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The World Health Organization estimates that around 1.3 billion people worldwide are affected by some form of impairment. Ensuring accessibility of mobile applications has become imperative to meet the requirements of this group. Mobile accessibility involves the process of making mobile applications more inclusive for individuals with disabilities using mobile devices. This paper investigates the strong need for effective methodologies to evaluate the accessibility of mobile applications, particularly with the recent implementation of the Web Accessibility Directive in Europe. By reviewing existing research, analyzing monitoring reports from European Union Member States, and conducting interviews with mobile accessibility evaluators, this study identifies limitations in current evaluation methodologies and provides some insights into the challenges faced by evaluators. The findings reveal that there is no universally adopted methodology for evaluating the accessibility of mobile applications. Evaluators either adapt existing methodologies designed for web accessibility or develop their own approaches. The absence of specific guidelines for mobile accessibility poses a challenge, with evaluators often having to interpret web-focused documents. The lack of comprehensive automated tools for mobile accessibility evaluation further complicates the process. Through this research, it is anticipated that improvements in mobile application accessibility evaluations will contribute to creating more inclusive mobile experiences for all individuals.

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Abstract