3.8 Purpose of numbers within the Contact Type filter is unclear (M)

3.8.1 WCAG 2.4.6 (AA) - Desktop, Mobile, iPad

On the Contact History page, users are given the option to search for specific results using the Filter functionality. When filtering by Contact Type, the number of results that each contact type (Appointment, Custody, Prison Offender Manager etc.) will return are displayed within parenthesis.

The purpose of these numbers is not immediately obvious—users may not realise that they stand for the number of results under each Contact Type. This information is even more ambiguous for screen reader users: screen readers announce the name and the corresponding number without providing any further details, for instance “Custody two button collapsed.”

This could result in a confusing experience for all users.

FIGURE 3.9: Example of a Contact Type with the number of results highlighted on the Contact History page

3.8.2 Recommendation

Make the purpose of these numbers clearer by rewording the element. For example, the checkbox could be reworded to ‘Drug Test Appointment (returns 1 result)’.

Another option for sighted users would be to have an instruction at the top stating that the numbers within the parenthesis represent the number of search results that option would return. This information could then be provided programmatically to screen reader users using a visually-hidden span or an aria-label.

Alternatively, just remove these numbers.

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