1. >>> but ensuring that the website could be navigated well using a screen reader. <<<
That was my experience too
2. >>> The tough part of it was it being a subjective process. No one can tell you if the final experience was "correct" or not.<<<
Also ran into this problem. Our solution was to hire a non-sighted person (who uses screen reader in their daily/everyday life) to test the Apps. It made me realize that 'expert' users of screen reader software do not use it the way a sighted user like me would think it's to be used.
3) We only use the non-sighted person when we do 'major' overhauls or once every few years when we do a comprehensive round of Accessibility testing. For the accessibility tests we do as part of releasing any new feature (no matter how small), I've had to train myself and learn better how to do screen reader testing. Still not close to being an expert but I'm much better at it than a few years before.
In situations where an expert isn't available, do you think visual tools such as Lynx (text mode browser) might be more suitable for assessing the screen reader experience than actually using a screen reader?
No. A large part of modern web accessibility work is using ARIA to bind assistive tech APIs to applications. Lynx won’t give you anything unless you’re writing flat HTML sites.
That was my experience too
2. >>> The tough part of it was it being a subjective process. No one can tell you if the final experience was "correct" or not.<<<
Also ran into this problem. Our solution was to hire a non-sighted person (who uses screen reader in their daily/everyday life) to test the Apps. It made me realize that 'expert' users of screen reader software do not use it the way a sighted user like me would think it's to be used.
3) We only use the non-sighted person when we do 'major' overhauls or once every few years when we do a comprehensive round of Accessibility testing. For the accessibility tests we do as part of releasing any new feature (no matter how small), I've had to train myself and learn better how to do screen reader testing. Still not close to being an expert but I'm much better at it than a few years before.