Exploring Accessibility Trends and Challenges in Mobile App Development: A Study of Stack Overflow Questions
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This presentation examines accessibility trends and challenges in mobile app development through an analysis of Stack Overflow questions. The researchers analyzed 3,022 questions over a 15-year period, focusing on three key areas: growth patterns, question characteristics, and development challenges. The study revealed that accessibility-related questions peaked in 2016 with 305 questions. Question engagement metrics showed strong community participation, with 73% of questions receiving answers and a median response time of 1.3 days. Through topic modeling and manual review, seven major challenge areas were identified that developers face: screen readers and navigation, UI elements and interactions, touch gestures, multilingual support, dynamic text handling, custom Android accessibility services, and testing/automation. Presented at: The 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '25) Date of Conference: Jan 2025 Conference Location: Waikoloa, Hawaii, United States
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Exploring Accessibility Trends and Challenges in Mobile App Development: A Study of Stack Overflow Questions
- 1. Exploring Accessibility Trends and Challenges in Mobile App Development: A Study of Stack Overflow Questions Amila Indika, Christopher Lee, Haochen Wang, Justin Lisoway, Anthony Peruma, Rick Kazman H a w a i i I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n S y s t e m S c i e n c e s J a n u a r y 2 0 2 5 | W a i k o l o a , H a w a i i
- 2. Apps for everything 4+ million apps on major app stores & $400+ billion in app revenue Ease of App Development Tech advancements: almost anyone can create an app! Why Study Mobile App Security? Digital inclusion 1.3 billion people with disabilities globally
- 3. Why Study Mobile App Security on Stack Overflow? Developer Community 20M+ questions, answers, and user -- Stack Overflow represents actual developer needs Research Gap Limited understanding of real-world mobile accessibility challenges developers face
- 4. Research Goals Understand key trends, topics, and challenges in incorporating accessibility features into mobile apps RQ1: Growth How have mobile app accessibility questions on Stack Overflow grown over the years? RQ2: Characteristics What are the characteristics of mobile app accessibility questions on Stack Overflow? RQ3: Challenges What are the challenges associated with mobile app accessibility development?
- 5. Study Design
- 6. Tag Query Title Query Source Dataset Data Extraction Data Analysis Statistical Analysis Topic Modeling Manual Review Search keywords: android, ios, accessibilityterms
- 7. Results
- 9. RQ1: Yearly Growth Median: 237 questions/year
- 10. RQ2: Engagement Characteristics Views Per Question 714 Score Per Question 01 Answer(s) Per Question 01 Time to First Response 1.3d Questions Per User 01
- 11. RQ2: Popular Accessibility Tags
- 12. RQ3: Accessibility Challenges What accessibility challenges do mobile developers face? Topic Analysis 7accessibility categories identified through topic modeling Sample Size 411 questions manually reviewed for categorization
- 13. RQ3: Accessibility Challenges Accessibility Topics • VoiceOver & TalkBack integration • Data visualization accessibility • TableViews & CollectionViews navigation • Nested views handling Screen Readers and Navigation • Text field updates • Button accessibility • Focus management • Error announcements UI Elements and Interactions • Multiple finger gestures • Swipe handling • Click actions • Long press detection Touch Gestures and User Interaction • Multiple language support • Text-to-Speech issues • Non-standard text handling • Language switching Multilingual & Text Support • Font size adjustments • Dynamic Type support • Layout adaptations • Text scaling Dynamic Text in UI Design • Configuration & deployment • Permission management • Brand/model specific issues • Service lifecycle handling Custom Android Accessibility Services • Accessibility Inspector usage • Test automation • Cross-platform validation • UI testing frameworks Testing and Automation
- 14. Conclusion
- 15. Developers Organizations Researchers Practical Implications • Early Planning • Comprehensive Testing • Regular Training • Accessibility-First Culture • Team Training • Tool Investment • Pattern Analysis • Best Practices • Tool Development Educators • Curriculum Updates • Practical/Real-world Projects • Industry Collaboration Tool Vendors • Integration Support • Cross-platform Solutions • Documentation
- 16. Threats To Validity Data Source Limitation Limited to Stack Overflow, may not fully represent broader mobile app development landscape Query Constraints Limited to Android and iOS questions, may miss other relevant posts Version Analysis Only most recent versions of questions analyzed, missing historical context Sample Review Manual review used statistically significant sample, but may miss important data points
- 17. ● Analyzed 15 years of mobile accessibility questions on Stack Overflow (3,022 questions) ● Growth Patterns (RQ1) ○ Peak in 2016 with 305 questions ○ Recent decline suggests maturity ○ Platform updates drive question patterns ● Question Characteristics (RQ2) ○ 73% questions receive answers ○ Median response time: 1.3 days ○ High community engagement ● Development Challenges (RQ3) ○ 7 specific areas Conclusion
- 18. Thank You!