Manual Evaluation

Manual Evaluation Process

Siteimprove, the software used to perform automated verification reports, is very useful but has its limitations. There are some very important checkpoints that just can not be verified by a software application. These include readability, the use of color to convey information, and page layouts that are inaccessible.

The following points are checkpoints that incorporate both Section 508 Standards and WCAG AA Guidelines. These are intended to be used on pages that must be remediated in a timely manner.

Manual Evaluation Checklist

Alternate Text

  1. Are the alt texts descriptive? (fix if "no")
  2. Do images that convey content have equivalent alt-text? (fix if "no")
  3. Do purely decorative images have empty alt-text (alt="")? (fix if "no")
  4. Does image map area alt-text describe the link destination correctly? (fix if "no")

Captioning & Audio Transcription

  1. Is synchronized captioning provided for all spoken content in the video? (fix if "no"; may require a temporary alternate means of delivering the content)
  2. Is audio transcription provided for the audio contents? (fix if "no")

Color

  1. Is information conveyed by color also conveyed by context, markup, graphic coding, or other means? (fix if "no")
  2. Ensure foreground and background color have sufficient color contrast.  WCAG 2.0 level AA requires a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. 

Styles and Headings

  1. Are styles used to simulate headings or other semantic markup? (fix if "yes")
  2. Does web page have heading style (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3...) to create semantic structure for the web content? (fix if "no")
  3. Is any heading level skipped? (fix if "yes")

Image maps

  1. Does this page use server-side image maps? (fix if "yes")

Link Texts

  1. Does the text of each link describe where the link goes? (fix if "no")
  2. Do any links with the same text point to different places? (fix if "yes")
  3. Are "Learn More", "Click Here", "Read More", etc. used as link texts? (fix if "yes")

Tables

  1. For tables containing data, are <th> elements used in the first row (and first column, if applicable)? (fix if "no")
  2. Do <th> elements contain the scope (="col" or ="row") attribute? (fix if "no")
  3. For tables that are used for layout only, are <th> elements or the summary attribute used at all? (fix if "yes")
  4. Are tables long, complex and complicated?  (fix if "yes")  It is recommended to split a long, complicated table into several simple, small tables.
  5. Does each <th> element contain the id attribute? (fix if "no")
  6. Does each <td> element contain a headers attribute that associates it with its column and row headers? (fix if "no")

Frames

  1. Does each <frame> element have a meaningful title attribute? (fix if "no")
  2. Does the page have equivalent content in a <noframes> element for user agents that do not support frames? (fix if "no")

Flicker and Movement

  1. Does any page element flicker at an unhealthy rate? (fix if "yes")
  2. Does any text element move or scroll? (fix if "yes")

Text-Only Version

  1. Does this page have a text-only version? (fix if "yes" by making the page compliant with the rest of the checkpoints) Comment: there is no reason today to have separate versions, despite the grudging exception contained in this checkpoint. For quick repair, a text version must contain the same information as the basic page.

Scripting and Controls

  1. Are HTML event handlers accessible to both mouse and keyboard users? (fix if "no" unless mouseovers are purely decorative; e.g., changing color of a graphic link.)
  2. Is all content and functionality generated by scripts (including href="javascript:...") also provided to user agents that do not support scripts? (fix if "no" unless "functionality" is purely decorative).

Plug-ins

  1. Are links provided to any special readers or plug-ins that are required to interpret page content? (fix if "no")
    • This includes links to Word and PowerPoint viewers and Acrobat Reader

Forms

  1. Does each <input> element or control (except buttons) have an associated and visible <label> element or title attribute? (fix if "no")
  2. Are all cues for filling out the form (mandatory fields, help boxes, error messages, and so on) available to users of assistive technology? (fix if "no")

Navigation

  1. Can a user navigate over groups of links, between multiple groups of links, and between sections of the page content by means of section headings or visible and audible local links? (fix if "no")

Timed Responses

  1. If a timed response is required, is the user alerted and given sufficient time to indicate that more time is required? (fix if "no"; see also next item)

If pages have been created using templates repairing errors found in the manual evaluation process is not difficult, but that is not always the case. In many cases pages are designed as needed and do not always follow a set structure, especially if many content creators have been working on a site over its lifetime. In these cases the time to perform manual evaluations and repairs to every page can be significant. In many cases webmasters have determined that it is more efficient to redesign a site using the appropriate design techniques than it is to repair a site.

Assistance

If you need help performing a manual evaluation or have a question, please feel free to contact Service Center of IT Services at (661) 654-HELP (x4357).