{"id":15020,"date":"2021-07-27T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unqork.com\/resources\/how-unqork-fosters-accessibility-through-thoughtful-qa\/"},"modified":"2024-06-04T09:32:27","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T14:32:27","slug":"how-unqork-fosters-accessibility-through-thoughtful-qa","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.unqork.com\/resource-center\/blogs\/how-unqork-fosters-accessibility-through-thoughtful-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"How Unqork Fosters Accessibility Through Thoughtful QA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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How Unqork Fosters Accessibility Through Thoughtful QA<\/h1><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n
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Did you know you can promote web application accessibility through QA? Dive into accessible digitization with Karen Laiacona, Director of QA and Vice President of the Unqork Access ERSG.<\/em><\/p>\n

A <\/span>quality assurance<\/a> approach towards enterprise application development requires a team of QA engineers to blend automation and human creativity to ensure your application meets high standards of quality and reliability. Automation takes care of repetitive aspects that need testing again and again, while the QA engineers help the machine capture nuances like edge, negative, and null test cases.<\/p>\n

QA is an important part of the application building process, making sure web applications account for everyone\u2019s story. But did you know QA can make software not just more inclusive, but more accessible for all? We spoke with <\/span>Karen Laiacona<\/a>\u2014Director of QA in Professional Services and Vice President of our accessibility ERSG, Unqork Access\u2014to discuss how QA helps make each Unqork application accessible.<\/p>\n

QA helps consistently ensure accessibility<\/span><\/h2>\n

As <\/span>digitization<\/a> becomes the norm across industries, enterprises will continue to create digital applications that provide access to a wider audience. In order for digitization to truly make your applications usable by all kinds of people, you should consider the accessibility of your digital services. \u201cWe have to consider what our responsibility is to make accessible software,\u201d Karen says, \u201cespecially in spaces where that\u2019s already required.\u201d Accessibility is a responsibility that every software company should value, but it\u2019s important to remember disability affects many different people in many different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since disability is such a vast field, it can be tricky for businesses to approach accessibility. For example, you might do your due diligence and make sure buttons on your web application use fonts large enough to be seen by people with low vision. Do those same buttons have a sharp enough color contrast between text and background color, so they can be seen by people with color blindness? This isn\u2019t to say that you must account for every possible disability. Any effort addressing the <\/span>types of disabilities most relevant to web applications<\/a>\u2014vision, hearing, mobility, and literacy\u2014is the main focus. However, this example demonstrates how pursuing accessibility can seem like a huge undertaking for tech teams.<\/p>\n

From a technical standpoint, making applications accessible can be a challenge and many teams simply don\u2019t know where to start. Oftentimes, people may not think about accessibility upfront because they haven\u2019t had to consider it in the past.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along with limited knowledge and experience, interaction is another challenge. \u201cTypically, people with sight and hearing disabilities interact with your apps through software that crawls through the application, like a screen reader,\u201d Karen explains. \u201cYour application must be compatible with software you haven\u2019t built, one that\u2019s out of your control.\u201d In order to support these capabilities and simplify<\/span> navigation, as well as respond to accessibility regulations and standards, your software must be very advanced.<\/p>\n

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Creating accessible software takes a lot of care and planning, but it\u2019s worth it in the end.\u00a0<\/span>Digitally accessible software is better software for everyone to use.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Creating accessible software takes a lot of care and planning, but it\u2019s worth it in the end. <\/span>Digitally accessible software is better software for everyone to use.<\/strong> Beyond equity and inclusion, benefits of building accessible software include:<\/p>\n