Assessment for Films on Demand by Lambton - Module 3: Interface Structure

Submitted by Michelle.Koski… on
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The icon for the "Resource Center", for accessing help, is not particularly representative as an image and there is no text beside it to indicate what it does.

This is an exception. Most links are defined with text on the screen. Note that some of the icons lose their on screen text when the screen dimensions are smaller, such as on a phone, as compared to a desk top screen, so the experience may vary depending on the device in use.
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Keyboard focus is moveable to all elements when NO screen reader is in use. However, when using NVDA, it is hard to move the focus with keystrokes without there being overlaps, or duplicate focus indicators, ghosting and other problems.
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes:
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: While most navigation is logical and intuitive, there are occasionally navigation bits that go left to right, such as when we are on a specific item page, the cursor is in the pane for transcripts of videos, the link order is "Segments" and then "Transcript". When we are on the general search result page, in the "video" tab, there are drop down boxes that jump around, first at the right: "relevance", at far left "all subjects", and then median right "more filters".
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: The Keyboard focus sometimes vanishes on result pages, when it is connected to the videos themselves.
It is also invisible when on the "Resource Center" icon.
It is also invisible when on the Google Translate icon.

When NVDA is in use, sometimes the keyboard focus indicator splits into as many as 3 components.
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Carousels on the home page can be moved at will with a mouse, but do not have the same controls when the tab keys are used. People using a screen reader such as NVDA have significant other issues using the keyboard to tab through the carousels on this page. People without the screen reader using a keyboard have fewer issues.
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: When there is no screen reader, tabbing is fine on the HOME page, like most of the pages. The screen reader NVDA, however has difficulty with this same HOME page. In the set of carousels on this page, it is easy to tab faster than NVDA can put a ring around the object, and NVDA soon splits one focus marker into two objects with focus markers, and then even three, and sometimes a focus ring will end up between separate objects on the page, or will even move backwards. Interestingly, the actual object read aloud continues to advance one at a time, as one would expect, but it may not match ANY of the rings on the screen.
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: Tested with Chrome.
Home: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible)
Results: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible)
Item 1: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible)

I am not sure what "Skip to main content" is supposed to do. When a client clicks on it with "enter", the page scrolls up a bit, and the focus is not on part of the page that is visible. It does seem to skip over the pane across the very top, which includes the search bar and the "Your Profile" link, but I think the client will end up lost.

Are skip links visible or invisible?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible)
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page?
Answer: Sometimes
Score: 1
Notes: "Skip to main content" is at the top left of the page.
"Back to top" is at the bottom right of the screen.
Are skip links labelled properly?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Are skip links accessible via keyboard?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes:
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: The anchors for "Skip to main content" are not on the part of the page that the client is viewing, and I do not think the content at the actual anchor site is important.
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page?
Answer: Always
Score: 2
Notes: Where there are skip links, they are consistently located on the page.
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows?
Answer: Not Applicable
Score: -1
Notes: No tables
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes. The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.


Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes.
The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next?
Answer: Never
Score: 0
Notes: No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes.
The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.
eResource: Films on Demand
eResource Type: Database
Vendor: McIntyre Media
Institution: Lambton
Score: D-

Key Findings

Weaknesses

  • Some interactive functionality works consistently for users who are navigating a site via keyboard

Navigation Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Can the purpose of each link be determined from the link text, or from the link text together with its surrounding context? Sometimes The icon for the "Resource Center", for accessing help, is not particularly representative as an image and there is no text beside it to indicate what it does. This is an exception. Most links are defined with text on the screen. Note that some of the icons lose their on screen text when the screen dimensions are smaller, such as on a phone, as compared to a desk top screen, so the experience may vary depending on the device in use.

Keyboard Navigation

Question Answer Notes Images
Can keyboard focus be moved to all page elements? Always Keyboard focus is moveable to all elements when NO screen reader is in use. However, when using NVDA, it is hard to move the focus with keystrokes without there being overlaps, or duplicate focus indicators, ghosting and other problems.
If moving keyboard focus away from a component requires more than arrow or tab keys, is this clearly indicated on the page? Not Applicable
Is default keyboard navigation order logical and intuitive, following the visual flow of the page as described above? Sometimes While most navigation is logical and intuitive, there are occasionally navigation bits that go left to right, such as when we are on a specific item page, the cursor is in the pane for transcripts of videos, the link order is "Segments" and then "Transcript". When we are on the general search result page, in the "video" tab, there are drop down boxes that jump around, first at the right: "relevance", at far left "all subjects", and then median right "more filters".
When using a keyboard to navigate the interface, is the keyboard focus indicator visible? Sometimes The Keyboard focus sometimes vanishes on result pages, when it is connected to the videos themselves. It is also invisible when on the "Resource Center" icon. It is also invisible when on the Google Translate icon. When NVDA is in use, sometimes the keyboard focus indicator splits into as many as 3 components.
Does all interactive functionality work via keyboard, and does it behave consistently and as expected? Sometimes Carousels on the home page can be moved at will with a mouse, but do not have the same controls when the tab keys are used. People using a screen reader such as NVDA have significant other issues using the keyboard to tab through the carousels on this page. People without the screen reader using a keyboard have fewer issues.
Does focus order move sequentially across form fields? Sometimes When there is no screen reader, tabbing is fine on the HOME page, like most of the pages. The screen reader NVDA, however has difficulty with this same HOME page. In the set of carousels on this page, it is easy to tab faster than NVDA can put a ring around the object, and NVDA soon splits one focus marker into two objects with focus markers, and then even three, and sometimes a focus ring will end up between separate objects on the page, or will even move backwards. Interestingly, the actual object read aloud continues to advance one at a time, as one would expect, but it may not match ANY of the rings on the screen.

Skip Links

Question Answer Notes Images
Are there skip links (either visible or invisible)? Sometimes Tested with Chrome. Home: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible) Results: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible) Item 1: "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible) I am not sure what "Skip to main content" is supposed to do. When a client clicks on it with "enter", the page scrolls up a bit, and the focus is not on part of the page that is visible. It does seem to skip over the pane across the very top, which includes the search bar and the "Your Profile" link, but I think the client will end up lost.
Are skip links visible or invisible? Sometimes "Skip to main content" (invisible), "Back to top" (visible)
Are skip links (visible or invisible) positioned prominently near the beginning of the page? Sometimes "Skip to main content" is at the top left of the page. "Back to top" is at the bottom right of the screen.
Are skip links labelled properly? Always
Are skip links accessible via keyboard? Always
Do anchors (link destinations) appear at the beginning of the relevant content? Never The anchors for "Skip to main content" are not on the part of the page that the client is viewing, and I do not think the content at the actual anchor site is important.
Do skip navigation controls appear in the same place on every page? Always Where there are skip links, they are consistently located on the page.

Tables

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the reader capture accurate information as it appears in the table and the columns and rows? Not Applicable No tables

Frames

Question Answer Notes Images
Does the screen reader successfully navigate from one frame to another? Never No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes. The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.
Does each frame have a meaningful title that tells the user the purpose of the frame? Never No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes. The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.
When navigating the page using keyboard navigation, is the user able to navigate effectively from one frame to the next? Never No frames are identified to the screen reader, although many pages are divided into panes. The screen reader cannot "find" any frames.
Previous1234Next