Verifying it can be used.
WHAT USABILITY TESTING ESTABLISHES
Whether people can accomplish tasks.
HOW IT IS DONE
Give a real task, watch in silence, record where they struggle.
WHY SILENCE
Any help you give, the software cannot give.
WHAT TO RECORD
Where they hesitate What they misinterpret Where they fail What they say unprompted
HOW MANY PEOPLE
Few, observed properly, rather than many surveyed.
WHAT ACCESSIBILITY TESTING COVERS
Screen reader navigation Keyboard-only operation Colour contrast Text scaling Reduced motion
WHAT AUTOMATED CHECKS FIND
Missing labels, contrast failures, structural problems.
WHAT PROPORTION THAT IS
A minority of real accessibility problems.
WHAT THEY CANNOT FIND
Whether the experience is actually usable.
WHAT TO DO
Navigate the whole application with a screen reader, yourself.
WHAT TO TEST WITH KEYBOARD ONLY
Every function, with focus always visible.
WHAT COMMONLY FAILS
Dialogs trapping or failing to trap focus Custom controls with no keyboard support Content only reachable by pointer
WHAT TO INVOLVE
People who use assistive technology, where possible.
