WCAGFindings Summary
While the focus of the usability test was on the WAI site design, several of the findings are directly related to WCAG Working Group work. The following is a summary of the findings that may be of particular relevance to the WCAG Working Group.
Overview
In general the participants were pleased with the content on the Web site, but were frustrated by how difficult it was for them to find information. In addition, the participants expressed concern with the technical nature of the information itself, stating that it was difficult to comprehend, and that they were concerned it was impenetrable to "someone with less expertise in Web development."
Findings
1: Participants uniformly stated that the [guidelines and techniques were] "overwhelming" and that using [them] was "like walking into a fire hose." More about Finding 1 >>
2: Participants expected the [guidelines and techniques] to be organized in a manner that supported task-based information seeking. More about Finding 2 >>
3: The distinction between, and the relationship among, guidelines, checkpoints, checklists and techniques were universally unclear to the participants. More about Finding 3 >>
4: Participants' ability to locate task-specific information was significantly hindered by the "front matter" at the start (and close) of the guidelines documents, the WCAG checklist, and techniques documents.More about Finding 4 >>
Finding 5: Participants stated that the Web site lacked both "Getting Started" overviews and specific coding techniques. More about Finding 5 >>
6: Participants stated that the Web site was "essential." More about Finding 6 >>
8: Participants struggled to understand the text they were reading- both the sheer amount of it, and the language itself. More about Finding 8 >>
26: Participants gave high praise to coding examples. More about Finding 26 >>
Next: W3C Site-wide Findings Summary >>
