Deque introduces three new features to advance accessibility test automation
Automation is the key to expanding digital accessibility across the globe. Today, we’re excited to announce three new features for the axe DevTools Extension that are pushing the boundaries of test automation. These features will accelerate issue tracking, make accessibility testing faster with automated workflows, and expand the test automation issue coverage.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial to try out the new features now, or register for our webinar to learn more.
Jira integration: Instantly add accessibility issues to Jira
Your development teams and accessibility program managers need to track issues directly in systems like Jira, but manual data transfer adds unnecessary work, slows remediation, and disrupts ticket standardization.
The new Jira integration allows your teams to instantly send accessibility issues directly from the axe DevTools Extension to Jira. This integration keeps accessibility issues in sync with other development tasks, reducing manual work, helping to track progress, and speeding up remediation.
This is just the beginning—we have additional integrations planned to enhance collaboration between your development and accessibility teams further, driving productivity and smoother workflows.
Request Early Access to the new Jira integration
Auto replay: Turn your Intelligent Guided Tests into automated workflows
Creating accessible software can be complex and time-consuming. That’s why the axe DevTools Extension was developed to provide 80% or more of accessibility testing coverage with automated testing and semi-automated Intelligent Guided Tests (IGTs).
When you run an IGT for the first time, we streamline the manual testing process by asking simple questions about your application and completing complex accessibility checks. This helps your dev teams catch accessibility issues early. However, configuring the IGT does take time. Now, we’re introducing even more automation to make iterations fast and easy.
Auto replay transforms your semi-automated IGT into a fully automated workflow, boosting efficiency and saving you time as you iterate—testing and retesting your webpage for accessibility issues until they’re fixed.
Once you’ve completed an IGT, auto replay automatically retests the page or partial page, applies your initial answers, and detects any changes—allowing the test to run faster while only asking additional questions if follow-up information is needed. The IGT will then provide updated test results based on the latest version of your webpage.
Watch a video of auto replay in action:
Keyboard trap detection: Automatically identify and eliminate blockers on your webpages
Keyboard traps prevent users who navigate with a keyboard from accessing and interacting with webpages. When users become “trapped” while navigating with the tab key, they are prevented from moving forward or backward in the interface. From an accessibility perspective, keyboard traps are critical blockers that must be urgently addressed.
Until now, catching keyboard traps required costly and time-consuming manual testing by an accessibility expert. If issues made it to production, the impact was even more significant—not only frustrating users who couldn’t complete their tasks but also leading to higher remediation costs, potentially even requiring code rollbacks.
Coming next week, Deque will make keyboard trap detection available in the keyboard IGT. Your dev teams will be able to easily identify and remove keyboard traps, such as getting stuck in a search form field or creating tab indents instead of navigating out of a text field. This semi-automated workflow will enable your teams to fix these critical issues without needing accessibility experts, lowering costs and boosting productivity.
Deque continues to innovate in the field of web accessibility, making it easier for dev teams to create inclusive and accessible digital experiences. With the introduction of our Jira integration, auto replay, and automated keyboard trap detection, your teams can become more efficient and reduce their reliance on manual testing.
Try these new features today with a 14-day free trial and take a step toward making the web more accessible for everyone.
