Test
Advice on how to build ID accessible websites.
Preparing for user testing
Test your website as much as possible with people with intellectual disabilities, to be sure it works well for them.
Tips on how to carry out a test:
Decide on the sections of your site that you want to test.
Decide which users you need to test your site. Find out more about different degrees of intellectual disability on people with intellectual disability.
Define tasks for users to carry out.
Decide if there is anything qualitative you want to test (whether users like the site, find it attractive, would be likely to use it).
Identify what you would need to know about users before the test starts (age, experience of the web, nature of intellectual, learning, sensory and physical impairments).
Draw up an observation template to help you take notes during the test.
Test the test!
Before user testing
Before testing, carry out an interview to find out about the tester and gain insight into
their level of technical awareness
their attitudes towards the web
their experience of web use
any assistive technology normally used. Find out more about assistive technologies on information about accessibility.
During the user testing
When testing, aim to
have a natural discussion
go through questions in any order, to help the discussion be natural
re-word and repeat the questions if necessary
go off on a tangent if the discussion leads that way
ask enough questions to build a good picture
talk a lot less than your tester does
listen, prompt, clarify. Take notes later if doing it while you talk interrupts the flow.
