Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver Accessibility Webinar

This approximately one-hour podcast is an audio recording of a
real-world demonstration for following a systematic plan that
explores, evaluates and tests iOS apps for accessibility with
Apple’s built-in VoiceOver screen reader for blind and low-vision
users. The August 3, 2016 webinar was presented by Darrell
Hilliker and hosted by the Arizona Technology Access Program. A
video, including closed captioning, is also available.


Listen or Pause: Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver
Accessibility Webinar

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Accessibility Webinar

Teaching and Testing iOS App VoiceOver Accessibility Webinar
NotesIntroduction

Webinar Purpose: introduce and demonstrate a step-by-step plan
that provides a straightforward way for advocates, developers,
educators and others to quickly explore, learn and improve the
accessibility of all apps in Apple’s iOS ecosystem.


What is a Screen Reader?


A form of assistive technology

A Software program that turns information shown on a screen
of a computer or mobile device into Braille or speech

Screen readers and accessibility enable blind people to
learn, work and live in a technology-based world alongside
sighted people.



VoiceOver


One type of screen reader that was created by Apple

Has been a built-in feature on all iOS devices since 2010

Enables Braille and speech access for users who are unable to
see the screen

Speaks screen elements aloud or enables them to be displayed
in braille



Accessibility


True accessibility means that all parts of a platform’s
features, benefits, information, policies, procedures, products,
responsibilities, rights, services and technologies are developed
and implemented in ways that are usable by people with
disabilities.

VoiceOver and other screen readers work best when apps are
deliberately developed in ways that ensure compatibility.

Important for blind/VI individuals to be considered during
development and included in the testing process.

Apple provides developers guidelines for making apps work
with VoiceOver.

The Benefits of a Plan for Evaluating and Testing
AppAccessibility

Advocates may use the plan to identify the accessibility
issues they report to developers.

Developers may follow the plan to test their apps.

Decision makers may incorporate the plan into their
user-acceptance testing and other procedures.

Educators may use the plan as a framework for evaluating the
non-visual accessibility of iOS apps.

Starting VoiceOverPress the Home button on the iOS device.
(round button located on the bottom middle of the screen)Tap
Settings.Tap General.Tap Accessibility.Tap VoiceOver.Hold the
VoiceOver switch and swipe to the right to turn it on.(Recommended)
Hold the Speak Hints switch and swipe to the right to turn it
on.(Optional) Triple tap the screen with three fingers to enable
the Screen Curtain. This feature blanks out the screen, resulting
in a more realistic environment for nonvisual accessibility
testing.

Use Any of These Techniques To Activate VoiceOver Without Sight.


Press the Home button three times quickly. (Works if the
Triple Click Home option in the iOS device’s accessibility
settings is configured to use VoiceOver)

Hold down the Home button and ask Siri to “turn on VoiceOver”

Connect the iOS device to a computer running iTunes and turn
on VoiceOver under the accessibility configuration screen.

The PlanOpen the app to be tested.Tap the top of the screen
with four fingers.Flick to the right through all elements on the
app’s home screen.Are all controls labeled in a way that makes
sense when you listen to VoiceOver without looking at the
screen?Are you able to choose all buttons and other controls by
double tapping them as you hear them spoken by VoiceOver?Does
VoiceOver stay focused throughout use or does it become jumpy and
read items out of order?When one or more items in a list is
highlighted or selected, does VoiceOver say “selected” or provide
any other indication of its status?If a list typically enables a
sighted user to pull down with one finger, is a VoiceOver user able
to update the list by swiping down with three fingers?Are all
elements available to VoiceOver or are some items not spoken?Are
there features that require the use of custom gestures that are not
available to VoiceOver users?If visual cues, such as color, are
important, does VoiceOver speak this information?Are all elements
presented in a logical order as you move around the screen? If the
relationship between elements is important, is it clearly conveyed
nonvisually?Listen for special hints, such as “double tap to play,”
spoken after the name of each element. If these hints are never
heard, make sure hints are enabled in VoiceOver settings.If audio
is playing, does its volume decrease, or duck down, while VoiceOver
is speaking?Does a two-finger scrub (Z-shaped gesture) activate the
escape function of the arrow in the upper-lefthand corner of the
screen?Does the app offer accessibility enhancements such as direct
touch, keyboard shortcuts, magic tap or specific support for
Braille displays, switches or other forms of assistive
technology?Flick to the left through the same home screen. Make
detailed notes of anything that does not seem to function as
expected with VoiceOver enabled.Tap the top of the screen with four
fingers.Flick to the right, one element at a time, and double tap
the first item where choosing it should lead to another
screen.Repeat steps 3 through 5 on every screen the app contains,
testing and noting any issues found with all elements.Reporting and
Resolving Accessibility Bugs

If you are a developer, using the notes obtained from testing,
make all bug fixes necessary to deliver a fully accessible
experience for users who rely on VoiceOver. Consider prioritizing
the correction of accessibility bugs according to the order
suggested in the plan. See the resources at the end of this
presentation for details.


If you are reporting accessibility bugs to a developer, consider
using the following format:


Description: A few concise words explaining the accessibility
issue.

Steps to reproduce: Write down the exact steps you followed
to cause the accessibility bug to happen.

Current behavior: Summarize the incorrect or unexpected
behavior you are observing.

Expected behavior: Summarize the behavior you expect to
observe once the accessibility issue has been resolved.

App and hardware information: Include a statement concisely
providing as much information as possible about the version of
the app being tested and the iOS device on which it is running.

Example Bug Report

The following accessibility bug was recently filed with Facebook
against an important feature in the company’s iOS app.


Description: The details of event invitations are inaccessible to
VoiceOver.


Steps to reproduce:
Make sure VoiceOver is turned on in Settings > General >
Accessibility > VoiceOver on the iOS device.Open the Facebook
app.Open any event invitation.Tap the top of the screen with four
fingers.Repeatedly flick to the right through the event invitation,
pausing after each flick to listen to the information provided by
VoiceOver.Note that important information, such as the event’s
date, location, time and other details, are not spoken.

Current behavior: In its current implementation, event
invitations are inaccessible and virtually useless to blind
people using Facebook’s iOS app.


Expected behavior: Blind Facebook users should be able to access
event invitations on terms of equality with their sighted
friends.


Facebook version 60.0.0.37.141 is running on an iPhone 6 with iOS
version 9.3.3.
Accessibility Testing

If you are a developer, check your work using blind alpha
testers, followed by a select group of beta testers from the
blind community.

If you are an advocate, thoroughly test the app according to
the plan,then provide detailed feedback to its developer along
with your accessibility request.

If you are an educator, test the app against this plan and
any additional laws, policies or regulations your institution may
have in place before recommending its use for your blind
students.

If you are a decision maker, test the app against this plan
and any additional laws, policies or regulations that apply to
your agency, company, organization or personal conscience, then
do not recommend or purchase the app if it is not accessible.
Provide feedback about your decision to the company that owns the
app.

Resources

VoiceOverEasy Introductory Tutorials

Accessibility Programming Guidelines for iOS

Learn VoiceOver gestures

Test Accessibility on Your Device with VoiceOver

View Controller Programming Guide for iOS: Supporting
Accessibility

Tips For Accessibility Testing Of iOS Apps

Information For Developers On How to Build Accessible iOS and
Mac Apps

Tips for Taking Full Advantage of VoiceOver in Your App



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