MEMORANDUM:
TO: GUI Evaluators and Other Interested Parties
FROM: David Andrews
RE: Evaluation of GUI Access Products
DATE: July 12, 1994
As you know, I have asked for input on standards for
evaluating access products used with graphically oriented
operating systems such as Microsoft Windows and OS/2. I have
circulated preliminary guidelines and asked for input.
Below is the results of this work. I have incorporated your
and my ideas into the proposed guidelines. If anyone has any
suggestions, or if I have missed anything, this is your last
chance to have input. Please write, e-mail, or call me as soon
as possible. If I don't hear from anyone, then this is what
Frank DiPalermo, and the others of us involved with this aspect
of the screen review evaluations will use.
1. General description: How does the program work? How are
commands laid out? What is the logic? Description?
2. What speech synthesizers are supported? Is indexing
supported and how well does it work? Does it shut up the
synthesizer efficiently and quickly? Does it use the SSIL
drivers from Arkenstone or another system? Does it support
standard "sound cards" such as the Sound Blaster?
3. Requirements: Are there any hardware and/or software
requirements? Version of DOS, etc.? Is a DOS-based screen
review program required?
4. Installation: How do you install it? Is it easy? Do you
need sighted assistance? Can you do it if you don't already have
some speech up? Do you need to have Microsoft Windows pre-
installed? Can you use the access package to install Windows?
5. Memory requirements: How much memory does it take? Can it
be moved high? Can it run in expanded or extended memory? Can
you reduce the memory footprint? Can you remove it from memory?
This question may be partially irrelevant under Windows, as
Windows handles much memory stuff automatically. However, it may
not completely be so, as the screen review program may affect
your DOS use. Also, does the package use large amounts of memory
so that you would want to increase available memory over the
recommended minimums for OS/2, Windows 3.1, or the Mac?
6. Navigation: How do you navigate around the screen? Discuss
reading units, character, word, sentence, line, paragraph,
screen, entire document, etc. Review Mode? Audio cursor? Can
you route the real cursor or the review/audio cursor? How do you
move the mouse pointer and click the mouse? how do you find the
pointer or does the software ignore it? can you use the real
mouse? If so, what aids are provided to assist you and how do
they work?
7. Settings: How do you set things: speech rate, tone, pitch,
punctuation level, capitalization alert, etc.?
8. Configuring: Do you need to configure? How do you do it?
How difficult is it? How do you define windows, silent areas,
monitors etc.? How does it handle unknown icons and other
unknown graphical objects? How you define these unknown objects?
How can or do you configure for Windows applications?
9. Monitoring: Can it monitor different areas of the screen and
notify you of changes? How do you set it up? How well does it
work? What options are there, beeping, chaining windows, etc.?
Some of this is going to be unimportant in Windows. However,
additions could include, does it read dialog boxes automatically,
other messages, wizards and other text items that appear on the
screen at different places?
10. Alternative cursors: Can the program track an alternate
cursor, highlight bar, ASCII character, soft cursor, etc.? How
do you set it up? How well does it work? How well does it track
the Mouse Pointer, Insertion Bar, other graphical mouse pointers?
11. Attributes: How do you identify attributes: background and
foreground color, extended ASCII characters, highlighted text,
bold and/or underlined text, font size and appearance, grayed out
objects, etc.? How can you use this information? How much of it
is important in Windows and other GUI's?
12. Searching: Can you search for things on the screen,
character strings, attributes, icons, mouse pointers, etc.? How
well does it work? What can you do with it?
13. Keyboard: How is the key response? Are there keyboard
conflicts and how can you get around them? Is there a pass-
through key? Can you tell if the caps lock key is down? Can you
find out the status of other toggle keys? Do the Windows
keyboard commands all work. Are there keyboard provisions for
mouse movements, and how do they work? If the application
requires a mouse, what can be done?
14. Macros: Does the program have built-in macro capability?
If so, describe. Is there provision for macros from an external
program?
15. Pre-defined configurations: Does the program come with pre-
defined configurations for popular software packages? If so, how
many and what? Are there other configurations available via the
company, dealers, or a BBS? How well do any available
configurations work? Are there configurations available for DOS,
Windows and/or other programs from other operating systems?
16. Autoloading: Does the program autoload configurations? If
so, how does it work, and how well does it work? If not, what
other provision is there?
17. Pronunciation: Can you change how things are pronounced?
Is there an exceptions dictionary? If so, how does it work, and
how well does it work?
18. Responsiveness: How responsive is the software? Does it
require a fast machine? Does it eat up lots of CPU cycles? Does
it adversely affect other applications? How well does it handle
DOS and Windows sessions simultaneously?
19. DOS Sessions: How does the program work with DOS
applications? Do you have to or need to load a DOS screen reader
first? Does it support full DOS applications itself? Does it
work with DOS stuff without loading Windows?
20. Applications: How well does the access product work with
the leading Windows software? How well does it work with
applications for which there is not a specific configuration?
Does it keep the focus, or does it ever get lost? Does it work
with the Windows and/or OS/2 applets?
21. Stability: some of the Microsoft Windows access products
have problems with stability. does the product under question
lock up? If so, can you tell when, how and/or why?
22. Support for sighted people: Do the menus appear on the
screen, or just in speech? How well does it help a sighted
assistant, highlighting review cursor, etc.? Can it easily be
shut up if a sighted person must use your computer? If the
menus, dialogues, etc. appear on screen do they look and act like
standard Windows objects, like DOS sessions, or what?
23. Documentation: How is the documentation? What formats does
it come in? How good is it? Is on-line documentation only
available once you have speech and/or Windows up and running?
24. On-line help: Is there on-line help? How does it work?
How good is it? Is it context sensitive?
25. Technical support: Is there technical support and help
available from the company? Is it toll-free? How good is it?
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