Comments on draft Browser Testing and Tools Working Group

Hi Mike, Philippe,

As discussed, please find some comments on the draft Browser Testing and 
Tools Working Group $Id: browser-testing-charter.html,v 1.11 2011/07/11 
14:05:14 mike Exp $. The comments are based on input from Michael Cooper 
and Jeanne Spellman though they may have additions.


#1. Title <-> scope mismatch

The WG title "Browser Testing and Tools" seems significantly broader 
than the scope described. A clearer title would be "Web Applications 
Testing and Tools Working Group" or similar.


#2. Scope missing APIs relevant to accessibility

In previous discussions Michael Cooper has explained the relevance of 
APIs such as UIAutomation. The relevant references are currently linked 
from the "draft notes" section but not described at all in section 1 
"Scope". Without a description of the relationship between these APIs 
there is a risk of missing to benefit from existing work (with key 
players in the field like Apple and Microsoft), and re-creating these 
solutions anew.

We suggest explaining the relationship to platform APIs and APIs that 
are essential for accessibility as part of this work, even if there is 
no guarantee that the particular instances of these APIs will be part of 
the work. For instance, section 1.1 says:

[[
as well as consider any other potential APIs useful in performing 
automated testing of Web applications
]]

This could be expanded in another sentence or two to describe what the 
"other potential APIs" are. For instance:

[[
The group will also consider other potential APIs useful in performing 
automated testing of Web applications such as UIAutomation. In 
particular, the group will consider relevant requirements for 
accessibility testing of web applications.
]]

Similar applies to section 1.2, which includes work that involves the 
console and platform. It is essential to explain the relationship to the 
platform APIs in this section too.


#3. Milestones (minor typo)

Rec date should be "Feb 2013" rather than "Feb 2012".


#4. Dependencies with W3C Groups

Please add "Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group" and "Protocols 
and Formats Working Group" to the list.


#5. Dependencies with External Groups

Please consider organizations such as:
  - Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA)
   -- <http://www.atia.org/aia/>
  - Open Ajax Alliance
   -- <http://www.openajax.org/>


As said, Michael and Jeanne may have more input. Please also don't 
hesitate to contact Michael or others in the WAI Domain to get more 
input on any of the above, or to pre-review suggestions.

Best,
   Shadi

-- 
Shadi Abou-Zahra - http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/
Activity Lead, W3C/WAI International Program Office
Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group (ERT WG)
Research and Development Working Group (RDWG)

Received on Monday, 18 July 2011 07:49:57 UTC