SoK: Detection and Repair of Accessibility Issues

TL;DR

This paper introduces the AIA framework, creating a comprehensive accessibility issue taxonomy and analyzing detection and repair tools and datasets, revealing significant gaps in coverage and capabilities.

Contribution

It develops a detailed taxonomy of 55 accessibility issues and provides an in-depth analysis of existing tools and datasets, highlighting current limitations.

Findings

14 detection tools cover 31 issue types (56.3%)

9 repair tools address 13 issue types (23.6%)

Datasets for detection cover 21 issue types (38.1%)

Abstract

There is an increasing global emphasis on information accessibility, with numerous researchers actively developing automated tools to detect and repair accessibility issues, thereby ensuring that individuals with diverse abilities can independently access software products and services. However, current research still encounters significant challenges in two key areas: the absence of a comprehensive taxonomy of accessibility issue types, and the lack of comprehensive analysis of the capabilities of detection and repair tools, as well as the status of corresponding datasets. To address these challenges, this paper introduces the Accessibility Issue Analysis (AIA) framework. Utilizing this framework, we develop a comprehensive taxonomy that categorizes 55 types of accessibility issues across four pivotal dimensions: Perceivability, Operability, Understandability, and Robustness. This taxonomy has been rigorously recognized through a questionnaire survey (n=130). Building on this taxonomy, we conduct an in-depth analysis of existing detection and repair tools, as well as the status of corresponding datasets. In terms of tools, our findings indicate that 14 detection tools can identify 31 issue types, achieving a 56.3% rate (31/55). Meanwhile, 9 repair tools address just 13 issue types, with a 23.6% rate. In terms of datasets, those for detection tools cover 21 issue types, at a 38.1% coverage rate, whereas those for repair tools cover only 7 types, at a 12.7% coverage rate.