Summary:
A software tester's usability testing kit needs to include diverse tools, not only to help testers "into the shoes of their customers" and quickly locate obvious problems and exposure characteristics of ease of use (or lack thereof). High performance is not only rely on human skills are, these tools can also help you identify potential things and make your product to a wider audience a better user experience nature.
The concept needs to be used by the widest possible audience in the software has been around for over 20 years, because it still retains quite some time off from the mainstream in the testing and development efforts.
This is gradually changing in recent years. We can see the diverse and digital conclusions become a social priority. On implicit social contract, we now have a clear legal contract, as Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act and the Canadian provincial legislation (in Ontario Ontario disability legislation ease of use, ease of Quebec standards, and other), defines the government and public part of the software's ease of use standards. This set up examples of a trend for the overall market.
Like designers, business analysts, and programmers, testers need to acquire new professional skills in the field of usability.
Digital ease of use implies not only those in the visual, audible, or motor disabilities web browser to use, and user-assisted technical support software. A common method of using the tool to identify usability issues, but it hides a trap. Ease of use is the whole of human perception, cognition, and interaction, and those aspects are difficult to machine detected. Here, let us through classification, emphasize their advantages and risks of view usability testing tools.
Why ease of use is the primary tool for testing
Testers recognition software problems based on their thinking, experience and feel. But how can we represent some people in different cognitive and thinking of those who have effectively test a product?
One way is to learn the ease of use - especially language - inspired thinking funny place - in order to identify and classify obstacles that may be encountered with disabilities. Another important approach is to deploy the tool to replace your own thinking and awareness so that you can build your customer ease of use tone model.
How users navigate and operate software products may vary and depend on their cognitive interaction software, exercise habits and characteristics. It also depends on the domain knowledge of the user's experience, special products, usually in a special IT skills to use complementary technologies. That diversity requires tools to be deployed testers.
What is special creation to identify errors and tested to who rules the same way with people with disabilities to use assistive technology tools include usability testing. Let's take a look at some of the most popular tools.
Screen readers
Visually impaired people screen reader, a software program can use the speed synthesizer or Braille display reads the text displayed on the screen. The user can send instructions to a different key combination to guide what speed said synthesizer, or read what cursor pronounce spell a word or full-screen text, the position of the computer, or more.
Screen reader as a commercial free open source software which is available (like the popular English-speaking option Jaws and NVIDIA), and they are also Windows systems, Apple systems, Apple's mobile operating system, Android's built-in options.
Screen Reader is not intended for testing tools, but they go to emulate their users who usability testing experience is priceless
Some screen readers with useful features such as speech log, to help testers identify issues and report backup problems. As an example, the free and open source screen reader NVIDIA through its oral presentation viewer shows the Tab key does not match the order and see the order --tab key is conceived as a web page from left to right, but only keyboard the user right to left, will first be given a "blog."
HTML - checking tool
As the name implies, the contents of HTML tool to scan the page and check in their coding in violation of the rules of grammar. Rules are easy to use guide is based on international standards of website content, or WCAG.
There are tools on the market these diverse, free and open source options at the same time charge of enterprise products. They are available as stand-alone applications (such as classified sites), online applications (checker and corrugated), integrated application programming interface (especially agriculture), as well as a variety of browser plug-ins (corrugated also have the same tools).
This tool classification to quickly find "drooping fruit" is useful for such obvious obvious problems caused by the loss of HTML elements needed for ease of use. For example, if a picture with no associated text alternative, or in other text, mark it as tool.
In any case, the tool still requires people to decide whether to replace the text in a special text fully describe the picture. A tool not only for distinguishing a visual decoration must contain an empty alternative text and picture illustration illustrations must contain a literal sense of the alternative.
In fact, any assessment of the appropriateness of the user interface requirements of people. For example, the template dialog screenshot no HTML offense, but there is obviously relevant to understanding the problem of the availability of this information.
Especially HTML - checking tool for evaluating a single web page or website. They do not have the ability to automatically navigate to a web application because it requires data input and user actions. They also do not provide complete coverage of all site content guide application guidelines and they can not capture all the problems either standard.
Color and contrast inspector
Some people can not distinguish certain colors. They may not need special assistive technology, but because of this difficulty, a user interface should not rely on isolated convert color information. In addition, people with epilepsy are sensitive to light, flickering or flashing light trigger convulsions, so these elements should not be used for site.
Color and contrast examination helps detect these elements may be a problem. As the name implies, this tool is used to change the color of the family code and contrast. Typically, they are required to manually select the test and background color in order to calculate the ratio of the foreground.
In this example, the color contrast analyzer tool for assessing the picture from Wikipedia pages in color blindness and unpredictably, displaying text did not pass the test.
More advanced tools may include a simulation model is available to testers personal sensory experience, so they know what their customers will look. In the following, the same tool to show red or red to a blind emulation mode - green blind people can not be separated from the red cancel button and reset button gray area.
The graphical user interface automation tools
Conventional graphical user interface automation tools, such as the same standard functional test (UFT) or Selenium, can be successfully deployed to cover part of regression testing usability requirements. Because the GUI automation tool to do interactivity and navigation web application, sometimes it merged custom checkpoints to overcome common usability checker is feasible. Verify the HTML in the usability characteristics different from the authentication ID, label, and other graphical user interface elements typically automated verification.
Readability analyzer
For a limited ability to own and remember information, or to make a decision to extend a period of concern for people who are too complex language will be very confused or frustrated make. Such people are also included under the pressure conditions or distracted or are not fluent in the language of the people. In order to assist these users, the software must show in a clear and organized way of information, to remind people about the important points, and allows verification and correction. These features together are known to be readable.
There are ways to calculate the written language of the text (for example, Flesch - Kincaid readability test) complex index. The index is estimated that a person needs to understand a few years of formal education this text at first reading, and this is bound to be the level of awareness efforts. There are free online tools for text based on these and other standard estimates. Since the mean other mechanical theory, you should not rely solely on these tools - human verification is still preferable - but they are a potential marker for the language in question is useful for quick, cursory inspection.
Common tools
Low vision, vision astigmatic vision or spots people may not need to use a screen reader but still likes to read text help. They may be used in the browser's zoom function, reduce the screen resolution, or increase the font size, contrast gradation, and color polarity.
Temporarily or permanently, people do not want to control their bodies, particularly their arms or hands, may use a variety of physical and electrical assistive technology, but in terms of software operation, in fact, is not only to help the mouse keyboard mode .
These options do not require any special testing tools. For example, only using the keyboard (tab and shift-tab) had a full page navigation capability is in line with the basic degree. When "specified by the" test were also required to check whether the focus is often very visible and distinguishable.
On the other testers useful tool is fixed into the browser. Press F12 to open the check mode that allows testers to check the HTML source of a user interface element under consideration.
In the following example, a picture of the text is converted using web development toolbar to highlight, and we have examples of both full and inappropriate text description.
So the browser tool may not be particularly pointed out usability issues, but they are still a great help testers to find them.
Your toolbox
A software tester usability test kit should contain a variety of tools, not only to help testers "They walked into the user's shoes" and experience what they experience, and can quickly mark a significant exposure problem and ease of use features (or lack thereof). As in every aspect of a skill test, high performance can only be deeply involved with the human skills and available, not only on the tool trustworthy, and they will help you identify potential and make something for your product wider audience to have a better user experience.