DEVOPSdigest

Deque Systems announced the availability of axe DevTools Pro.

Built upon the popular free axe browser extension, axe DevTools Pro is a step forward for digital equality, enabling dev teams to address accessibility at the source, using groundbreaking human and machine learning technology.

Developers and novices alike can use axe DevTools Pro to run automated and Intelligent Guided Tests on their websites and applications, which directly address the core blockages preventing people with disabilities from enjoying all the web has to offer. Axe DevTools Pro can identify 76 to 84 percent of accessibility issues on a webpage, a broad range of options for detecting and remediating accessibility problems.

Over 19,000 developers and other users provided input to refine axe DevTools Pro during the 16-month beta period. Many of these suggestions have already been implemented.

“With little effort or expertise, developers can now make meaningful change by significantly improving the user experience of their apps. By making your app accessible to people with disabilities, you’re shipping cleaner code and mitigating risk. Axe DevTools Pro was built to expand the impact developers can make, without disrupting existing processes,” says Dylan Barrell, CTO of Deque Systems. “With superior automation and guided tests, even novices can now conduct robust accessibility testing and remediation.”

Utilizing Deque’s industry-standard open source axe accessibility rules engine and machine learning, axe DevTools Pro’s Intelligent Guided Tests are based on simple question-and-answer interactions that don’t require accessibility expertise. Axe DevTools Pro walks developers through inspections of their websites and applications, allowing scans of full or partial pages, then produces and saves full reports highlighting areas for optimization.

“Axe DevTools is designed to help developers fix issues at the core while they code, the most agile method to resolve accessibility blockers as well as avoid future legal troubles,” says Preety Kumar, CEO of Deque Systems. “This is critical to avoiding re-work and helping speed the DevOps lifecycle while ensuring websites are usable to the more than 1 billion people in the world living with some form of disability who may rely on assistive technologies to navigate the Internet.”