Compatibility Tests

Explore this article to learn more about creating Compatibility Tests on the Fable platform: 

Illustration: five users

Test across different devices and browsers. Five testers will complete a task while identifying accessibility issues.

What is a Compatibility Test and when to use one?

A Compatibility Test allows you to test compatibility and accessibility on important user journeys within your digital properties across assistive technologies, devices and browsers. You’re engaging a diverse team of assistive technology users, each of whom is uniquely qualified to support your accessibility efforts. 

You should create a Compatibility Test if you are looking to: 

  • Test specific tasks and flows on a website, mobile or software application

  • Gather detailed feedback from multiple assistive technology users

  • Identify compatibility issues with specific browsers, devices and assistive technologies

  • Get an overall sense of the user experience and if it’s working well for end users

  • Validate remediation efforts to a previously tested Compatibility Test

 How to create a Compatibility Test?

Like any request, start by selecting ‘Create’ from the Fable platform. Select an existing Project, or create a new one – every request must be assigned to a Project. Select ‘Compatibility Test’ and you’ll be on your way!

To request a Compatibility Test you’ll need information on the the following:

  • Testing audience: Who do you want feedback from? Choose from a preset audience, or create your own custom audience if you have a specific testing matrix that you use.
    • Mixed users includes three screen reader, one alternative navigation, and one screen magnification user.
    • Custom audience allows you to specify all five of your tester configurations, including AT type, device, browser and OS. 
  • Credentials and access: How will your participant access your product? This includes any special instructions or existing environments.
  • Task flow: What will your participant be interacting with? This includes providing a single starting point, or URL, where you’ll want the tester to begin.

Don’t have all of this information yet? No problem! You can always exit and save your Compatibility Test request as a draft at any point during the process.

What type of feedback can I expect?

Compatibility Tests will provide you with a combination of qualitative and quantitative feedback, and the flexibility to consume it in a way that works best for you and your team(s). Fable’s feedback dashboard makes it easy to:

  • Visualize: Charts and graphs display tester results in areas like overall experience and task completion rates.

  • Organize: Group your data in different ways including by user journey step, or by individual tester.

  • Prioritize: Use metrics likes Task Completion, number of issues, and Accessibility Rating to inform your prioritization efforts

  • Export: Share your results with the people who need to see them.

Tips and best practices

When creating a Compatibility Test on Fable, the type of feedback you get can often depend on the instructions you give in your task flow. Instructions should be specific enough that you know every tester will be completing the same task in the same way, but not so specific that testers have to follow your instructions to a degree that they aren’t able to concentrate on what the overall experience of using your website is like.  

It’s a delicate balance, we know.  But at Fable, we are happy to work with you to get the hang of writing instructions that will get you the testing you need, and the most valuable feedback possible. For more tips on user journeys, check out this article, written collaboratively by Fable’s Community, about how to write a great task flow from a tester’s perspective.