Categorization and Comparison of Accessibility Testing Methods for Software Development

Abstract

There are many methods for testing accessibility and universal design, ranging from checklists and guidelines to automated testing and finally to human testing with participants from different user groups. It is, however, not straight forward to determine how a testing method relates to impairments and barriers. In this work we have expanded the W3C cognitive barriers from one category to four categories in order to provide a better overview of cognitive barriers and testing methods. We also present an overview of multiple existing accessibility testing methods and what kind of barriers they cover. Finally, we present a recommendation on how to select a collection of accessibility testing methods in order to cover the broadest range of disabilities. Our focus is tools that can empower and ease work processes of software development teams, including both developers and testers.