56 Improving your Testing using Assistive Technology

Although it is very difficult to truly replicate the experience of someone who uses assistive technology in their day-to-day life, we can incorporate assistive technology in our accessibility testing to identify some issues that may not be found using automatic testing tools.

User testing by individuals with disabilities who use assistive technology will always be the most effective way to fully test for accessibility. User testing services that can be accessed by McMaster community members include companies such as Make it Fable.

There are several assistive technologies that can be accessed for free and used to do some basic user testing for accessibility.

The goal of this testing includes evaluating the following:

  • Can I access the information in my document or content in the correct order?
    • Am I able to navigate and jump to sections of the document or content?
    • Do I get “trapped” in any sections of my document or content?
  • Can I access the information in my document in an equitable amount of time?

If you answer no to any of the above questions, your document or content is not fully accessible.

Examples of Free-to-Use Software

Screen Reading Software

Screen Enlargers/ Zoom Technologies

Keyboard Navigation

License

Accessible Digital Content Training Copyright © by Jessica Blackwood and Kate Brown. All Rights Reserved.

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