confusing or redundant test procedure

Name: Phill Jenkins
Email: pjenkins@us.ibm.com
Affiliation: IBM
Document: TD
Item Number: G167
Part of Item: Applicability
Comment Type: general comment
Summary of Issue: confusing or redundant test procedure
Comment (Including rationale for any proposed change):
Referring to the Testing procedures for General Technique G167

	G167: Using an adjacent button to label the purpose of a field

	http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-WCAG20-TECHS-20081211/G167

		

Tests

Procedure

For a field and a button using this technique:

1.	Check that the field and button are adjacent to one another in the programmatically determined reading sequence.

2.	Check that the field and button are rendered adjacent to one another.

Expected Results

All checks are true.



My questions are:

What is the difference between bullet 1 and 2?  Both seem to be trying to determine that the input field and button are adjacent to each other.  To me, programmatically determining the reading sequence is the same as determning how they are rendered. In other words - "programmatically determined reading sequence" is a definition for "rendering".  Checking that they are rendered adjacent to each other can be done by walking through the code as a human or using a user agent to execute the code - but that is ONE test procedure with a manual or machine method.  We should NOT have test procedures saying to run an automated test tool and a second test procedure saying to inspect the code manually.  I ask my self, how can they be programmatically determined to be next to each other and not be rendered adjacent to each other, except there are bugs in the  user agent?  



Is there some other intended difference between these two bullets by the author or working group?  otherwise I think they should be combined into one test procedure.



Regards,

Phill Jenkins, 

Proposed Change:
Tests

Procedure

For a field and a button using this technique:

1.	Check that the field and button are adjacent to one another when rendered (programmatically determined reading sequence).



Expected Results

All checks are true.

Received on Tuesday, 28 April 2009 20:02:37 UTC