This document discusses automating accessibility testing for websites. It recommends a three step process: 1) Using Tenon.io for fully automated testing to find definite errors across multiple pages, 2) Using the WAVE toolbar for manual testing plus automation to find definite and possible issues, and 3) Doing individual inspections with tools like NVDA and the Chrome Accessibility Inspector. The document also discusses integrating Tenon.io with WordPress using the Access Monitor plugin and the limitations of only being able to test the DOM output, not the source code.

1. Automating
Accessibility
Getting & Staying Accessible

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Find these slides
These slides are posted at Slideshare:
http://www.slideshare.net/joedolson/automating
-accessibility-wordcamp-minneapolis-2015

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3 Rules of Automated Testing:
- Some issues can’t be tested automatically.
- Testing tools must test the DOM
- Test early, test often.

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Automatically test all the things.
...But you won’t find everything.
Easily Testable:
1) <form>
Your Name:
<input type=’text’ name=’name’
id=’name’ value=’’ />
</form>
2) <img src=’src.jpg’ />
Not so testable:
1) Click on the red button:
<button>One</button> <button>Two</button>
2) <img src=’giraffe.jpg’ alt=’Lion’ />

5. And guesswork isn’t gonna cut it.
Automated Tests
need to be right

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Ya gotta test the DOM
- JavaScript changes the DOM
- These changes can fix or break accessibility
http://mothereffingtoolconfuser.com/

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Accessibility is about content
If your theme is accessible, but your
content isn’t, then what’s the point?

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Why do automatic testing, then?
- Automation eliminates obvious mistakes.
- Automation makes hands-on testing faster.

9. Three Step
Process for
Accessibility
Let’s just get this done, right?

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1)Fully Automated Testing
- Needs to only return definite errors.
- Needs to test multiple pages at a time.
- Needs to tell you where you have issues,
and how to fix them.
Recommendation: Tenon.io

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Tenon.io
- API driven Accessibility testing service
- Operates a headless browser to generate
the DOM before testing
- Integrates with WordPress using Access
Monitor http://wordpress.org/plugins/access-
monitor

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What does Tenon.io tell you?
Example:
http://tenon.io/testNow.php?url=http%3A%2F%
2Fwww.google.com

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2) Manual + Automation
- Returns both definite and possible issues*
- Tells you where the issue is and how to
verify whether it’s an error.
* By now, definite issues should be fixed.
Recommendation: WAVE Toolbar

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What does WAVE give you?
- A whole lot more detail…
- But no automation.
- Every page tested independently.

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3) Individual inspections
Tools:
- NVDA (open source screen reader)
- Chrome Accessibility Inspector (add-on)
- aViewer (open source API inspector)

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Using Tenon with WordPress
Access Monitor
- Set up a schedule to monitor pages
- Run tests on single or batches of pages
- Test admin & front-end
- Filter out redundant results in batches.

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Other Tenon integrations?
- Node https://www.npmjs.com/package/tenon-node
- Grunt https://www.npmjs.com/package/grunt-tenon
- Gulp https://www.npmjs.com/package/gulp-tenon-client
- Drupal https://www.drupal.org/project/tenon_io
- Visual Studio http://bit.ly/tenon-vsg
- Chrome http://bit.ly/chrome-tenon
- Firefox http://bit.ly/tenon-firefox

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Limitations when testing software
- What do you need to test? The DOM
- What do you produce with themes and plug-
ins? CODE
- Need to run before you can test.

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Demos
If I have time & internet access, I’ll demo
Access Monitor.

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Thank you!
Joseph Dolson
http://www.joedolson.com/
joe@joedolson.com
http://twitter.com/@joedolson