Tips for evaluating the VoiceOver Experience of an iOS applicationJANNA CAMERONSR. USABILITY SPECIALIST, DESIRE2LEARN

It’s just like a new car…

..maybe a solar car?

Some VoiceOver basicsGo to: Settings > General > AccessibilityAdjust accessibility shortcutThe rotor – swipe up and downBetween all elements – swipe side to side

Go to first/last – 4 finger tapScan with one finger

Some important notesI am not from AppleI am a User Experience design person

The usual things1. Headings2. Labels

More about labelsKeep your expectations highEnsure labels sound humanEnsure that items that look unlabelled have labels

Check that hints are available

Tip - Screen curtain3 finger triple-tap

The usual things1. Headings2. Labels3. Images4. Selected states5. Reading order

6. Clear distinction between foreground and background

7. Communicate the current state

8. Feedback

More about feedbackImportant times to deliver feedback• Immediately after a manual trigger• If a significant system event occurs• If the user reaches an edge• If the system cannot execute a

command• When the system is processing

Ways to give feedbackChange focus to the new itemAnnounce changes on the pagePlay a sound

Some new things1. Keyboard

entry

More about keyboard entryQuestions to ask:• Can the information be pre-

populated?• Does the interface remember

things?• Can I shorten the list of options?• Are actions easy to find?

Some new things1. Keyboard

entry2. Grouped

items3. Buttons4. Gesture

support

More on gesture supportThree important gestures• Escape gesture• Paging – three finger scroll• Magic tap

Some new things1. Keyboard entry2. Grouped items3. Buttons4. Gesture support5. You can tell if VoiceOver is on

Credits“New car” picture by elvissa on Flickr

“Solar car” picture by IntelFreePress on Flickr

Feedback points from “Microinteractions” by Dan Saffer

Thank you to my colleagues Carin Headrick and Andrew Patterson

Questions?