Software accessibility testing

davros

Hi all,

Are there any organisations in Ireland that offer software accessibility testing services? I mean the type of testing where, say, a JAWS user will sit at a PC and be given several tasks to accomplish in the software under examination.

Or is there at least somewhere I can go to find experienced JAWS (or other screen-reading software) users willing to participate in such a trial?

Thanks for any info.

snorlax

the school of Occuptional therapy,tcd may be able to help you, ask for Bethan Colins (who's had numerous appearences on tv and is completely blind, she uses it all the time for her work as she's a lecturer), send her an email or ring tcd and ask to be connected, i don't know if she'd be willing to sit a trial for you, maybe you try the any voluntary organinsations for blind people?

as far as i know JAWS is very expensive to purchase, 1,000eur for the software although it very useful for those that use it.

davros

It's certainly expensive but we bought a copy anyway. I've been trying it myself but we would really need an experienced user for a realistic test.

Thanks for the tip. I know the name from her radio show.

snorlax

normally if you got on a waiting list(i think it might take a year) the goverment should be able to provide it to you for free

davros

Free for the visually-impaired, perhaps, but not free for software developers, I assume. We just develop software that needs to be compatible with JAWS.

IMHO, Freedom Scientific (the makers of JAWS) should give the program to developers for free so they can certify their software as JAWS-compatible. That would be a smart marketing move.

billy the squid

JAWS is only free through the technical aids grant afaik.

why don't you contact the NCBI with regard to testing software or one of the Audio Magazines and ask them to do a review of them.

Theres a guy called Stuart Lawler who does this sort of thing also.

davros

billy the squid wrote:

why don't you contact the NCBI with regard to testing software

I did look at their website before but I completely missed this page until now. That's exactly what I'm looking for (the User Testing part).

Cheers

Talliesin

davros wrote:

IMHO, Freedom Scientific (the makers of JAWS) should give the program to developers for free so they can certify their software as JAWS-compatible. That would be a smart marketing move.

The cost of JAWS is a sore point amongst developers, users and potential users alike. Unfortunately they just don't seem to have a business model that can support freebies and still generate revenue.

In some jurisdictions (including this one, IIRC) registered blind people can get JAWS paid for (fully or in part, again depends on where and I'm not 100% sure of the situation here). Arguably similarly funding developers would enable us to better serve eyes-free users* to the benefit of both people with such disabilities and our industry (particularly on a global market where support is currently weak, but growing and where we may soon find ourselves lacking a commercial edge others have).

The cost of JAWS has led some involved in software accessibility and web accessibility (particularly those biased towards the open-source approach) to frown upon JAWS and seek alternatives. This is dual-edged, focusing on a single assistitative technology could limit the scope for improvement by providing Freedom Scientific with a monopoly, but could also simplify matters for users and developers alike.

The worse bind for developers, and a greater potential source of expense than the price of JAWS, is that user testing must be done with real JAWS users, and getting JAWS users for testing can be difficult (hence the OP's post after all). There are great software and web products being produced by small houses (including non-profit, amateur and semi-amateur projects) that simply can't afford this.

As such we're left with the situation of developers trying their best to follow guidelines and understand the reasons behind those guidelines, so as to build accessible software, but often not being able to put their hands on their hearts and know that they have succeeded

* Note to developers: The market we are talking about here is not just those who are blind or have visual impairments, but "eyes-free users". This includes sighted users who are not using visual input; e.g. someone using software while driving or performing other tasks that require that they cannot look at a monitor or other visual display.

This market of "eyes-free users" that includes sighted users who are not looking at the software for whatever reason is likely to increase, and hence the purely selfish economic reasons for making sure software is usable by blind people will increase with it. Get your support for this market solidified now.

Yes, it is a rather bizarre term.