一句话:通过全球110名移动开发者的混合方法调查,揭示iOS/Android无障碍实践差异及经验相关挑战。
论文关注移动应用无障碍在实际开发中的落地问题。既有研究多指出无障碍缺陷和开发者困难,但缺少跨平台、全球代表性的实践洞察。作者对43个国家的110名移动应用开发者开展混合方法调查,分析平台生态(iOS vs. Android)和开发经验如何影响无障碍实践。结果显示,开发者普遍认可无障碍重要性,却常依赖平台特定指南,且合规测试多发生在开发后期;主要实现文本相关功能,并受API限制和组织约束困扰。通过系统跨平台比较,论文识别出新的平台特定障碍,并揭示不同经验水平开发者的实践差异,为利益相关者提供可操作建议。
As mobile applications (apps) become ubiquitous in everyday life, it is crucial for developers to prioritize accessibility for users with diverse abilities. While previous research has identified widespread accessibility issues and raised awareness of developer challenges, there remains a lack of cross-platform, globally representative insights into how practitioners approach accessibility in practice. This paper presents findings from a mixed-methods survey of 110 mobile app developers across 43 countries, examining how platform ecosystems (iOS vs. Android) and developer experience shape accessibility practices. Results show that while developers recognize the importance of accessibility, they often rely on platform-specific guidelines and typically perform compliance testing late in the development process. Developers primarily implement text-focused features while struggling with API limitations and organizational constraints. Through systematic cross-platform comparison, we identify novel platform-specific barriers and demonstrate how accessibility practices differ across developer experience levels. Our findings offer new insights into the challenges of achieving accessibility in practice and provide actionable steps for various stakeholders to promote more consistent and inclusive app development.