Glossary

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Ability Model(also: Ability-Based User Model)

A representation of a user that focuses on what they can do rather than demographic characteristics or disability categories. Unlike traditional user models that capture preferences, background, or impairment labels, ability models document the specific abilities a user has for…

Accessibility First(also: Shift Left Accessibility, Built-In Accessibility)

A design and pedagogical philosophy that treats accessibility as a foundational requirement from the very beginning of a project or course of study, rather than addressing it as an advanced topic or retrofit at the end. The term draws an analogy to building construction:…

Accessibility Retrofitting(also: Retrofitting, Accessibility Remediation)

The process of modifying existing products, websites, buildings, or systems after the fact to make them accessible to people with disabilities. Retrofitting is typically more expensive, time-consuming, and less elegant than designing for accessibility from the start, often…

Age-Sensitive Design(also: Age-Sensitive Creative AI Mediation)

A design stance that treats age-related physical, cognitive, and digital-literacy characteristics as first-class inputs to the system design process rather than as edge cases to be handled after the fact. For interactive and AI-supported tools, age-sensitive design typically…

Assets-Based Design(also: Strengths-Based Design, Asset-Based Approach)

A design philosophy that focuses on the existing strengths, capabilities, resources, and strategies of users rather than defining them primarily by their deficits or limitations. In accessibility and aging contexts, assets-based design means building technology that integrates…

Assistive Technology Abandonment(also: AT Abandonment, Technology Discontinuance)

The phenomenon of users with disabilities ceasing to use an assistive technology device or system after initial adoption. Research identifies several predictors of abandonment, including failure to consider user opinions during design, lack of training, poor device performance,…

Behaviour-Driven Development(also: BDD, Behavior-Driven Development)

A software development methodology that extends Test-Driven Development by writing test cases as human-readable scenarios in natural language, describing expected system behaviour from the user's perspective. BDD test scenarios typically follow a Given-When-Then format that…

Capability Sensitive Design

A design approach, proposed by Ilse Oosterlaken, that takes human diversity morally seriously and evaluates technologies by how they actually expand or constrain the real opportunities (capabilities) available to individual users. Capability Sensitive Design extends the…

Co-Design(also: Participatory Design, Co-Creation)

A design methodology that actively involves end users, stakeholders, and domain experts as equal partners throughout the design process. In accessibility, co-design ensures that the people who will use assistive technologies or accessible products have meaningful input into…

Constrained Creativity(also: Constrained Design, Creative Constraints)

Constrained creativity is a design approach that supports creative expression by deliberately limiting the choices available to users, providing structure and boundaries within which they can create. In accessibility, constrained creativity has proven especially valuable for…

Cripepistemology(also: Crip knowledge, Disabled knowledge)

A framework recognizing that disability itself is a valuable way of knowing about the world — that disabled people acquire deep, embodied knowledge from their experiences navigating inaccessible environments, using assistive technologies, and perceiving the world differently.…

Cross-Cultural Design(also: Culturally Responsive Design, Culture-Sensitive Design)

An approach to designing products, services, and technologies that accounts for the cultural contexts, values, norms, and practices of diverse user populations. In accessibility, cross-cultural design recognises that disability is understood and experienced differently across…

Culturally Responsive Design(also: Culturally Sensitive Design, Culture-Centered Design)

Culturally responsive design is an approach to creating products, services, and research methods that respects and incorporates the cultural values, practices, and communication norms of the communities they are intended to serve. In accessibility, this is particularly relevant…

Design Exclusion(also: Exclusion Audit, Technology Exclusion)

The process by which certain users are prevented from effectively using a product or service due to mismatches between the design of the technology and their abilities, circumstances, or available resources. Design exclusion can result from physical, sensory, or cognitive…

Design Informant(also: Informant Design)

A participatory design role in which users contribute to the design process by providing input, preferences, and feedback, but the researcher retains responsibility for interpreting this data and making design decisions. This approach contrasts with the Design Partner model…

Design Pattern(also: Interaction Pattern, Pattern of Assistive Interaction)

A reusable, generalised description of a solution to a commonly recurring design problem, expressed in a way that can be applied across different contexts without prescribing a specific implementation. In assistive technology design, interaction patterns describe the functional…

Design Sprint(also: Google Design Sprint)

A structured, time-constrained design methodology originally developed at Google Ventures that guides teams through five phases — Map, Sketch, Decide, Prototype, and Test — to rapidly solve design problems and validate ideas with real users. In accessibility contexts, design…

Design for Dynamic Diversity(also: D3, DDD)

