Applying heuristics to perform a rigorous accessibility inspection in a commercial context

Abstract

Accessibility heuristics have been developed to compliment the accessibility guidelines. The use of Web accessibility heuristics in heuristic evaluations can ensure that a greater range of special needs will be considered, from visual to cognitive impairments. Key advantages of heuristics are conciseness, memorablity, meaningfulness and insight. The heuristics can be used effectively to understand which areas of a site have accessibility issues and can provide useful insight into how to create a solution. However, the heuristics will not tell evaluators whether a Web site conforms to legislation. Studies have confirmed the common belief that heuristics should not replace knowledge but act to cue the deeper body of knowledge defined by the guidelines; it is essential that evaluators be given accessibility education before completing a heuristic evaluation using the accessibility heuristics. Copyright 2003 ACM.