J. Except. People 2015, 4(1):117-123

Comparison of Automatic, Manual and Real User Experience Based Testing of Accessibility of Web Sites for Persons with Visual Impairment

Vojtech Regec
Vice-Dean For International Relations, Palacký University Olomouc, Faculty of Education, Institute of Special Education Studies, Žižkovo n. 5, Olomouc, Czech Republic

The aim of this paper is to compare different models of accessibility evaluation of websites. It describes various aspects of automatic, manual and user based forms of accessibility evaluation in the context of visual impairment. Automatic analysis of accessibility implemented with the use of special programs brings exact evaluation findings based on the source code, style sheets, scripts, and other parts of the website. We found that the exactness of these findings does correspond with the real-life results based on actual accessibility experienced by persons with visual disabilities. The presented results of individual researches show a big variance in conformity with automatic and manual evaluation. The discrepancies in the conclusions of automated and manual forms of testing in 2008 we recorded in 41 % of web sites. In 2013 on a sample of 135 web sites we recorded noticed significant differences in the conclusions of the 34 % of analyzed web sites. This proves that model of manual accessibility evaluation is in terms of the overall assessment of the state of web content accessibility irreplaceable. However, necessary prerequisite for the implementation of manual evaluation is sufficient expertise, based on the knowledge and accessibility standards as well as knowledge of the principles of the use of assistive technologies for persons with visual disabilities. During an investigation, we also found that with the experience-based user evaluation model we can point out such aspects of accessibility problems, which may not be caught by both automatic and manual evaluation.

Keywords: evaluation of e-accessibility, university and college, visual impairment
Grants and funding:

This paper was written with the support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, the registration number: 14-33854P (e-Accessibility for Students with Visual Impairment at Universities in Czech and Slovak Republic).

Published: December 11, 2015  Show citation

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Regec, V. (2015). Comparison of Automatic, Manual and Real User Experience Based Testing of Accessibility of Web Sites for Persons with Visual Impairment. Journal of Exceptional People, 4(6), 117-123
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