RE: Invision app and accessibility

Hi Michellanne,

Are you asking if you can test an InVision design with a screen reader? Or are you asking can someone who needs to use a screen reader can use InVision to design a website or app?

If you’re asking if you can test your design with a screen reader, then it’s not viable as the final website/app will react completely differently to a screen reader than an Invision design. You can only test a screen reader on a website once it’s started development. Because of this, if one of your team were to learn to use a screen reader you likely won’t be able to get too far.

The only thing you can do to test the accessibility of a design is to get a professional opinion from an accessibility expert, who will be able to identify a subset of the Web content accessibility guideline success criteria (such as poor colour contrast on text against its background) and also point out any potential issues that can happen if the website/app isn’t developed in an accessible way (e.g. the screen reader should say x, y and z when reading this button, and here’s the HTML to ensure that happens).

At the Centre for Inclusive Design we call these “Design Reviews”, we then usually follow this up with an WCAG2.0/2.1 Accessibility audit of the website while it’s in development and this is where we have the opportunity to test the screen readers.

Accessibility of course isn’t only about screen reader users. A designer can also improve their design for people living with low vision, (who typically use magnification/high contrast modes), hearing impairments, mobility impairments (e.g. people who cannot use a mouse) and cognitive disabilities.

If you’re asking if the Invision tool itself is accessible to screen readers, then I’m not sure as I haven’t tested. I’d say probably not as Invision is primarily a visual tool and so being able to see the design is essential anyway.

I hope this answers your question.

Kind Regards,

[Centre for Inclusive Design]MATTHEW PUTLAND
Senior Digital Accessibility Analyst
Office: 02 9212 6242 // Mobile: 0431 924 288 // Email: Matthew.Putland@cfid.org.au<mailto:Matthew.Putland@cfid.org.au> // My working hours are 10am-6:30pm AEST

From: ALAN SMITH [mailto:alands289@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 20 June 2018 10:12 AM
To: Michellanne Li <li@palantir.net>; w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: RE: Invision app and accessibility

Michellanne Li,

I was expecting any of the other folks on this email chain to reply to you.

Since no one has yet, I’ll start the conversation.

I’m not familiar with Invision. It looks like a tool for mobile app development.

Are you looking for how to use a screen reader, or how to use it specifically with Invision.

I’ve been testing web and mobile for accessibility with JAWS, NVDA for PCs, and VoiceOver and Talkback for Android for over 5 years.

Screen readers are easy to get started with and I can offer you some assistance with that. I have created a document on how to start using JAWS and NVDA for testing.
It is very easy and only requires learning and using some simple key commands (less than 5 keyboard commands). You don’t need to know how to use all that a non-visual users needs know or all that the screen reader can do. You simply need to know how to test your web or app if it is coded correctly. My testing methodology is very simple and I confirmed it is accurate with upper management at Freedom Scientific the makers of JAWS at the 2017 CSUN conference.

If that is your need, please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Alan Smith

From: Michellanne Li<mailto:li@palantir.net>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 11:26 AM
To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org<mailto:w3c-wai-ig@w3.org>
Subject: Invision app and accessibility

My agency is brainstorming ways we can improve the accessibility of our design and strategy deliverables, and we are having trouble finding any documentation regarding screen reader accessibility for Invision.

Does anybody have experience using a screen reader to access Invision? We are working on building our fluency in screen reader testing, but for the moment, nobody on my team is able to use one.

Thanks!

++

Michellanne Li
Web Designer

Palantir.net<http://palantir.net/>
773.645.4100<tel:773.645.4100>

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