Today’s mission was to reflect on user (usability) testing, and search for accessibility verification testing (AVT). AVT was new to me, and I had a harder time finding that exact word combination when searching the web. So, I ended up reading about accessibility user testing and manual testing a developer can perform on her own to emulate user testing.
Things I accomplished
- Read Accessibility Testing (W3C wiki).
- Browsed Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility throughout Design.
What I learned today
- Accessibility testing is subset of usability testing.
- User testing for accessibility requires recruiting real users with disabilities. The rest is much like general user testing:
- observing them in an environment familiar to them,
- assigning tasks to accomplish,
- observing unspoken actions,
- scrutinizing results, and
- conclude what changes need to happen.
Cool resource
Designing for Guidance (Microsoft) [PDF] offers tips about the varied learning styles that people have. With the approach of inclusive design in mind, this tiny booklet will make you think more critically when you develop a product or learning course for your large audience.
