This is a great article that I couldn't resist reposting to this list.
It discusses what steps we can take, as blind users, when we encounter
accessibility challenges or barriers with apps or software and how to
best report them.
Effectively Reporting Accessibility Issues to Developers
by Karl Belanger
Karl Belanger
From the Editor: Karl Belanger is a talented member of our access
technology staff. I am delighted every time I get an article from him. I
think this one is particularly timely. In addition to articles and
suggestions for articles, the Braille Monitor gets many letters asking
why this or that device is not accessible and what we plan to do about
it. In these letters the frustration is clear: “Why don’t companies
care?” “How can they be so callous?” “Why can people be so mean?”
Sometimes inaccessibility may be deliberate as when companies simply
make a decision not to include it, but, more often than not, developers
don’t think that blind people will be using their software, have no idea
how we could if we wanted to, and know even less about screen readers,
Braille displays, and the need to include in one’s design a way to do
all of the functions one does with the mouse using a keyboard. The way
we deal with a company that is obstinate is different from the way we
deal with a company that is ignorant. One requires confrontation, the
other requires education. Here is what Karl has to say about doing
something positive when encountering an accessibility barrier:
Whether browsing the web or using an app on our phones, we often come
across accessibility problems that make the site or app less useful.
Reporting these issues to the developers helps companies become aware of
issues faster and may even be the first time a company has heard about
blind users using their product. When describing an issue, it is
important to describe what is going on in as much detail as possible,
along with what operating system, browser, and access technology you are
using. The more you give the company, the easier it will be for it to
locate and fix the issue. However, before we can send a report, we need
someone to send it to.
Where to send an accessibility report
If you can find an accessibility contact at a company, that is always
going to be the best place to report any problems you’re having. However
many, probably most, companies do not have dedicated accessibility
support. When this is the case, look through any “support” or “contact
us” pages for anything related to reporting problems with the site. If
the company has a staff directory, look for someone who deals with the
site such as webmaster to reach out to directly. General technical
support or inquiry emails are better than nothing but are less likely to
directly reach someone who can take action. You might also consider
using phone or chat support to inquire if you can get the email address
of the person in charge of the website to report a problem that you’re
having.
Jumping right in
Below you will find extensive information on how to gather the
information you will need, letter writing tips, accessibility resources,
and more. If you’d rather start writing right away, here are the main
parts of an accessibility report:
• Introduce yourself and what type of access technology you use.
• Give the operating system, browser, and access technology and their
versions.
• Describe what you are trying to do on the site and provide the direct
link to the relevant page.
• Describe the problem you’re having.
• Optionally, offer potential solutions to fix the problem.
• Optionally, provide links to relevant accessibility resources, Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines, the iOS or Android accessibility
documentation, etc.
• Conclude the letter.
Gathering information
As stated earlier, it is important to give the company as much
information as possible to help it fix the issue quickly. This
information should include:
• Which operating system and version you’re using, such as Windows 10,
Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.13, etc.
• Which browser and version, Firefox 58, Chrome 63, etc.
• Which access technology and version (if applicable), JAWS 2018,
VoiceOver, NVDA 2017.4, etc.
• The exact page on the site where you are experiencing problems.
• The task you are attempting to complete or the information you’re
trying to access.
• What you are experiencing that is preventing you from completing the
task or accessing the information.
Gathering the information
• For Windows, just knowing the major version, 7, 8, 8.1, or 10 is
usually enough since both the browser and screen reader are updated
independently. For other operating systems, and especially Mac and iOS,
having the exact version number is more important, as both the browser
and screen reader are updated with the operating system. In macOS, open
the “Apple menu,” choose “About This Mac,” and review that window to
find the version of macOS you’re running. For iOS, go to “Settings,”
“General,” “About,” and the version will be listed near the top of the
screen. For most Android devices, open “Settings” and scroll down to the
bottom of the list and choose “About Phone” to get the Android version.
