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Development Assistant ​

The Development Assistant is an advanced QualiBooth tool designed to help developers quickly detect, understand, and resolve accessibility issues directly within the context of the page they are working on. It combines automated scanning, detailed guidance, and visual highlighting to make the accessibility remediation process efficient and precise.

Rules Configuration ​

Before running a scan, you can choose which accessibility standards and best practices to check against.

The Rules Configuration panel includes four main options:

  • WCAG 2.1 AA (Enabled by default) – The most widely required accessibility standard in many regions. Includes all rules from previous WCAG versions (2.0 and 2.1 A/AA), making it the core baseline for compliance.
  • Best Practices (Enabled by default) – Important additional checks that improve usability and accessibility beyond the formal WCAG requirements.
  • WCAG 2.X AAA – Adds advanced AAA-level rules for a higher accessibility standard, not mandatory in most regions.
  • WCAG 2.2 AA – The latest standard, not yet mandatory in most jurisdictions, but recommended for future readiness.

You can fine-tune which individual rules to run. The counter under Fine Tuning shows how many rules are currently enabled out of the total available.

Performing a Scan ​

  1. Accessing the Development Assistant
  • From an issue detail page, directly via the main menu or from the Development Assistant icon in My Sites.
  • When opened from the main menu or My Sites, a modal appears showing a confirmation message such as:

“You are about to open Development Assistant with this site: https://www.example.com/”

  • This URL is based on the home path defined for the site.
  • The home path can be changed by navigating to Edit Site and setting the desired home path.
  • Once updated, the next time you open the Development Assistant for that site from the main menu or from the Development Assistant icon in My Sites, it will launch with the predefined home path instead of the default root URL.
  • You also have the option to enter a different path directly in the modal before launching, if you want to scan a specific page instead.
  • When accessed from Reports, the Development Assistant automatically opens for the exact URL associated with the selected report.
  • The tool opens alongside your site, ready to scan the page currently in view.
  1. Initiating the Scan
  • Click Scan the page to start the analysis.
  • The scan runs using the selected rules and produces a detailed report.
  1. Scan Results Overview
  • Accessibility Score – Overall compliance score for the scanned page.
  • Lawsuit Risk – Estimated legal exposure level based on detected issues.
  • Violations List – All identified issues, grouped by severity:
    • Critical (Red) – High-impact accessibility barriers.
    • High (Orange) – Significant issues that should be fixed promptly.
    • Medium (Yellow) – Moderate issues affecting some users.
    • Low (Green) – Minor improvements and optimizations.

Filtering and Reviewing Issues ​

  • Filter by Severity – Use the severity toggles to display only issues of a certain priority.
  • Expand Issue Details – Clicking an issue shows:
    • Issue description – Clear explanation of the accessibility problem.
    • How to fix – Step-by-step remediation guidance for developers.
    • Tags & References – Relevant WCAG success criteria and categories.
  • Locate Button – Highlights the exact element on the page where the issue occurs, making it easy to find and test in context.

Guided Resolution ​

For each detected issue, the Development Assistant provides:

  • On-page Highlighting – See the element in its real position and context.
  • Actionable Fix Instructions – Plain-language advice for resolving the problem while ensuring compliance with WCAG and best practices.
  • Contextual Awareness – Review issues in both desktop and mobile resolutions by switching views at the top of the panel.

Benefits of Using the Development Assistant ​

  • Faster Debugging – No need to switch between reports and code blindly — see and fix in context.
  • Higher Accuracy – Element-level location ensures you are fixing the right issue.
  • Future Readiness – Support for WCAG 2.2 AA and AAA rules enables early adoption of upcoming standards.
  • Compliance Confidence – Built-in lawsuit risk indicator and best practice checks help protect against legal exposure.

By integrating the Development Assistant into your workflow, you can quickly identify, locate, and fix accessibility issues while working directly on your site. This hands-on, context-driven approach not only improves compliance but also creates a more inclusive experience for all users.