[CAIA A11y Research - PILOT]: Benefits Condition Team: Conditions Information Entry (Mobile) (November 2024)

[coforma-jamie]

[!IMPORTANT]

• TICKET STATUS: COMPLETED
• PILOT DATE: November 25, 12-1 PM
• TYPES OF ASSISTIVE TECH: Info on AT being tested in user sessions needed, to prep and conduct pilot.
• FINDINGS & FEEDBACK: See comment in this ticket

CAIA A11y Support

This is a child ticket of the research ticket 96633 - created to track work, completed from this pilot session.

[!TIP] DEFINITION OF DONE: Refer to the task list in this ticket, for actionable items.

CAIA Assignee(s)

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- Pilot: @mutiaadhocteam - Co-pilot: @sara-amanda

Team Info

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- Team name:Condition Team - OCTO-DE product owner:Jen Bertsch - Product manager: Yurena Garcia - Designer:Sudeepti Bhatnagar - FE engineer:William Phelps - Product/team Slack channel: https://dsva.slack.com/archives/C04AZ8T7XN1 ...

Description

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**A CAIA a11y will participate as a user in a pilot of this research study.** - **Researcher**: The VFS team researcher will test their prototype and conversation guide by conducting the pilot session with a CAIA A11Y. - **User**: The CAIA A11Y team member will act as a real user in the pilot session. - **Assistive Tech**: The CAIA A11Y team member will follow the prompts given by the VFS Researcher, while using and demonstrating how the behavior of a `screen reader` would behave. ### Pilot Session - **Date:** November 25 - **Prototype**: [Staging](https://staging.va.gov/user-testing/new-conditions ) - [**Research Convo Guide**](https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-team/blob/master/products/disability/526ez/research/CC-Team-Research/2024-11%20Conditions%20Info%20Entry/2024-11%20Conversation%20Guide%20-%20Conditions%20info%20entry.md) - [**Research Plan**](https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-team/blob/master/products/disability/526ez/research/CC-Team-Research/2024-11%20Conditions%20Info%20Entry/2024-11%20Research%20Plan%20-%20Condition%20info%20entry.md)

Assistive Tech Options

[!TIP] DEVICE SUPPORT DURING RESEARCH SESSIONS

• Available AT: Screen readers on a desktop device is currently the primary source of AT that CAIA A11ys are able to support, in addition to screen magnification for user research sessions.
• Additional Specifications: If there is a particular test user, browser or operating system you would like us to use, please let us know in advance via this ticket's comments, tagging the assignee - or reach out to @coforma-terry in the CAIA Slack Channel: #sitewide-content-accessibility-ia

Definition of Done

### A11y Tasks
- [x] **Schedule CAIA a11y:**
- [x] **Share link to [Assistive Tech Pilot Guide](https://github.com/department-of-veterans-affairs/va.gov-team/blob/master/teams/CAIA/accessibility/assistive-tech-pilot-guide.md) with team, if they haven't reviewed it yet**
- [x] **Determine date and time for pilot:**
- [x] **Update CAIA A11y Capacity Calendar:** Add invite for pilot, when scheduled
- [x] **Review research** [conversation guide](link needed) and provide feedback in comments.
- [x] [Request AT device and tech to be used in sessions](LINK)
- [x] [Receive AT device and tech from Team in research ticket](LINK) to be used in sessions to prep for pilot
- [x] **Review prototype** in `Location` - `STATUS OF PROTOTYPE`
- [x] **Run pilot** with VFS Researcher
- [x] **Optional: [Note Taking](https://docs.google.com/document/d/11a9r_w6Vd8udBMmnz86RITSXHP37amGcX0FU8RLqHgE/edit?usp=sharing)**

[sara-amanda]

Pilot Takeaways

• Type: Mobile Pilot
• Device: iPhone (iOS)
• Browser: Safari
• AT: VoiceOver
• Prototype Environment: Staging

Findings

Radio Buttons Read as Checkboxes

• Finding:
  • This implies multi-selectability.
  • This does not accurately reflect the functionality of the component.
• Recommendation: Update from checkbox to radio buttons.
• Next Step: VADS Ticket - Radio buttons, being called a checkbox (which implies multiple) when in actuality it is a radio button (which would imply).

