Mobile Flow Analyzer

Evinced Mobile Flow Analyzer (MFA) is a desktop application for both Windows and macOS that helps you analyze, understand, and fix accessibility issues in mobile applications. It works by connecting to a real or simulated Android or iOS device. It will analyze any app you can run on that device and provide comprehensive real-time reporting and insights.

This guide will help you get started.

---

Installation

To use Mobile Flow Analyzer, you need an Evinced account. Contact support@evinced.com if you need help. Use your Evinced account username and password to login to Evinced Product Hub, and then download Mobile Flow Analyzer for your platform.

The following table lists platform and additional tool requirements for supported environments.

Platform	Mobile OS	Device	Connection	Required Tools
macOS	iOS	Simulator	software	XCode
macOS	iOS	Real	wired	XCode
macOS	Android	Emulator	software	Android Studio
macOS	Android	Real	wired	Android Debug Bridge
macOS	Android	Real	wireless	–
Windows	Android	Emulator	software	Android Studio
Windows	Android	Real	wired	Android Debug Bridge
Windows	Android	Real	wireless	–

For further details, refer to the iOS Connection Guide or the Android Connection Guide.

---

User interface

Mobile Flow Analyzer’s user interface is designed to help you connect to a real or simulated mobile device and organize scans and your work in analyzing them in test sessions. When you first log in, Mobile Flow Analyzer prompts you to create one. You may create as many sessions as you need.

Tab list

Mobile Flow Analyzer presents a tab list at the top of its screen. Click the “home” tab to open the session dashboard, which displays the sessions you have created in a grid. Creating or opening a test session adds a tab to the list. Click on a tab to open its panel and place other panels in the background. Click on the “x” in a session tab to close it and remove its tab from the list.

Toolbar

Below the tab list, a toolbar displays one or more icon buttons for taking available actions. The Device Connect action (the mobile device icon) is always available; other tools are only available in test sessions.

Session dashboard

Use the session dashboard to:

• Connect to a real or simulated mobile device by clicking on the device icon at the right end of the toolbar or by creating a new test session
• Create a new test session by clicking Create New Session or the “+” icon in the tablist at the top of the screen
• Open a test session by clicking its card in the session dashboard or, if placed in the background, its tab
• Search for a session by using the Search box above the session cards
• Access user options by using the user menu button above the session cards

Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner of a test session card to open a menu of actions:

• Change session name, app name or version
• Sync session data to Evinced hub
• Export a report
• Remove the session

If you have access to Evinced Platform, clicking on the cloud icon and link in the lower-right corner will open Evinced Platform in your default browser, where you may review and manage synced test sessions.

Clicking elsewhere on a test session card will activate it.

Session workspace

When you create a new test session, Mobile Flow Analyzer assigns a unique name and opens a dialog where you can provide whatever name best serves your purpose. Optionally, you may add the mobile app name and version you plan to test. If you do not set these initially or want to change them later, you can do so in the session’s settings.

When opened, use a session workspace to:

• Scan an app running on a connected device by clicking the Scan button at the lower-left corner

• Select a scan for analysis by clicking its thumbnail in the column at the left of the screen

• View and inspect scanned issues listed in the center column, grouped either by type or element

• View and inspect elements with accessibility issues in the device screenshot at the right of the screen

• Filter issues by type or severity for display, analysis, or reports

• Take actions by using any of the tools in the toolbar:

  • Export Report
  • Session Overview
  • Session Settings
  • Sync Session (when Evinced Platform is available)
  • Device Connection

---

Testing

Open a test session and connect a device (in either order) to begin testing. For help with connecting a device, refer to the “Connect a mobile device” section later in this guide or visit the iOS Connection Guide or the Android Connection Guide for detailed instructions.

Note: Opening a previously saved session will restore its records but will not restore its previous device connection. When analyzing a connected device, scans and reports are saved in the current session, regardless the device previously analyzed in that session.

Scanning

1. On your connected device, simulator or emulator, open the application you wish to test.
2. In Mobile Flow Analyzer, click the “Scan” button to run an accessibility analysis of the screen in view on the mobile device.

Analyzing scan results

The center column displays issues and potential issues found in the scan, organized in accordions by issue type or by element. A section of automatically identified issues is followed by a section of “Semi-Automated” issues. Each of these sections and their list items can collapsed or expanded as you analyze the report.

