Testing Mozilla applications for Accessibility

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Generic User Descriptions

There are 6 main user descriptions and 5 At-tools: Theme, Keyboard navigation, Magnifier, Screen reader, GOK which supported varying levels of disability. They are:

  • 1. User with lesser Visual Impairment - using theming
  • 2. User with moderate Visual Impairment - using screen magnification
  • 3. Blind User - sing text-to-speech and Braille output
  • 4. User with lesser Motor Difficulties - using Accessx Functionality
  • 5. User with severe Motor Difficulties - using pointing device(GOK)
  • 6. User with severe Motor Difficulties - using switches(GOK)
  • 1. The scenario where a user has a lesser degree of Visual Impairment is matched to a Gnome environment with an accessibility-enhanced theme, such as High Contrast Large Print Inverse. This user can use a standard keyboard and mouse, but requires increased definition, size and clarity of the widgets, icons and fonts in his or her Gnome desktop.
  • 2. The scenario where a user has a moderate degree of V.I. is matched to a Gnome environment used in conjunction with a screen magnifier, such as 'magnifier' (used by Gnopernicus). Note that the accessibility theme is turned off here. This user can use a standard keyboard and mouse, but requires an enlarged view of sections of the desktop. This view is displayed on a small portion of the screen (or may optionally be displayed via a virtual X display).
  • 3. The scenario where a user is blind is matched to a Gnome environment that uses a standard keyboard, a screen reader (Gnopernicus, for one), and a braille I/O device. The emphasis of testing alternates between checking speech output, and checking both braille+speech output. The alternation is such that every 2nd build is checked for synthesized speech output, and every other build is checked for output in both speech+braille forms. This user cannot use a standard mouse setup. This user requires a keyboard for program navigation and interaction with a screen reader to parse applications and their widgets. They may also use a braille device as a display (in conjunction with a screen reader), as inferred above when checking braille+speech together.
  • 4. The scenario where a user has some degree of Motor Difficulties is matched to a Gnome environment that primarily uses the keyboard for navigation, in conjuction with AccessX and XKB keyboard filters and extensions. This user cannot easily work with a standard keyboard and mouse, due to the fine motor control required to operate these devices. However, such a user is able to emulate mouse and key-combination operations by using a keyboard-only environment that provides mechanisms such as locking modifer keys, ignoring quick key-presses, and simulating mouse movement through the numpad.
  • 5. The scenario where a user has severe Motor Difficulties better suited to dwell selection than switching is matched to a Gnome environment that is operated by a pointing/tracking device. The pointing/tracking device are used in conjunction with an on-screen keyboard (GOK), to drive desktop operations. Operations are enacted by dwell selection. This user is extremely limited in their motor functions and cannot reliably operate the kind of switches mentioned above. Typically, they use a head-mounted pointing device or eye-tracking technology to dwell-select menu options and input words/characters using the on-screen keyboard.
  • 6. The scenario where a user has severe Motor Difficulties is matched to a Gnome environment that makes extensive use of switches, both 1 button and 2 button devices. The switches are used in conjunction with an on-screen keyboard (GOK, for one), to drive desktop operations. The input method used is row/cell scanning. This test scenario is more time-consuming compared with others, and it may be pragmatic to abbreviate some of the test cases. It is feasible to use a mouse without the ball to emulate the function of a switch. This user's mobility is severely restricted but can perform confirmation operations inside the on-screen keyboard application using a switch device. Switches might may come in such forms as a mouth-controlled sip+puff device, or a toggle switch mounted near the users head.

Set Up