Star Required (*required)

• Finding:
  • Star required is not connected to its according text
  • Therefore, it is not announced alongside the according text.
• Recommendation: It should all announce together, to avoid the extra swipe.

Verbiage: Selected or Checked

• Finding:
  • Instead of saying selected or unselected it says checked or unchecked
  • Users will have difficulty understanding that only one option can be selected.
  • Example: Which side of the body is your condition on?
• Recommendation: Change verbiage to selected or unselected.

Focus Placement:

• Finding:
  • Focus is sent to “Review” instead of “Review your conditions.”
  • Modal: Focus first going to the closed button, instead of the Modal heading
• Recommendation: Focus should be placed on the heading of the Modal.

Heading Order

• Finding:
  • Focus jumps to the bottom of the page, ignoring the content you are needing to review in the middle of the page.
  • Users of AT in iOS for example, use the rotor and headings to skim the page.
  • Example: It is going from you can claim a condition isn’t listed to need help.
• Recommendation: Manage focus to semantically go down the page.

Button Placement

• Finding:
  • The back button is right next to the continue button.
  • For sighted users this works great.
  • As a non-sighted user, they may have to click through all the components to get to this point. Newer screen-reader users may not know how to get back.
• Recommendation: The back button should be located near the top of the screen.
• Next Steps: VADS ticket

Error Trigger and Placement

• Finding:
  • When clicking through the checkboxes on the cause screen, it triggered an error on the components themselves.
  • Focus is on the first selection item: “My condition was caused by,” and when I go to the next checkbox, it triggers the error, that you must enter a response, which can be disruptive to users.
• Recommendation: Place the error to trigger on the continue button.

Verbose Character Count

• Finding:
  • As the user is typing, it should not be announced how many characters are remaining.
• Recommendation:
  • Remove announcement, and announce only when the user tabs or moves out of the text box.
  • Make the number of characters an item that can have focus and inform the user, upon their request.
• Next Steps: Recommendation to VADS via ticket.

iOS Specific Issue - Focus Jumps

• Example: Date picker: January 2024 it jumps to need help.
• Next Steps: Known issue

Bulleted Lists

• Finding: Bulleted lists are reading as black square.
• Recommendation: Update them to read as bullet points in the list.

Multiple Components in (Cherry Version)

• Finding:
  • Multiple components on one page, can be confusing, so the first demo was better.
  • Appearing on the same page because it is not broken up, and it would be confusing.
  • Hard to know things below are changing
  • Example: The drop down with option one vs no drop down after selection two.
• Recommendation: Avoid conditional content on the page and keep it simple with one thing per page.

Positive Feedback

• Edit or delete
  • VERY, VERY, Useful! It lets you know what you would be editing or deleting.
  • Clicked “Edit”
  • Editing a condition: Super simple, it sent me back without having to click the back button several times.
    • Clicked “continue” to get back to the review screen.
• Additional Review Page Positive Feedback:
  • I love the fact that it kept the information that I put in before. That means I don’t have to retype it.
  • I like the notification that Burtisis in right knee has been updated.
  • Love, love, love the success message that Bursitis knee, right’s information has been deleted. I like that it takes me back to review your conditions.
• Heading structure looks good
  • (Cherry Version)
• Picker List
  • Every time I type in a letter it tells me the results that are there.
  • Focus goes right back to the text box. Then I can click through Bursitis.
  • I do like the way it is set up.
• Notifications
  • After making the edit, focus is sent to the notification confirming.
• Summary Screen Feedback
  • First setup in Apple is preferred by Maria. Less visual noise and less to navigate through to get to the information I am trying to access.
  • The simpler the better.