More time for tesing:
HowWIENFLUSS works more efficient with CAAT

If Verena Lenes discovers insufficient contrast during an audit today, she simply smiles, clicks on her predefined text snippets in CAAT, and inserts the appropriate one.

It wasn’t always this way.

Early in her career as a tester at the web agency WIENFLUSS, the process involved spreadsheets and reports in office documents that required laborious manual maintenance and—above all—manual reformatting. It was a tedious, time-consuming task that had little to do with actual testing. On top of that, working with individual files made collaboration difficult: only one person could work on a file at a time. If the connection from a home office was poor, everyone had to download the file locally; if two people did this simultaneously, merging the changes was prone to errors.

By the early 2020s, when practically everyone was working remotely, a suspicion turned into certainty: things couldn't go on like this.

That was exactly when the demo for CAAT came along.

The CAAT testing platform assists accessibility professionals in conducting  audits for websites, web applications, and mobile apps. Developed by practitioners for practitioners, CAAT offers numerous features designed to streamline workflows. This is why Verena Lenes and her team were quickly won over.

Only one aspect was met with skepticism: the evaluation system uses just two ratings—"pass" and "fail." The testing team was accustomed to using multiple levels of grading and initially found this binary approach too restrictive. However, they soon adapted and now appreciate the clarity it brings to their reports.

Every tester has their own way of working. One person might go through the WCAG criteria one by one, while another examines a page and checks all relevant criteria at once. CAAT supports both approaches, allowing everyone to work in the way that suits them best. Ultimately, the result is a consistent report from the entire team.

Since the introduction of CAAT 2022, the platform has proven its worth and been wholeheartedly embraced by the entire team. This is due to practical features that allow testers to focus on the testing itself.

Using the test catalogs—which include common guidelines and standards—testers select the relevant checkpoints while simultaneously deselecting those that do not apply.

Using CAAT results in more understandable audit reports for clients. Previously, formatting screenshots was time-consuming, so testers used them sparingly.

With CAAT, this is no longer an issue. Screenshots with alt text are entered into the system, and CAAT automatically places them in the report. Testers at WIENFLUSS now use the time saved on formatting to provide clients with better descriptions of errors and solutions.

The personal highlight of Verena Lenes is the use of reusable text modules. Explanations regarding typical issues—such as insufficient contrast—can be carefully drafted once and then reused across all reports. However, testers should create them systematically; with a large number of modules that must be assigned individually to each audit checklist, things can quickly become cluttered and confusing.

CAAT is a dynamic tool that constantly evolves to meet the needs of auditors. Ideas for new features come from the CAAT team, the testers and their clients. One example: Because clients of WIENFLUSS found it difficult to track issues due to inconsistent naming conventions, the CAAT developers introduced unique identification numbers. However, it is the exception for the WIENFLUSS team to request new features. Generally, they review the change reports and adopt whatever makes their work easier.

At WIENFLUSS, they wouldn't want to do without CAAT anymore. The audit checklists make it easy to select the checkpoints to be tested. Audit reports are simple to generate and can be sent directly to the client without any need for formatting. And the text modules are an indispensable time-saver when dealing with recurring errors.

Does she recommend the tool to others?