• For browsers on Windows and macOS, open the “help” menu and choose
“About” to get the version number. For Safari on iOS a version number is
not necessary as it is updated with the operating system. For other
mobile browsers the simplest place to check is its app store page for
the version number.
• How to get the version of your access technology will differ depending
on the program and the system it is running on. Most Windows-based
access technology should have a help menu with an “about” option. Some,
like Narrator on Windows or VoiceOver on iOS, do not need a version
number as they are updated with the operating system. For other access
technology, look through the program or app’s settings and help pages to
find the installed version.
• To get the URL, make sure you are on the page where the issue is, then:
◦ On Windows, for all browsers, press CTRL+L to focus the address bar.
Press CTRL+A to make sure the address is selected, and then CTRL+C to
copy it.
◦ For all Mac browsers the process is the same, just substitute the
Command key for control.
◦ On iOS with VoiceOver running, double-tap on the address bar at the
top of the screen, then use the rotor to choose the “edit” option.
Choose and double-tap on “select all,” then choose “copy.”
◦ For Android devices with TalkBack running, double-tap on the address,
then use the local context menu to select “cursor control” and choose
“Select All,” then go back to “cursor control” and select “copy.”
Writing up your accessibility issue
Once you know where to send the report and have all your information
together, it’s time to start writing. How you formulate your letter is
certainly up to you, but here are some pointers to help get you started.
Start with introducing yourself and follow by briefly describing the
access technology you use, especially if you are writing to a company
that does not have an accessibility contact. Here is an example of how
your letter might begin:
“Hello,
My name is Karl Belanger. I use a screen reader to access the computer,
which is software that allows me as a blind user to access computers by
reading out the content of websites and applications as I navigate them.
I’m writing to you because I’m encountering some issues accessing your
site.”
Follow this by describing the issue in as much detail as you can,
including what you’re trying to accomplish, how your access technology
reacts, such as “my screen reader does not read the form labels” or
“when the calendar is magnified it overlaps with other content on the
page,” and describe the impact this has on your use of the site:
“While attempting to submit the checkout form on your site, nothing
appears to happen after pressing the submit button. After I explored the
page, I noticed a message at the top of the form reading ‘Please correct
the fields in red below.’ My screen reader does not announce colors,
plus as far as I can tell everything seems to be filled in correctly,
which means it is impossible for me to complete the form.”
It is often helpful to suggest what changes will make the site more
accessible. If you are not sure what can be done, go ahead and skip this
section:
“Several steps can be taken to make the form more usable. First, when
the form is submitted with errors, the focus should be moved to the
error message. Next, the error message should list which fields have
errors and possibly provide a link to the fields. Finally, any fields
which have a required format, such as MM/DD/YYYY for a date field,
should have this format provided to help users avoid errors in the first
place.”
Optionally, you can include some resources on web accessibility that the
company may find useful, such as the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines or the Apple accessibility guide if you’re writing about an
iOS app. See the accessibility resources section of this article for a
list of resources I recommend.
Finally, end the letter. Offer to provide any additional information
that they may need and ask to be informed of progress on fixing the issue.
Please remember that, while not being able to complete a task can be
frustrating, it is important to keep the letter professional. Companies
will respond much better to a clear, well-written letter than an
emotionally charged one.
Reporting issues over social media
An increasing number of companies are handling customer support issues
over Twitter and Facebook. These channels are often some of the fastest
ways to get a response to your issue, and they can also be a great way
to report accessibility issues. Check the company’s social media pages
and see if it responds to customer issues or directs you to a support
account. If you find it does technical support through social media,
whether with the main or a support account, use some of the same tips
from the letter section when engaging the company. If on Twitter, start
with a mention describing briefly that you use access technology, what
kind you use, and briefly describe your issue. It’s okay to use a few
tweets to do this. If the company responds, try to either get into a
direct message conversation or request the best email to send something
to, so you’re not limited by the two-hundred-and-eighty-character limit.
