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Testing
July 10, 2014
If someone were to ask me “Why accessibility?” I’d say it is my passion. As tedious and boring as some people make testing seem, I truly enjoy accessibility testing.
In my career thus far, there have been numerous times when I have come across the terms “defect-free” or “quality” product. If we satisfy the definition for either of these terms, we ensure that we have all the test cases and scenarios executed with no outstanding defects or performance issues. So, can we say that a “quality product” is effectively and efficiently accessible to all? The answer is no.
Basically, an application or technology is accessible if people with disabilities can use it as effectively as those without disabilities. This doesn’t imply that a visually impaired user will take the same amount of time to complete a task as a user who can see. Listening takes longer than reading, but for an application to be accessible, the processes must be comparable.
The Internet World Stats information for the second quarter of 2012 reports 2.4 billion Internet users worldwide. Per the United Nations factsheet on persons with disabilities, some 10 percent of the world’s population has some form of disability, which means more than 27 percent of potential users could have special needs when it comes to accessing the Internet.
There are three main reasons why accessibility testing is vital.
Country | Regulations |
---|---|
United States of America | The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 508 Amendment in 1998) |
France | Equal Opportunities Right (France,2004) |
Netherlands | Dutch law on Quality of Government Websites (2006) |
Ireland | Disability act of 2005 |
Australia | Disability Discrimination Act (1992) |
United Kingdom | Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 (UK,1995) |
About the Author
Anish Krishnan
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Every outcome starts with a conversation