By default, issues are grouped by type. Use the toggle labeled “Group by” above the issue list to group by element or type.

Tip: Grouping issues by element is a great way to find all issues that need to be fixed for an element.

However the issues are grouped, each displays the following information:

• Issue type information:
  • Issue name, as referenced within the Evinced framework
  • Issue severity: Critical, Serious, Moderate, Minor, or Best Practice
  • Issue criteria with a link to more information in Evinced’s Knowledge Base
  • Issue WCAG Success Criteria with a link to its description on w3.org
• Element information:
  • Element number as displayed in the screenshot
  • Element type
  • Element accessible id and name
  • Details of its non-conformance or possible non-conformance to accessibility criteria

As you hover or click on an issue, the circle with the element number changes color and the element is highlighted in the screenshot. By default, the entire screenshot is displayed. To get a closer look, use the controls above the screenshot to zoom in or out. Scroll to where you want if only a portion is displayed.

In reviewing an issue, you may evaluate it in its context and judge what action to take. Each issue has an Edit or, if it was flagged in a Semi-Automated Test, a Review button. Click the button to review and decide whether it should “Pass” or “Fail.” By default, automated tests have “Fail” selected.

Semi-automated test issues need to be reviewed to be reported as either pass or fail in reports. Both automated and semi-automated issues judged to “Pass” are removed from their respective list and added to a “Non-issues” group after other lists.

Filtering issues

Filter which issues are listed by selecting their Severity or Issue Type in the dropdowns above the scan results. Note that Issue Types are automatically filtered according to their severity when selecting Severity.

Filter selections apply to every scan in the session and are applied when exporting reports.

Adding issues manually

While Mobile Flow Analyzer covers a wide range of accessibility issues, there may be specific organizational concerns that are not automatically detected. If you encounter such an issue, add it to your session by clicking the Create Issue button above the issue list. In the “Create Issue” panel that opens:

1. Select “Issue Type,” “Severity,” and, optionally, related WCAG “Success Criteria.”
2. Describe the issue.
3. Choose a relevant element from the list, which includes all elements in the screen’s accessibility tree. Use Search to help find an element by its type or accessible name. If an element is not selected, the issue will reference the entire screen.
4. Confirm creation by clicking Create button at the bottom of the panel.

---

Reporting and issue tracking

Session overview

Get a summary of results from all scans in the session by clicking the “Session Overview” button in the toolbar at the top of the screen. The overview presents:

• The number of scans, elements analyzed, and issues detected
• A histogram of issues types, grouped by severity
• A chart or list view of the number of issues for each severity
• A list of top issue types

Exporting reports

You can export reports with issue details for all scans in the session in any of three formats: HTML, JSON, or CSV. Exported files are self-contained and easily shared.

Note: If Severity or Issue Type filters are applied, exported reports will contain only issues with the selected criteria.

Sync reports on Evinced Platform

If you have access to Evinced Platform, you can sync test reports on the platform where others in your organization can access them. Synced report contain the same information as HTML exports.

• Click the cloud icon in the toolbar to open the sync dialog. (The icon will show an “x” if not currently synced.)
• Click Sync to upload reports for all session scans to the Evinced Platform.
• Toggle the Auto Sync option on to have reports synced automatically after making changes or making new scans. When Auto Sync is off, Mobile Flow Analyzer will inform you when the session is out of sync.

Evinced Platform lists all synced sessions for your organization. The list is sortable by session name, number of issues reported, number critical, date last modified, or session owner. Click on any session to get its HTML report.

Controls at the top of the page allow searching or filtering by OS, app name, or version. The page includes a usage summary for the most recent month.

Issue tracking

If you have integrated a ticket management system (such as Jira or Azure DevOps) with Mobile Flow Analyzer, you may create a ticket directly from a test session. To do so, first

1. Choose one or more issues by selecting their checkbox.
2. Click the Add to Jira button above the issue list or use the keyboard command (command-shift-T Mac, Ctrl-Shift-T Windows) to open the add-ticket dialog.
3. If not already logged in, enter the URL to your ticket management system (such as https:://my-company.atlassian.net), and log in to your account.
4. Fill in the fields required by your system. Mobile Flow Analyzer will automatically add a description of the issue along with the relevant screenshots.
5. Confirm the ticket by clicking Create.

