Skip to main content

The ultimate test of accessibility and usability

User testing with real users with different disabilities is the ultimate test of the accessibility of your solution. It is possible to have a solution that technically meets the requirements of the standards but is still difficult for real users to use. That is why it is important to test with actual users from your target group in addition to traditional expert accessibility reviews.

Real users don’t just evaluate whether you comply with technical accessibility requirements. When you conduct user testing with people with disabilities, you often discover many of the critical issues you would also find in a regular user test / usability test. If your solution is difficult to understand for all users, it is most likely even harder to understand for a blind user experiencing it through a screen reader.

If you only have the budget for one user test, you should consider recruiting users with disabilities.

We can help with:

  • Recruiting users with disabilities
  • Planning and facilitating user tests
  • Analyzing and reporting test results
  • Proposing solutions and setting priorities

During the user test and analysis phase we can use our experience and expertise to group the results into issues related to:

  • Non-compliance with accessibility standards (e.g. EN 301 549, WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.2), and hence non-compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) or Web Accessibility Directive (WAD)
  • Non-compliance with other technical standards (e.g. WAI-ARIA)
  • Lack of compatibility with assistive technologies
  • Ordinary usability problems – which are often amplified when experienced by users with disabilities.

Knowing the underlying causes of the issues found is essential input for developing good solution proposals and prioritizing fixes.