9 Accessible UA for a mobile application

What this clause covers

The public contents gives accessibility its own clause, which is a stronger signal than a sentence inside the design clause. It has a general statement and one specific subclause on the text description of an image. That specific duty is the most concrete accessibility requirement visible in the public record, and it lands on the illustrations and screenshots that clause 7.4 already brings into the help. The general subclause is likely to carry the wider expectation: the help must be perceivable, operable and understandable with the assistive technology people actually use. The draft does not name a test method in the free preview, and this site does not invent one. Our preparation uses WCAG 2.2 AA as a working benchmark, labelled as ours, not as a claim about the draft.

The headings in this clause

• 9.1 General
• 9.2 Text description of an image

What to put in place before publication

1. Inventory every image, screenshot, icon and video in the help and record whether it carries meaning.
2. Write a text description for each informative image that says what the image shows and why it matters.
3. Mark decorative images as decorative, so a screen reader can skip them.
4. Test the help with a screen reader, large text and a keyboard or switch control, on a real device.
5. Caption and transcribe video, and check that the player controls are reachable.
6. Use WCAG 2.2 AA as the working benchmark, and label it as the team's benchmark rather than a requirement of the draft.

Evidence to keep

Where teams usually fall short

• Alt text is a file name such as screen1.png, or a duplicate of the caption.
• The help is tested with a screen reader on a desktop browser only.
• A video is published with no captions because it was made for a social channel.

What happens next

At FDIS, read clause 9 in full and replace the working benchmark with the published expectation where the text is more specific. Keep the WCAG note, because a benchmark is still useful beside a requirement.