Web Access Centre

User testing

Summary: Testing for accessibility with user groups and expert analysis.

• User testing for accessibility
• Getting people with disabilities involved in the design and build
• Plan and test links

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Usability testing has entered the mainstream of web design and development over the past few years. It is a mechanism that website managers, designers and developers use to quality assure that the design, services and performance of a website meets visitor needs and expectations.

Usability testing is commonly conducted by either running a project internally or by bringing in an external agency or consultant. The testing involves setting goals for a group of people of various backgrounds and different skill levels. Generally, they are set tasks and observed on how difficult or easy they found them to complete. The tasks are specifically used to measure the website in terms of usefulness, effectiveness, learnability and satisfaction.

Ultimately the aim is to ensure that your own objectives are being met and that your key messages are reaching their targets. There can be no better way to ensure this than to get direct feedback from your audience, whether it be in the form of observing how they use the site or from interviews and focus groups.

User testing for accessibility

Carrying out user testing to establish if your site is accessible, can be conducted with a group of people who have disabilities. One of the best ways to validate your efforts to create an accessible website is to let a selected group of access technology users test it for themselves and tell you where the strengths and weakness are.

This work can be broken into three components: consultancy, research and actual user testing.

Consultancy

It can be very helpful to bring in an accessibility consultant or expert right at the start of a project, whether it is a new build or the ongoing development of an existing site. They can input expertise and specialist knowledge, and can provide effective evaluation of plans and processes.

This service can be invaluable to keeping a keen accessibility focus from the outset of a project. The consultant can also be used to help draw up a research plan, and potentially even be involved in conducting it.

The guidance they can provide is useful to keeping things on track as plans are finalised and progress is made. They can also be used to provide input to the setting up of a test group of people with disabilities, and the drawing up of the usability testing tasks that should be used.

Research

Research can be conducted at the very beginning of a project and the findings can have a heavy influence on the shape the project takes. If your research provides good quality information on requirements and expectations of the people who will be using your website, then this can be incorporated very early on into the specifications for design and build.

Research can be conducted in the way that best suits your needs. The techniques that are commonly used to gather research data are market research, surveys, interviews and focus groups. If you have an existing site that you are developing, one source of data that should not be overlooked is any previous feedback you have had from users of it. These can give you valuable clues and insight into your target audience.

Generally speaking, most people with disabilities welcome being asked to give an opinion or participate in research and testing. Most feel it gives them an opportunity to express their opinion and influence positive change in an area where frequently their voices are never heard and are often marginalised.

Knowing your audience will ensure a tight focus and help set goals you can use to measure your success. It can also identify potential issues or highlight risks very early on which will allow you to take action before they become problems. This reduces the likelihood of having to make expensive, time-consuming changes later on when they come to light.

User testing by people with disabilities

A team of people with different disabilities and special needs can be put together and used to test how well your site supports their requirements and expectations. This testing should be conducted in exactly the same way as the standard testing to ensure that the user experience, although potentially different, is consistent for both groups.

For example, the goals, tasks and expectations that are set for the people with disabilities should not be different from those set for the standard group. If they are set differently, your results will simply reflect this fact and it is likely that the user experience will not be consistent between the two groups.

It should be noted that in some circumstances this will be unavoidable due to constraints and because it is impossible to please everyone all of the time. However, best efforts should be made to avoid this position because if a person with a disability is treated differently without just cause, it can be interpreted as discrimination or at the very least it can reinforce the marginalisation that they feel as individuals. Both of these results are undesirable for anyone that takes their accessibility responsibilities seriously.

Getting people with disabilities involved in the design and build

One option you may want to consider is getting people with disabilities directly involved with the design team. They could be invited to give hands-on input, expert advice and experience that your designers and developers will find invaluable.

One of the most powerful ways of understanding the needs of people with disabilities is to meet them personally and humanise the whole concept. Breaking through the awareness barrier and putting a human face on the whole issue of accessibility can be a revelation to a team of developers and designers.

Nothing increases awareness and understanding better than to meet someone face to face, hear about their experiences and see first hand the difficulties they encounter and have to overcome.

Plan and test links

• Planning
• Intranets
• Checklists
• Testing
• Evaluation and monitoring
• Return to plan and test

For Web Access Centre updates email webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Content author: webaccess@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 08/04/2008 18:38