The ticket number and a link to the ticket will be saved in the session and included in reports.

Exporting and sharing

You can export “view hierarchy” data from one or all scans in a session to a JSON file that can be opened by others in Mobile Flow Analyzer to recreate your session views. (You may be asked for this when contacting support for help.)

In macOS, open Files in the System main menu as shown below. In Windows, open the “hamburger” menu next to the home icon and select Files.

• Select “Export Scan View Hierarchy” to export a view hierarchy JSON for the selected scan.
• Select “Export Session View Hierarchy” to export a view hierarchy JSON will data for all session scans.
• Select “Open file...” to import a previously exported view hierarchy JSON file.

The view hierarchy JSON file contains the complete accessibility tree obtained from each exported scan along with its issue analysis information.

---

Connect a mobile device

The device connection action is always available and its button, shown with an icon in the shape of a mobile device, is at the right end of the toolbar. You may click on it to connect or disconnect a mobile device. A test session does not need to be open.

Mobile Flow Analyzer is designed to step you through the connection process and will prompt you for what it needs if not already set up. However, the connection process can be complex. Refer to either the Android Connection Guide or the iOS Connection Guide for assistance.

Device connection process

Start the connection process by either clicking the connection tool in the toolbar or creating a new test session. (A test session does not need to be open to connect to a device.)

Note: Device connections are independent of test sessions. When a real or simulated device is connected, scans will be recorded in the current test session.

Choose your mobile OS

Connecting is a multiple step process that begins with selecting your device operating system, iOS or Android.

iOS connection is a four step process

After selecting iOS, Mobile Flow Analyzer will guide you through the following steps:

1. Verify that Xcode is installed.
2. Select the type of device to connect, real or simulator.
3. Select the device model and, if a real device, the Apple Developer Team ID.
4. Activate the connection.

Completed steps are displayed in the numbered blue columns at the left of the screen. You may click on any of them to return to a previous step.

Android connection is a three step process

After selecting Android, Mobile Flow Analyzer will guide you through the following steps:

1. Select either wired or wireless connection.
2. Set connection parameters, depending on connection method
3. Connect

Completed steps are displayed in the numbered blue columns at the left of the screen. You may click on any of them to return to a previous step.

Refer to the iOS Connection Guide and Android Connection Guide for detailed instructions.

---

Optional capabilities

Do more with Mobile Flow Analyzer with these optional capabilities available from Evinced.

Evinced Platform

Evinced provides a centralized platform to store reports from all users in your organization. It’s an option that enables peer collaboration and comparison. To configure access to the Evinced Platform, contact support@evinced.com for assistance.

Ticket management

Mobile Flow Analyzer offers seamless integration with ticket management systems, including Jira and Azure DevOps. Ticket management integration allows creating new tickets directly in a Mobile Flow Analyzer test session. To configure your ticketing system, contact support@evinced.com.

Mobile Kit

Mobile Kit is a product available with Evinced’s mobile SDKs that enhances Mobile Flow Analyzer’s accessibility testing effectiveness. When installed in an app, some issue type will have an “Enhanced by Mobile Kit” label. Read more in Mobile Kit documentation. To install Mobile Kit in your apps, contact support@evinced.com for assistance.

---

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can be used to quickly perform actions without using a mouse. To open a menu of available shortcuts, type command (⌘) + / in macOS or Ctrl + / in Windows.

Action	Mac	Windows
Open/close keyboard shortcut panel	command /	Ctrl /
Go to session dashboard	command-shift D	Ctrl-Shift D
Go to next scan results	command-shift ▴	Ctrl-Shift ⌃
Go to previous scan results	command-shift ▾	Ctrl-Shift ⌄
Go to next session tab	control tab	Ctrl Tab
Go to previous session tab	control-shift tab	Ctrl-Shift Tab
Create new session	command-shift N	Ctrl-Shift N
Scan	command-shift S	Ctrl-Shift S
Hide/Show element highlights	command-shift H	Ctrl-Shift H
Open Connect device dialog	command-shift C	Ctrl-Shift C
Open export report menu	command-shift E	Ctrl-Shift E
Open session overview	command-shift O	Ctrl-Shift O
Open platform sync dialog	command-shift P	Ctrl-Shift P
Add selected issues to tracking system	command-shift T	Ctrl-Shift T
Close open dialog or menu	esc	Esc