cremote/SENSORY_CHARACTERISTICS_REMOVAL.md

Sensory Characteristics Tool Removal

Date: 2025-10-07
Reason: Tool was producing false positives and not providing value due to primitive keyword-based detection

Summary

The web_sensory_characteristics_cremotemcp tool has been completely removed from the cremote codebase. This tool attempted to detect WCAG 1.3.3 violations (instructions relying solely on sensory characteristics like color, shape, size, location, or sound) using simple regex pattern matching, which resulted in an unacceptable rate of false positives.

What Was Removed

1. Daemon Implementation

File: daemon/daemon.go

• Removed command handler case "detect-sensory-characteristics" (lines 2024-2041)
• Removed SensoryCharacteristicsResult struct (lines 10333-10340)
• Removed SensoryCharacteristicsElement struct (lines 10343-10349)
• Removed detectSensoryCharacteristics() method (~140 lines, 10352-10472)

Patterns that were being detected:

• color_only: "red button", "green link", etc.
• shape_only: "round button", "square icon", etc.
• size_only: "large button", "small text", etc.
• location_visual: "above the", "below this", etc.
• location_specific: "click above", "tap below", etc.
• sound_only: "hear", "listen", "sound", "beep", etc.
• click_color: "click the red", "click the green", etc.
• see_shape: "see the round", "see the square", etc.

2. Client Library

File: client/client.go

• Removed SensoryCharacteristicsResult struct (lines 3970-3977)
• Removed SensoryCharacteristicsElement struct (lines 3981-3987)
• Removed DetectSensoryCharacteristics() method (~59 lines, 3990-4028)

3. MCP Server

File: mcp/main.go

• Removed web_sensory_characteristics_cremotemcp tool registration and handler (~115 lines, 4334-4448)

4. Documentation Updates

Updated files:

• docs/llm_instructions.md - Removed all references to sensory characteristics tool

  • Removed from tool comparison table
  • Removed from tool list
  • Removed Pattern 15 (Sensory Characteristics Detection)
  • Renumbered Pattern 16 → Pattern 15, Pattern 17 → Pattern 16
  • Removed from specialized testing recommendations
  • Removed from limitations and false positives sections
  • Updated tool count from "Eight automated testing tools" to "Seven automated testing tools"

• NEW_TOOLS_QUICK_REFERENCE.md - Removed tool documentation

  • Removed from tool summary table
  • Removed entire "Tool 6: Sensory Characteristics Detection" section
  • Renumbered Tool 7 → Tool 6, Tool 8 → Tool 7
  • Removed from usage patterns
  • Removed from false positives section
  • Updated tool count from 8 to 7

• LLM_ADA_TESTING_UPDATE_SUMMARY.md - Removed from tool list

Files NOT updated (historical documentation):

• IMPLEMENTATION_COMPLETE_SUMMARY.md - Historical record of Phase 2 implementation
• FINAL_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md - Historical record of all phases
• PHASE_2_3_IMPLEMENTATION_SUMMARY.md - Historical record of this specific tool
• PHASE_2_COMPLETE_SUMMARY.md - Historical record of Phase 2
• NEW_FEATURES_TESTING_GUIDE.md - Historical testing guide

These files are kept as historical documentation of what was implemented, even though the feature has been removed.

Impact Assessment

Code Changes

• Lines Removed: ~335 lines total
  • Daemon: ~158 lines
  • Client: ~59 lines
  • MCP: ~115 lines
  • Documentation: Multiple references

Functionality Impact

• No loss of valuable functionality - Tool was producing false positives
• WCAG 1.3.3 coverage - This criterion is still partially covered by axe-core's automated tests
• Manual testing recommended - Sensory characteristics violations require human judgment and context understanding

Build Verification

All components compile successfully after removal:

• ✅ Daemon builds without errors
• ✅ Client library builds without errors
• ✅ MCP server builds without errors
• ✅ No test failures (no tests referenced this tool)

Rationale

The sensory characteristics detection tool used primitive regex pattern matching to identify potential violations. This approach had fundamental limitations:

1. High false positive rate - Legitimate text like "The red button submits the form" would be flagged even though "button" provides non-sensory context
2. Context-insensitive - Could not understand whether additional non-sensory cues were present
3. Limited value - Manual review was required for every match, negating automation benefits
4. Better alternatives exist - Manual testing by accessibility experts provides more accurate results

Recommendations

For WCAG 1.3.3 (Sensory Characteristics) compliance testing:

1. Use axe-core - Provides some automated detection of sensory characteristic issues
2. Manual review - Have accessibility experts review instructional content
3. Content guidelines - Establish writing guidelines that require multiple cues (e.g., "Click the Submit button (red)" instead of "Click the red button")
4. Design system - Ensure UI components have proper labels and semantic meaning beyond visual appearance

Migration Notes

If you were using this tool:

1. Remove from test scripts - Delete any calls to web_sensory_characteristics_cremotemcp
2. Remove from CLI usage - Delete any cremote sensory-characteristics commands
3. Update assessment reports - Remove sensory characteristics from automated test coverage claims
4. Add manual testing - Include manual review of instructional content in your accessibility testing process

Related WCAG Criteria

WCAG 1.3.3 - Sensory Characteristics (Level A)

• Instructions must not rely solely on sensory characteristics
• Provide multiple cues: text labels + visual characteristics
• Example: "Click the Submit button (red)" ✅ vs "Click the red button" ❌

This criterion still requires testing, but should be done through:

• Manual content review
• Axe-core automated tests (partial coverage)
• Accessibility expert evaluation