RE: Best automated Accessibility evaluation tool

Paul,  
 
Thanks for asking this question!  I've learned about some delicious new
tools today.  I especially loved the one from Chris Ridpath.  So cool to
be able to run a report against the draft WCAG 2.0 already.  (Perhaps
other tools have that feature already, but it was my first run of the
site we are redesigning against the WCAG 2.0 standard).  
 
Two tools that I haven't seen mentioned...that I rely on heavily are 
 
1)  LIFT Machine
http://www.usablenet.com/products_services/lift_machine/lift_machine.htm
l
2)  WebXM http://www.watchfire.com/products/webxm/default.aspx
 
Now, let me be PERFECTLY CLEAR, I think of automated tools as a way of
getting my head turned in the right direction, so I can use my brain to
determine if the site is really accessible or not.
 
I know LIFT Machine quite well.  And I like the fact that I can fine
tune her, not just selecting the major standards and levels...but diving
in and selecting specific checkpoints.  And even saying...when you see
this .jpg, I really need it to have this alt text.  Or...ignore this
chunk.  
 
By all means, LIFT isn't perfect...but I find she makes my time way more
productive.  I use LIFT in my work with www.knowbility.org 
 
****(shift gears to WebXM)
 
I've been a Watchfire girl for years...back to when it was Bobby.  I
adored Bobby.  And love WebXact.  So much so, that I had my university
buy WebXM, the enterprise version of Watchfire.  WebXM is perfect for
our decentralized needs.  I work on a campus with 1000+ webmasters.
Yes, it is like trying to herd cats.  WebXM gives us a delicious
dashboard that lets me quickly see the "health" of our entire site with
a quick overview of which subsites within www.utexas.edu are the best
and the worst.  So...the reporting mechanism and dashboards of WebXM are
sweeter than sweet.  I don't think WebXM is as easy to tune as LIFT.
But WebXM is a workhorse!
 
And while these two tools aren't free.  I wanted to let you know that I
find them very useful.
 
Glenda
glenda sims | ut austin | 512.232.7738 | gsims@austin.utexas.edu |
glendathegood.com <http://glendathegood.com/> 


________________________________

From: w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org [mailto:w3c-wai-ig-request@w3.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Ridpath
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 12:34 PM
To: Paul Collins; WebAIM Discussion List; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: Best automated Accessibility evaluation tool


Paul,
 
Please consider our ATRC accessibility checker as one the best:
http://checker.atrc.utoronto.ca
 
It gives a clear report and describes all the tests used to determine
accessibility.
 
Cheers,
Chris
 

	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Paul Collins <mailto:paul@pokelondon.com>  
	To: WebAIM Discussion List <mailto:webaim-forum@list.webaim.org>
; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org 
	Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 5:43 AM
	Subject: Best automated Accessibility evaluation tool

	Looking at Accessibility evaluation software, could anyone
recommend the best tool for all-round evaluation?
	 
	And yes, I will be doing human testing also!
	 
	Thanks,
	Paul