Test Results and Possible Solutions

Andreas Boehmer, Addictive Media

http://www.addictivemedia.com.au

Testing Usability

• RMIT Test Lab and Addictive Media invited 14 participants
• Aim: Is "Disability Online" user-friendly?

14 Participants

• Acquired Brain Injury
• Visual Disabilities
• Physical Disabilities (e.g. Cerebral Palsy)
• Hearing Disabilities
• Intellectual Disabilities

Assistive Technologies

• Screenreaders (e.g. JAWS)
• Enlarged Mouse-Pointers
• Head Wand
• Trackball for foot

Explore the Site

• http://www.disability.vic.gov.au
• Find a support group for "Psychiatric Disability Services" in the area of "Fitzroy"
• Find a list of articles that can provide you with information on "Sensory Disabilities"

Findings

• Design
• Navigation
• Content

Design (Fonts)

  

• Font of button images too small
• Font colour or background colour difficult to read
• Buttons too close together

Design (Radio Buttons)

• Radio Buttons and Checkboxes too small

Navigation (Links)

• External links open in new windows
• Links do not show what sections users have visited

Navigation (Text Nav 1)

• Text navigation at bottom of page confuses some users

Navigation (Text Nav 2)

• Text navigation at bottom of page confuses some users
  • (+) Usability: navigation at end of long pages
  • (+) Search Engine Optimisations
  • (+) Screenreaders difficulties with Javascript menus
  • (-) Text Navigation only visually separated
  • (-) No images to explain navigation
• Text Navigation more trust-worthy than images?

Navigation (A-Z)

• A-Z links too long for screenreaders

Navigation (A-Z)

• A-Z links too long for screenreaders
  • Skip Links
  • Dropdown
  • Group Links

Content (General)

• Spelling Mistakes in Search Engines return no results
• Users feel uncomfortable with long pages
  • Page length vs. No of pages

Content (Labeling)

• Labeling of buttons and links not clear

Content (Screenreaders)

• Blind users do not know the content of a page until they heard it

Summary

• Technical Accessibility is only a starting point
• Many issues cannot be picked up by automated processes
• Interfaces should be user-friendly for everybody

Related Links

• http://www.disability.vic.gov.au
• http://www.alistapart.com/d/relafont/example.html
• http://www.aphasia.asn.au
• http://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/atoz.asp
• http://www.w3.org/

Online Presentation

• http://www.addictivemedia.com.au/presentations/ozewai2004/