jech
Visually impaired users, feedback statement from our department responsible for barrier-free working
Hello,
Sorry, I am late but I still refer to this closed issue. You closed the issue, my resubmission was set for end of October.
Visually impaired users, missing options for text commands
Here is their report to me.
Structure and accessibility of the conference system: At first glance, the conference system appears to be clearly structured. However, upon closer inspection, several problems were identified. Firstly, most of the controls have the wrong regional attribute, and there are also numerous controls with insufficient or no labelling. For example, one button was simply labelled ‘Off button’ without it being clear what would actually be deactivated when it was pressed. One input field was initially labelled “Type”, but after navigating to the tab, it changed to ‘unlabelled input field’. This is actually the chat field, which can also be used to enter control commands. The corresponding ‘Send’ button is currently only labelled ‘small arrow pointing to the right’ and should be correctly labelled ‘Send’ or “Submit”.
In addition, there are several so-called ‘left/right sliders’ that only return the values 1 or 100. Initially, it was suspected that these were faulty radio buttons. In fact, it turned out that these are volume controls for individual conference participants. These are functional, but are not announced correctly. The expected output would be ‘Slider for volume of [name of person]’. Another problem is that the language tag is not set correctly in German [our translation]. This leads to inconsistent and sometimes incorrect voice output by JAWS.
Control via command: A positive feature is the ability to control the conference system via commands. This function is generally helpful and makes operation easier. However, suitable commands are not yet available for all use cases. For example, there is an ‘unshare’ command that ends screen sharing, but there is no corresponding ‘share’ command to start sharing. [You solved this issue already. This feedback was given verbally to me] In addition, the button for screen sharing was not accessible via the keyboard. So far, the form field list and navigation via F6 have been tried. Further tests using other JAWS lists or HTML shortcuts should be carried out in a subsequent test.
Navigation with JAWS: JAWS offers various list functions for navigation (e.g. form fields, headings or links). These generally make orientation easier and are faster than using the tab or cursor keys. The test showed that navigation with the lists works in principle, but not for all controls. For example, the logout button is not included in the form field list, but can only be accessed via the link list. Another point concerns the operating logic: when an element is selected in a list, the focus jumps to it correctly, but the element is not triggered automatically. An additional confirmation step via Enter is necessary for this. This should be taken into account in the usability documentation.
Summary: In summary, the conference system has a generally clear interface and innovative approaches such as command control, but still has significant shortcomings. These mainly concern accessibility (language tag, incorrect or missing labels, incorrectly displayed sliders), the handling of audio settings and consistency during login. Improvements are urgently needed here to ensure reliable and accessible use.
JAWS output attached. This is how my colleagues used the system. I didn't understand it, but maybe it will help you.
Die Reihenfolge der verschiedene Bedienelemente ist nicht korrekt, einige Elemente müssen als Button ausgeführt werden Die Sichtbarkeit der unterschiedliche Bereiche ist fehlerhaft, manche Meldungen sind temporär und Aria-Live müsste unterstützt werden. Auch Aria-Label gehöhren nachgerüstet. Zuletzt müsste Galene internationalisiert werden.
Censeo hanc disputationem in lingua Anglica dicendam esse. (I suggest that we speak English.)
@Rematak, this is helpful. I am somewhat busy right now, so please accept my apologies for the delay, but I'll go through the HTML and see if there's anything that can easily be labelled better.
If you have someone who is competent to do the changes themselves, I'll be thrilled to accept patches that fix the accessibility.
@jech Please don't apologise. What you've already done is incredible. I wish I had someone who could support you. I would love to do it myself, but unfortunately I don't have the skills.
But I can translate the text above: The order of the various controls is incorrect; some elements need to be implemented as buttons. The visibility of the different areas is faulty; some messages are temporary and Aria Live needs to be supported. Aria labels also need to be retrofitted. Finally, Galene needs to be internationalised.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm just translating. I appreciate every bit of your work and fully understand your time constraints.