Process Model for Continuous Testing of Web Accessibility

• Published in: IEEE access 2021, Vol.9, p.139576-139593
• Main Authors: Campoverde-Molina, Milton, Lujan-Mora, Sergio, Valverde, Llorenc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accessibility; Adaptation models; Applications programs; Compliance; continuous testing; Deming cycle; Electronic documents; Guidelines; Handicapped accessibility; Mobile computing; Model testing; Organizations; People with disabilities; Software testing; Statistics; Total quality management; W3C; WCAG; WCAG-EM; web accessibility; Websites
• ISSN: 2169-3536; 2169-3536
• DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3116100

The lack of accessibility on websites can result in people with disabilities not accessing information online. Therefore, this research aims to create a process model for continuous web accessibility testing by adapting and customizing three methodologies: Deming cycle (Plan, Do, Check, Act), Website Accessibility Conformance Evaluation Methodology (WCAG-EM), and Total Quality Management. The process model is composed of four phases. The first phase (Plan) allows defining the accessibility problem, its importance, and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) against which it will be evaluated. In addition, determine the current situation of the websites, the potential causes of accessibility problems, classify the success criteria by principles, guidelines, and levels of conformity, to elaborate the solution plan and the action plan. The second phase (Do) allows the execution of the action plan to correct the accessibility problems. In this phase, we should perform continuous testing with automatic evaluation tools, end-users, and experts to corroborate that the changes have had an effect. The third phase (Check) allows measuring compliance and non-compliance with the defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This phase also explains the reasons for non-compliance. The fourth and last phase (Act) documents the solutions learned for inclusion in future developments. This research results in the process model for continuous web accessibility and its testing through a case study to corroborate its functionality and applicability. In conclusion, the proposed model allows continuous evaluation, monitoring, and feedback on compliance with accessibility rules, policies, and standards on websites with automatic evaluation tools, end-users, and experts. We plan to adapt the process model to different workgroups in future work, such as developing accessible mobile applications and producing accessible electronic documents.