?

28. A conclusionWhile guidelines and checklists are important, it is also vital to observe real users in action.

29. Thank you