Sakai Test Protocol--Firefox Accessibility Extension and WAVE 3.5 Combined

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Last updated: Feb 26, 2009 by Former user (Deleted)Version comment
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Here is the protocol for accessibility testing. It combines two of three accessibility test protocols for Sakai: the Firefox browser, Firefox Accessibility Extension, and the WAVE 3.5 evaluation tool; the other is a protocol using the JAWS screen reader. A template and a completed form for reference are contained in Attachments.

Background

This is a combination protocol for testing Sakai accessibility and, to a limited degree, functionality, using a PC (minor differences when using a Mac are in parenthesis), . In particular, this will evaluate Sakai for compliance with Section 508 requirements plus WCAG 1.0 Priority One, test for accessibility-related functionality and check XHTML 1.0 compliance. It is anticipated that the next version of Sakai will be tested for adherence to WCAG 2.0 criteria, however, at this time evaluation tools are not available that can effectively test password protected, iFrame applications.

Tools

Three tools will be used: Firefox 2.0x, the Mozilla Accessibility Extension (installed on Firefox), and the WebAIM Wave 3.5 Evaluator.

Results should be entered into a spreadsheet (see Attachments on the Test Template page), to facilitate developer repair and subsequent QA.

Methodology

The following sequence is recommended:

1. Add Firefox 2.0x as a browser (http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/)
2. Add the Mozilla/Firefox Accessibility Extension to your copy of Firefox (http://cita.disability.uiuc.edu/software/mozilla/). Note: You must first remove the Developer toolbar if you have it installed, or Firefox may crash. You can reinstall it after adding the Accessibility Extension.
3. Bookmark the address for the WebAIM Wave 3.5 Evaluator (http://dev.wave.webaim.org/index.jsp).
4. Open the Sakai Collab site in Firefox: http://collab.sakaiproject.org
5. Login using your name/password combination.
6. Go to the WG:Accessibility worksite in the tabs. Your assigned tool will be listed as one of the tools.
7. Click on your tool and its first page will appear.
8. Go to the Accessibility Extension toolbar, click on the Navigation icon and select "Links." Check for 1) redundant link names, and 2) meaningful link text. There should be no redundant links and links should have text that is self-explanatory. Move your cursor over links to see if additional information has been added to improve context through the use of the <title> attribute. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Links."
9. Go back to the Accessibility Extension tool bar, click on the Navigation icon, and select "Headers." Check for: 1) meaningful heading labels, 2) an accurate hierarchy (h1, h2, h3, etc.), and 3) a thorough use of headings. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Headings." (Mac: Select "Major/Minor Topics," rather than "Headers.")
10. Go back to the Accessibility Extension tool bar, click on the Navigation icon, and select "Accesskeys." Check that accesskeys are 1) present, and 2) unique. (Mac: Use the ctrl key rather than the option key to test accesskeys.) These are the accesskeys currently contained in Sakai:

Application-wide:
Alt + c = Skip to content
Alt + l = Beginning of Tools list (the letter "l")
Alt + w = Beginning of Worksite tabs
Alt + 0 = Accessibility page
Alt + 6 = Portal help page

Tool-specific:
Alt + e = Edit or Revise
Alt + h = Tool help page
Alt + s = Save
Alt + u = Manual refresh
Alt + v = View or Preview
Alt + x = Remove, delete or cancel

Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Accesskeys."
11. Go back to the Accessibility Extension tool bar, click on the Navigation icon, and select "Frames." Check that frame titles are 1) unique and meaningful. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Frame Titles."
12. Go back to the Accessibility Extension tool bar, click on the Style icon, and select "Disable CSS." Click on the Images icon and select "Replace with Alt Text." (Mac: Choose "Text Equivalents" rather than the Images icon, and select "Show ALT text.") Check that 1) the page is readable, and 2) reading order makes sense. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Stylesheets/Linearization."
13. Go back to the Accessibility Extension tool bar and press "Zoom In" four times. Check that 1) text remains readable, and 2) that areas of the application do not overlap. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Zoom Text."
14. Press "Zoom Out" four times to restore page to normal size. Press the refresh button to restore page appearance.
15. Go back to the browser, and tab through the application. A dotted box will show you the focal point. As you tab through the application, check for the following: 1) tabbing moves in a logical fashion, 2) key items receive focus, and 3) tabbing does not trigger page actions. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Tab Order."
16. Move through the application using your browser and arrow keys. Make sure that you can access all text boxes, form inputs, and functions on the page. Write your findings in the spreadsheet under "Functionality".
17. Place your cursor over the content area (or frame portion) of the page, right click your mouse, and open the frame in a separate window.
18. Save the frame as html code, giving it a meaningful name such as "AssignmentsHomePageFrame." Note: You may find it easier to save all the frames at once, rather than one by one.
19. Go to WebAIM Wave 3.5. Set preferences for "WCAG 1.0 and Section 508 ONLY", choose all elements of the original page to display, choose all WAVE features to include, click "Always remember my preferences box" and press "Set Preferences" button. Choose "Method 2: Upload a Page."
20. Browse to the folder containing the file(s) you have saved for evaluation and press "WAVE this page!"
21. Check for Accessibility Errors and review all Accessibility Alerts. Write down any errors or unresolved alerts in the spreadsheet. Pay particular attention that:
*Tab Order is logical
22. Save the WAVE results with a meaningful name such as "AssignmentsHomePageFrameWave."
23. Go to the W3C HTML Validator webpage: http://validator.w3.org/
24. Find "Validate by File Upload" and browse to find the file you recently checked in WAVE. Press "Check."
25. Save the file with a meaningful name such as "AssignmentsHomePageFrameValidate."
26. Write down the results in the spreadsheet.
27. Go to the next page of your tool.
28. Repeat steps 8 through 28 for each page of your assigned tool.
29. Save your review in the 2.4 Accessibility Test attachments section of confluence using a description such as "Wiki_2.4_WAVE_Firefox_Review".