eParticipate

eParticipate is creating a European service based on experience in the UK of assisting Local Authorities in the effective use of multimedia and webcasting to create and deliver audiovisual content that really makes an impact in local communities.

eParticipate was given assistance with both usability and accessibility.

To assess the accessibility of the webcasting eService, it was decided that testing by users with disabilities who use assistive technology was vital, because of the use of an embedded media player in the service. Such a service can (and has) been made accessible in other projects we have advised, but to assess the real accessibility of the solution goes far beyond the specificity of the current WCAG accessibility guidelines. The particularly difficult case is whether the solution will be accessible to screenreader users.

Therefore two highly experienced screenreader users were recruited to test the solution, who could make most use of the functionality of their screenreader, and possibly try different methods for accessing the webcasts. If these users could successfully use the solution then it could subsequently be tested by less experienced screenreader users and users of other assistive technologies.

A testing protocol was established by Tenuta in collaboration with the eParticipate team, to ensure that all the key functionalities of the solution would be assessed for accessibility. This took the form of a scenario of five tasks that the users would work through, trying different tasks with the webcasting system.

Two highly experienced users, one who uses JAWS and one who uses WindowEyes were recruited to take part in this initial testing. The JAWS user worked through the scenario, but could not access the webcast at all. Neither could he access some of the information in the titles to the webcast which the team had thought might be accessible. The WindowEyes user had to cancel his session due to family problems, but given the problems by the JAWS user, it was decided to postpone the session with the WindowEyes user until more work has been done on the accessibility of the solution based on the results so far. The JAWS user has offered to re-test the solution remotely when further work has been undertaken.