Is your software accessible to people with functional diversity?

The technology industry is advancing by leaps and bounds. In an increasingly sensitized and inclusive society, it is imperative to ensure that the product being developed is usable for users with different abilities and limitations.

In this post, we are going to give several examples of how AI is improving the experience of all types of users and how it impacts the field of software QA.

In fact, giants such as Google or Microsoft have given more and more weight to rank platforms in their directories based on the level of accessibility they detect on sites.

Have you heard of AI-assisted testing?

We suggest some of the popular tools and examples of their application that can help you in the quality control process:

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1. Automatic Accessibility Testing

They track websites and apps using A.I. to identify issues related to their usability and accessibility.

• Google Lighthouse: Evaluates the accessibility of websites and suggests improvements.

• Axe by Deque Systems: Testing tool that uses AI to detect accessibility problems.

2. Speech and Text-to-Speech Recognition

AI-based speech and text-to-speech recognition technologies can help users with visual or motor disabilities:

• Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant: Transform voice commands into actions.

• Apple VoiceOver: A screen reader that describes what appears on the screen for visually impaired users.

3. Description of Images

They quickly analyze and describe images for visually impaired users:

• Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services: AI services that can describe visual files in detail.

• Seeing AI: App that uses AI to narrate the visual world for people with visual disabilities.

4. Contrast/Color Evaluation

They verify if the colors and/or contrasts used in software are suitable for users with visual problems:

• Stark: A plugin for design tools that makes it easy for designers to ensure that their color choices are accessible.

5. Natural Language Analysis (NLP)

NLP techniques can analyze the clarity and simplicity of language on websites and applications to ensure that they are understandable to people with cognitive disabilities:

• Grammarly: Uses NLP to suggest improvements in writing, helping to simplify the language and make it more accessible.

• Readable.io: Evaluates the readability of the content and proposes adjustments to improve accessibility.

6. Navigation and Usability Tests

AI can simulate user behavior to identify navigation and usability problems for people with motor disabilities:

• Testim.io: Uses AI to create and execute automated tests that simulate user interactions.

• Applitools: A visual testing platform that can detect usability problems through automated visual comparison.

7. Alternative Content Generation

AI can generate alternative content for multimedia, for example, captions for videos:

• YouTube Automatic Captions: AI for subtitling videos.

• Rev.ai: AI-powered transcription and subtitling services.

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Sounds good, right?

In conclusion, in addition to the use of AI-based technology, it is important that the team responsible for the Quality Assurance process has a comprehensive approach that combines manual testing, automatic evaluations and the strategic use of AI-based technologies that can help create digital products that are more accessible and adapted to the different realities and challenges of each user.

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