Re: Who can say that a web page is accessible according to wcag?

  On 12/25/2011 8:09 PM, Marcelo Piazza wrote:
> ...
> I applied the tests existing in the W3 techniques to my software application.
>
> But how can I apply these tests to my application aided by a person with disabilities? Is there a checklist that helps this procedure? I think the W3 tests are very extensive to be executed by person with disabilities.


Marcelo & all,

First, understand that the basis for determining conformance to WCAG 2.0 is the *success criteria*[1] -- *not* the techniques. The techniques and the tests in the techniques are "informative" and are not complete. To learn more about this, please read the "About the Techniques" section of How to Meet WCAG 2.0: A customizable quick reference... at http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/#about-techs (And if you want more, follow the link "See also Sufficient and Advisory Techniques.".)

It may help to think about different types of accessibility evaluation, *some* of which are:
* evaluation-tool assisted testing
* heuristic evaluation by an accessibility-specialist
* usability testing with participants with disabilities[2]
* ...

The latter focus not only on meeting the "letter of the law" (that is, the individual specific requirements of WCAG success criteria), but also the "spirit of the law" by making sure that the overall content/application is usable by people with disabilities. I think the previous replies were mostly suggesting including people with disabilities in the usability-testing type testing (not in applying the WCAG Techniques tests). Guidance on Involving Users in Evaluating Web Accessibility is at:
     http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/users

Hope that helps clarify the issue.

All the best,
~Shawn

[1] http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/from10/diff.php
[2] fyi, Here is more from the text Bruce quoted: "While some of the testing can be automated using software evaluation programs, others require human testers for part or all of the test.... Professional reviews utilizing recognized qualitative heuristics are important in achieving accessibility for some audiences. In addition, usability testing is recommended. Usability testing aims to determine how well people can use the content for its intended purpose." - http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-layers-head


-----
Shawn Lawton Henry
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
e-mail: shawn@w3.org
phone: +1.617.395.7664
about: http://www.w3.org/People/Shawn/

Received on Saturday, 31 December 2011 13:46:29 UTC