preference-audit

User Preference Audit

Test whether an existing interface correctly detects and responds to user preferences — the accessibility settings people have deliberately chosen.

Process

Step 1: Test Motion Preferences

Using user-preference-respect, enable prefers-reduced-motion and navigate the entire interface. Document:

• Animations that continue playing
• Transitions that still slide or fade
• Parallax effects that remain active
• Autoplay video or carousels that don't stop
• Any motion that serves no functional purpose

Step 2: Test Contrast and Colour Preferences

Enable prefers-contrast (more) and forced-colors mode. Using user-preference-respect and colour-independence, document:

• Elements that become invisible or indistinguishable
• Focus indicators that disappear
• Interactive elements that lose their borders
• Colour-only status indicators that become meaningless
• Charts or visualisations that become unreadable

Step 3: Test Colour Scheme

Switch between light and dark modes. Document:

• Content that becomes illegible in one mode
• Images or icons that don't adapt
• Hardcoded colours that clash with the theme
• Contrast failures specific to one mode

Step 4: Test Text Scaling and Zoom

Using responsive-accessibility, test at 200% browser zoom and with system font size at maximum. Document:

• Text that overflows or gets clipped
• Layouts that break or overlap
• Horizontal scrolling that appears
• Fixed-height containers that truncate content
• Interactive elements that become unreachable

Step 5: Test Combinations

Test realistic combinations:

• Dark mode + high contrast + reduced motion
• 200% zoom + large system font
• Forced colours + reduced motion

Document any failures that only appear in combination.

Output

Deliver an audit report:

1. Summary — which preferences are respected, which are ignored
2. Preference-by-preference findings — specific failures for each
3. Combination failures — issues that appear only when multiple preferences are active
4. Fix list — prioritised by severity and number of users affected

Severity definitions:

• Critical — preference is completely ignored, causing harm or blocking access
• Major — preference is partially respected, significant gaps remain
• Minor — preference is mostly respected, edge cases need fixing