Is this accessible? Checking for Document Accessibility
As discussed in the previous article on What is Document Accessibility, ensuring a document is accessible is important for many reasons. Accessible documents increase inclusivity, comply with regulations, and improve user experience, but how do we know if a document is accessible?
By: Aoife Murphy, Prudential ADA Strategy & Experience Team
How to test if a document is accessible
There are two main methods of testing documents for accessibility. These are automated and manual testing. Both methods have their strengths and limitations. A combination of automated and manual checks should be used to fully test a document’s accessibility. This helps bring it to technical standards such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), a standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium, or PDF/UA (PDF Universal Accessibility), a standard developed by the PDF Association.
Manual testing involves going through a document manually, often using assistive technology. Automated testing refers to using a software application, referred to as an ‘automated accessibility checker’, which is often integrated into a document creation program. Automated checkers catch basic errors that are easier for a computer to detect, while manual testing catches more complex accessibility barriers.
Manual Accessibility Testing
Manual testing involves a person evaluating a document’s accessibility. This involves methods such as using assistive technologies, visually inspecting the document, and manually reviewing results of any automated checks.
It is crucial to include manual testing as automated checkers cannot ensure that a document is easily understood, especially in areas such as alternative-text, color contrast, or structure. There are some tests for accessibility which can only be done manually, such as checking color contrast. To ensure testing is done properly, it should also involve Assistive Technology (AT). Even if automated checks have been done, manual testing needs to be carried out to ensure that automated checkers have correctly identified issues, and that the fixes have been implemented correctly.
Strengths of Manual Document Testing
- Contextual Understanding — Manual checks take context into account when checking documents, such as identifying text in images. It resolves the issue of false-positives or false-negatives found in automated checks as manual testers have the context that automated checkers lack.
- User-Centered Approach — Checking manually involves considering the nuances of how different users experience a document, providing insights that improve the document’s usability for everyone.
- Catches Outliers — Manual checks can spot and account for unusual document content or design.
- Provides detailed feedback — After a manual test is completed, the tester can provide detailed feedback specific to each document after every test.
Limitations
- Skilled Talent — Manual testing requires skilled testers with specialized knowledge such as assistive technology expertise.
- Time and Tooling — The complexities that manual testing covers can be more time-consuming than automated testing as it is more thorough. Assistive Technologies used in testing also need to be obtained and testers may need training to use them.
Automated Checkers
Automated checkers, or ‘built-in’ accessibility checkers are software tools integrated into applications that help identify and address accessibility issues in digital content for a user to resolve. Running an automated checker, which covers some but not all accessibility issues, is a quick way to find out if a document may not be accessible, but it is not a substitute for manual testing.
Strengths of Automated Document Testing
- Rapid scans — Automated scans are extremely quick, saving time and effort in flagging common accessibility issues.
- Consistency — Automation uses set processes in its checks, meaning each check is done the same way every time.
- Detailed reports — Automated checkers provide reports listing which errors have been discovered. These reports are useful in monitoring and measuring compliance.
Limitations
- Limited context — Automated tests cannot assess subjective or contextual issues.
- False positives/False negatives — Without the contextual understanding of a manual checker, errors can incorrectly pass automated checker despite still being errors. Conversely, some things can be flagged as errors despite being accessible.
- Technical focus — Although excellent at technical error detection, automated testing is unable to prioritize a user’s experience over the testing criteria it is programmed with.
Document Format
Document file formats can significantly impact accessibility, as they determine how information is encoded and presented to users. Each document creation tool uses a different file format and may or may not include an integrated automated accessibility checker. Examples of different formats include:
Microsoft Word and PowerPoint
Both PowerPoint and Word’s accessibility checker can be found in the toolbar. The Accessibility pane will show any accessibility issues that the checker can find. These come up as ‘errors’, ‘warnings’ or ‘tips’, depending on how serious the issue is. This checker provides recommended actions to take to resolve the issues.Adobe Acrobat Pro
The Adobe Acrobat Pro accessibility checker can be found in the ‘Tools’ panel. It provides an Accessibility Report which goes through all the potential defects it has checked and what the results are. Adobe Acrobat’s accessibility checker is based on PDF/UA (PDF/Universal Accessibility), a technical standard for PDF accessibility.
Conclusion
Automated and manual document testing are two methods that can help you achieve document compliance. Both automated and manual testing have their merits and it is best to use a combination of both to create documents with greater accessibility. Key to this is understanding the strengths and limitations of both automated and manual testing for documents, as well as the differences between the checkers provided by different content authoring tools such as Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat.
Stay tuned for the next article which will discuss key elements of an accessible document.
