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Specialized Testing

What Is Accessibility Testing?

Accessibility testing is the practice of evaluating software to ensure it is usable by people with disabilities, including visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments, typically measured against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards.

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In Depth

Accessibility testing covers four principles (POUR): Perceivable (can users perceive the content through different senses?), Operable (can users navigate and interact using keyboard, voice, or assistive devices?), Understandable (is the content and navigation predictable and readable?), and Robust (does it work with current and future assistive technologies?).

Automated tools like axe-core, Lighthouse accessibility audits, and pa11y can catch approximately 30-40% of accessibility issues: missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, missing form labels, incorrect heading hierarchy, and ARIA misuse. The remaining 60-70% require manual testing: keyboard navigation flow, screen reader experience (using NVDA, JAWS, or VoiceOver), focus management in dynamic content, and cognitive load assessment.

Accessibility is not optional. In many jurisdictions (ADA in the US, EAA in the EU), inaccessible software can result in lawsuits. Beyond compliance, accessible design improves usability for everyone. Captions help users in noisy environments. Keyboard navigation helps power users. Good contrast helps users in bright sunlight.

Why Interviewers Ask About This

Accessibility is increasingly a must-test area. Interviewers ask about it to evaluate whether your quality mindset extends beyond functional correctness to inclusive design.

Example Scenario

An axe-core scan of a form reveals that input fields lack associated labels, a color-coded error indicator has insufficient contrast, and a modal dialog traps keyboard focus with no escape mechanism. The QA engineer files three bugs with WCAG references (1.3.1, 1.4.3, 2.1.2) and the fixes are prioritized for the current sprint.

Interview Tip

Mention both automated tools (axe-core, Lighthouse) and manual techniques (screen reader testing, keyboard navigation). Name specific WCAG success criteria rather than speaking generically about "accessibility."

Related Terms

Explore related glossary terms to deepen your understanding.

Visual Regression TestingVisual regression testing is the practice of capturing screenshots or visual snapshots of UI components or pages and comparing them against approved baselines to detect unintended visual changes.
Quality GatesQuality gates are checkpoints in the software delivery process where predefined quality criteria must be met before work can proceed to the next stage, enforcing minimum standards at each phase.
Acceptance CriteriaAcceptance criteria are specific, testable conditions that a user story or feature must satisfy to be considered complete and accepted by the product owner.
Definition of DoneThe Definition of Done (DoD) is a shared checklist of quality conditions that every user story, feature, or increment must meet before it can be considered complete, covering aspects like testing, documentation, code review, and deployment readiness.
Performance BudgetA performance budget is a set of measurable limits on web performance metrics (such as page load time, bundle size, or Core Web Vitals) that a team commits to not exceeding, enforced through automated checks.

Related Resources

Dive deeper with these related interview prep pages.

Software Testing InterviewQA Mock Interview PracticeSDET Interview PrepQA Methodology Questions

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Written by Aston Cook, Senior QA EngineerLast updated: March 2026