On Facebook, follow a similar process, engage the company first, and
give all the details once you confirm you’re working with the right account.
Accessibility resources
There are many accessibility resources that you may want to give the
company. The first and most important is the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines, or WCAG. WCAG is a list of guidelines that apply to any
website or app; they are the generally accepted web standard and have
been incorporated into the recent refresh of the Section 508 guidelines
for federal sites. Here is the WCAG overview page from the World Wide
Web Consortium site: https://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag. Also from the
W3C are a series of videos, called Web Accessibility Perspectives,
discussing how web accessibility benefits everyone, not just those with
disabilities. https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/ Another quality
resource is Web Accessibility in Mind or WebAIM, which provides a number
of articles and checklists relating to web accessibility as well as a
tool for helping to determine some of a site’s accessibility problems.
https://webaim.org/
Both Apple and Google have documentation and guidelines for developers
to ensure that their apps are accessible. If you’re reporting an issue
with an iOS app, you might consider including the Accessibility for
Developers page on Apple’s site,
https://developer.apple.com/accessibility/ or the similar accessibility
page on the Android developers site,
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/ui/accessibility/index.html.
Following up
When reporting an accessibility issue, it’s common to get either a basic
acknowledgement of the problem, or possibly no response at all. If the
company was unaware of the need to make its site accessible, it’s
possible you may get a canned response with unhelpful suggestions like
resetting your browser, trying another one, etc. If you get a response
like this, just reply and politely inform the company that these
suggestions will not work and it needs to fix its site. If you get an
acknowledgement or no response, it’s fine to follow up in a week or two
to inquire about the status of the issue. Polite persistence can
sometimes yield better results than just one email. Either way patience
will likely be required, and your best efforts may unfortunately not
lead to any better accessibility. That does not mean that you shouldn’t
try, as many companies are simply unaware and want to make things right.
Conclusion
The volume of information that you should include in an accessibility
report may seem overwhelming, but the whole process boils down to a few
simple steps. Report the software and access technology you’re using,
what you’re trying to do, and what problem you’re experiencing in
sufficient detail for the company to be able to act upon it. Adding in
possible solutions, suggestions, and accessibility resources are
optional extras, but they may help the company better understand what it
needs to do and generally learn more about accessibility.
Sample letter
Here is the sample letter, as started in the section above, on writing
your issue:
“Hello,
My name is Karl Belanger. I use a screen reader to access the computer,
which is software that allows me as a blind user to access computers by
reading out the content of websites and applications as I navigate them.
I’m writing to you because I’m encountering some issues accessing your
site. While attempting to submit the checkout form on your site, at
https://www.myshop.com/cart/checkout.html, nothing appears to happen
after pressing the submit button. After I explored the page, I noticed a
message at the top of the form reading ‘Please correct the fields in red
below.’ My screen reader cannot announce colors, plus as far as I can
tell everything seems to be filled in correctly, which means it is
impossible for me to complete the form.
Several steps can be taken to make this form more usable. First, when
the form is submitted with errors, the focus should be moved to the
error message. Next, the error message should list which fields have
errors, and possibly provide a link to the fields. Finally, any fields
which have a required format, such as MM/DD/YYYY for a date field,
should have this format provided to help users avoid errors in the first
place.
There are many resources available for you to help make your site more
accessible and usable to everyone. I would recommend starting with the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0. These guidelines are the
commonly accepted standards for web accessibility and have been
incorporated into Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for federal
websites. They provide a technology independent way of measuring and
testing the accessibility of your site. A great site for articles and
guides on web accessibility is WebAIM, which stands for Web
Accessibility in Mind. They have checklists for the accessibility
guidelines, articles on handling forms, graphics, tables, and more, as
well as a tool to scan a page of your site and have it report some,
though probably not all, accessibility issues.
Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there is any more
information I can provide. I look forward to hearing from you soon and
working with you to get this issue resolved promptly.
Karl Belanger”
--
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.David-Goldfield.Com
