Audit Types — Quick, Full, and Expert
In this tutorial, you will learn about Audit Types. We cover key concepts, practical examples, and best practices to help you master this topic.
Accessibility audits divide into three types: quick audits use automated tools for a rapid health check, full audits combine automated and manual testing against all WCAG criteria, and expert audits add user testing and deep technical analysis.
What You'll Learn
You will understand when to use each audit type, the effort and cost of each, and how to choose the right approach based on project needs and Compliance requirements.
Why It Matters
Choosing the wrong audit type wastes time or misses critical issues. A quick audit may satisfy a pre-launch check but fails for legal documentation. A full audit is overkill for a Prototype. Matching audit type to context is essential.
Real-World Use
A startup needs a pre-launch accessibility check. They run a quick audit: axe-core scan, basic keyboard test. Results show 8 issues. Post-launch, they schedule a full audit for WCAG compliance documentation before seeking enterprise customers.
Audit Type Selection
flowchart TD
A[Audit Needed] --> B{Requirements?}
B -->|Quick health check| C[Quick Audit]
B -->|Compliance documentation| D[Full Audit]
B -->|Legal defense or VPAT| E[Expert Audit]
C --> F[Automated only, 1-2 hours]
D --> G[Automated + Manual, 2-5 days]
E --> H[Full + User testing, 1-4 weeks]
Understanding Audit Types
A quick audit is like a smoke alarm test -- it checks if obvious problems exist. A full audit is like a home inspection -- it examines everything systematically. An expert audit is like a forensic investigation -- it leaves no stone unturned.
<!-- Quick audit: check for obvious issues -->
<html>
<head><title>Missing language attribute</title></head>
<body>
<!-- Quick audit flags: no lang attribute, missing alt text -->
<img src="logo.png">
<button onclick="submit()">Go</button>
</body>
</html>
/* Full audit: evaluate all CSS for contrast and focus */
*:focus { outline: none; } /* Full audit flags this */
.button { background: #ddd; color: #666; } /* Full audit checks contrast */
// Expert audit: deep technical review
// Expert auditor checks: custom widget keyboard handling,
// focus management in SPA routing, dynamic content announcements
function CustomSlider() {
// Expert audit verifies arrow key handling, home/end keys,
// screen reader value announcements, focus trapping
}
Common Mistakes
- Commissioning a quick audit when legal compliance documentation is needed
- Paying for an expert audit on a prototype that will change
- Not defining the audit type in the statement of work
- Assuming quick audit results represent full compliance
- Skipping manual review in quick audits
- Not documenting audit type and scope limitations
- Using the wrong audit type for stakeholder reporting needs
Practice and Challenge
Practice 1: Determine the audit type needed for a personal blog. Practice 2: Determine the audit type needed for a healthcare portal. Practice 3: Create a comparison table of the three audit types. Practice 4: Write a scope statement for a full audit of a 50-page site. Practice 5: Estimate the cost and timeline for each audit type.
Challenge: Given a company with three products (a marketing site, a SaaS dashboard, and a mobile app), recommend the appropriate audit type for each, justify your choice, and create a combined audit schedule that covers all three products within budget.
FAQ
Mini Project
Create an audit type decision matrix for 10 different scenarios: personal blog, e-commerce site, banking app, government portal, SaaS dashboard, marketing site, mobile app, internal tool, prototype, and legacy system. For each, recommend the audit type and justify your choice.
What's Next
Defining Audit Scope covers how to define the scope of an accessibility audit.
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