Method for Automated Accessibility Testing of Web Application Components (AAT-WAC) : Proposal for a Method for Automated Accessibility Testing of Web Applications Built Using a Component-based Architecture

Sammanfattning

It would be difficult to imagine the world we live in without the World Wide Web. We depend on it for communication, entertainment, transfer of capital, access to essential services, and many other things. Even though it feels like the Web is everywhere, its usage is still growing, and so is its importance. However, a significant portion of the world’s population is made up of people with disabilities, and if the Web and its content is not made accessible to them, they cannot participate in this integral part of modern society. Making sure that the resources we access through the Web are accessible to people with disabilities is a difficult task. Those who create applications for the internet need to test them to identify accessibility issues. Today, much of the content on the Web is divided into units called components. It would be advantageous if there was a method for automated accessibility testing of these components. The problem is that no such method exists. Components—in this context—refer to the parts that make up a webpage. When you are, for example, viewing a news article online, the heading could be a component, as could the comments section, and so on. A majority of the world’s webpages are constructed using this architecture, where a set of reusable components with different functionality make up the page you are visiting. The purpose of this thesis is to create a method for automated accessibility testing of these web application components. The goal is that the created method should be useful for web developers and testers in their work to create a Web that is more accessible for people with disabilities, and therefore contribute in some way to a more accessible society. The chosen research methodology was qualitative and exploratory, and followed the design science research-paradigm. The methodology consisted of four distinct phases, a literature study phase, a preliminary design phase, an evaluation of the preliminary design phase, and an improved design phase. The literature study phase laid the groundwork for creating a method proposal in the preliminary design stage. This method was then evaluated in the evaluation stage. This evaluation consisted of a partial implementation of the framework, together with interviews with respondents with relevant experience. Using this evaluation, an improved method was created in the improved design phase. The result of this thesis is the Automated Accessibility Testing of Web Application Components Method (AAT-WAC). The evaluations that were conducted proved that AAT-WAC method met all of the stipulated evaluation criteria, and that the method was useful when implemented in a real-world industrial context. The literature study proved that no other methods similar to the AAT-WAC method existed.