S.G
Back to Projects

Project Record

Playwright A11y Audit Automation Tool

Accelerating accessibility POCs through intelligent test automation

  • Playwright
  • Accessibility Testing
  • axe-core
  • WCAG 2.2
  • Section 508
  • Test Automation
  • Fixture Pattern
  • Internal Tooling
Visual Context

Primary Result

Minutes

vs. days for A11y audit delivery

Primary Stack

Playwright

Detailed from the project record below.

01

The Challenge

Our sales and delivery teams faced a recurring bottleneck: prospects requesting accessibility audits for POC evaluation. The traditional approach required staffing manual testers to conduct WCAG compliance reviews—a time-consuming process that delayed deal cycles and stretched QA resources thin.

The core problem: We needed a way to quickly demonstrate A11y capabilities and deliver preliminary audit reports without dedicating full manual testing teams to every prospect engagement.

02

My Approach

I built a Playwright-based A11y automation framework from scratch, designed for speed and accuracy, with direct axe-core integration and multi-format reporting capabilities.

  1. 01

    Direct axe-core Integration

    Imported axe-core library directly (not Playwright's wrapper) to preserve result validity and granular rule control, maintaining full access to axe-core's extensive rule catalog without translation layer limitations.

  2. 02

    Custom A11y-helper Module

    Created a reusable helper that accepts any axe-core rule ID or best practice, enabling targeted scanning for specific WCAG 2.2 (Level A/AA) and Section 508 requirements, using fixture-based pattern for clean, maintainable test organization.

  3. 03

    Multi-URL Batch Scanning

    Accepts URL sets for comprehensive site audits, automatically scans each page against configured rule sets, and generates consolidated results across entire applications.

  4. 04

    Triple-output Reporting

    Generates markdown summary for high-level stakeholder review, HTML report with screenshots for detailed violation evidence and remediation suggestions, and Allure reports for internal platform compliance tracking and trend analysis.

03

Results & Impact

The automation tool transformed how the organization approaches accessibility POCs, delivering both business and technical value:

vs. days for A11y audit delivery
Minutes
Report formats (Markdown, HTML, Allure)
3
Eliminated manual tester staffing delays
100%
04

Key Learnings

  • Library Choice Matters

    Using axe-core directly instead of abstraction layers preserved critical result accuracy and gave us granular control over rule sets and reporting.

  • Design for Reusability

    The A11y-helper pattern makes extending rule coverage trivial as standards evolve (WCAG 2.2 → 3.0), ensuring the tool remains relevant as accessibility standards advance.

  • Multiple Audiences Need Different Artifacts

    Markdown for execs, HTML+screenshots for devs, Allure for internal tracking—one tool, three perspectives. This multi-format approach ensures each stakeholder gets the information they need in their preferred format.