{"id":210,"date":"2019-06-04T13:17:01","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T17:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/iwacc\/?post_type=chapter&p=210"},"modified":"2022-12-16T10:26:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T15:26:38","slug":"activity-4-understanding-the-limitations-of-automated-accessibility-checkers","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/iwacc\/chapter\/activity-4-understanding-the-limitations-of-automated-accessibility-checkers\/","title":{"raw":"Activity 4: Understanding the Limitations of Automated Accessibility Checkers","rendered":"Activity 4: Understanding the Limitations of Automated Accessibility Checkers"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n\r\n\"\"There are a variety of tools available on the Internet, as well as plugins or add-ons for web browsers, that can be used to test the accessibility of web content. But it is important to know that these tools differ in the accuracy and coverage of what they test.\r\n\r\nWhile automated accessibility checkers are a great way to get a quick review of a website\u2019s accessibility, they cannot be relied upon to identify all potential barriers or even to identify them accurately. Some barriers, particularly those that involve meaning in one way or another, can\u2019t be measured with automated checkers (at least, not with the current state of the technology). Checkers are also not able to determine whether some types of inaccessible content have accessible alternatives.\r\n

Activity<\/h3>\r\nIn this activity, you will look at two popular automated accessibility testing tools, AChecker and Wave, plus another one of your choosing. You will describe what they are identifying and not identifying as barriers. Some tools are quite clear about what they test and list the checks they run. Other tools hide away the checks from the end user, making it difficult to know exactly what is being tested. Some have hundreds of checks they run. Others have just a handful. Some checkers are customizable to the needs of each user; others have little or no customization. The bottom line is accessibility checkers are not created equal.\r\n
Key Point: <\/strong> Do not confuse checks with guidelines or success criteria. Checks are typically more granular. Take SC 1.1.1. Checkers can check for the presence of the string \u201calt\u201d when it finds an HTML image element. Another check looks for a value for alt, and another the length of that value. Another check looks for the presence of a title attribute, or perhaps an aria-describedby attribute. All of these checks, and others, are related to this particular success criteria. A success criteria may have a dozen or more checks associated with it.<\/div>\r\n

Accessibility Checkers<\/h4>\r\n