A design paradigm proposed by Gregor, Newell, and Zajicek (2002) that explicitly accounts for the fact that human abilities are not static but change dynamically over time, particularly as people age. Unlike traditional approaches that design for a fixed "typical" user or treat…

Design for User Empowerment(also: DfUE, Empowerment-Oriented Design)

A design philosophy that prioritizes giving users — particularly people with disabilities — the skills, tools, and agency to create, modify, and customize their own technology solutions rather than being passive recipients of products designed for them. Design for User…

Design-for-One(also: Design for One, Bespoke Design)

A design philosophy where systems are tailored to individual users rather than attempting to accommodate all users through a single universal solution. In contrast to universal design which seeks one solution for everyone, design-for-one creates systems that adapt to specific…

Desire Paths(also: Desire lines)

A term from urban design describing the unofficial trails that pedestrians wear into grass or dirt when built sidewalks do not meet their needs - the visible trace of an infrastructure users have improvised for themselves. In accessibility design, the metaphor is used (e.g., by…

Disability Interaction(also: DIX)

A challenge-based approach and manifesto for creating a more inclusive world where disability can be an inspiration for innovation and creativity, and where inclusion is the norm. Proposed by Catherine Holloway and colleagues, Disability Interaction (DIX) places people with…

Disability-Related Embodied Empathy from Existing Media(also: DREEM)

A design pedagogy approach, introduced by Baltaxe-Admony et al., that does not translate specific aspects of disability theory into technology requirements but instead develops curricula that sensitise design students to disability cultures and to the lived experiences of…

Empathy Tools(also: Empathy Aids, Empathy-building Tools, Age Suits)

Empathy tools are physical or digital artefacts designed to give non-disabled designers a limited first-hand experience of specific impairments or ageing effects — cataract-simulating goggles, blurring film overlays, age suits that add weight and restrict joint movement,…

Empathy in Design(also: Design Empathy, Empathic Design)

Empathy in design refers to the ability and practice of understanding and sharing the feelings, perspectives, and experiences of the people who will use a product or service. In accessibility contexts, empathy involves recognizing the challenges faced by people with disabilities…

Extreme Users(also: Lead Users, Edge Cases)

A design methodology that focuses on a small set of users with unusual, demanding, or outlying needs rather than statistically representative users. Developed by Pullin and Newell (2007), the approach recognizes that the variability among older and disabled users is too great to…

Function-Centered Design(also: Function-Based Design, Functional Profile Design)

A design approach that organizes user needs around observed functional characteristics — such as attention span, motor control, sensory sensitivities, and communication abilities — rather than diagnostic labels or medical categories. Function-centered design recognizes that…

Future Workshop

A participatory research method developed by Jungk and Mullert in 1987 that supports collective reflection and idea generation about possible futures. A Future Workshop typically unfolds in phases: critique of present conditions, collective envisioning of ideal futures, and…

HAAT Model(also: Human Activity Assistive Technology Model)

A conceptual framework for understanding and designing assistive technology systems that identifies four interconnected components: the human user, the activity being performed, the assistive technology itself, and the context in which the activity takes place. Developed by Cook…

Heuristic Evaluation(also: Expert Review, Heuristic Review)

An accessibility or usability evaluation method in which evaluators examine an interface against a set of recognised principles (heuristics) to identify potential problems. In web accessibility, heuristic evaluation typically involves checking pages against WCAG success criteria…

Human Factors Engineering(also: Ergonomics, Human Factors)

The scientific discipline concerned with designing systems, products, and environments to be compatible with the physical and cognitive capabilities and limitations of the people who use them. In accessibility, human factors engineering applies usability methods and techniques —…

ISO 9241-210(also: Human-Centred Design Standard, Ergonomics of Human-System Interaction — Part 210)

An international standard specifying the principles and activities of human-centred design (HCD) for interactive systems. It defines a six-step iterative process — understanding context of use, specifying user requirements, producing design solutions, and evaluating against…

Infrastructuring

A theoretical lens from HCI, CSCW, and participatory design (developed from the work of Susan Leigh Star, Karen Ruhleder, Volkmar Pipek, and Volker Wulf) that treats infrastructure not as a finished artifact but as an ongoing, situated accomplishment. Infrastructuring highlights…

Infrastructuring for Access

A design approach introduced by Wang and Marie (CHI 2026) that combines HCI's infrastructuring theory with Disability Studies and Repair Studies. Rather than focusing on removing barriers or accommodating individual users, Infrastructuring for Access treats disabled…

Iterative Design(also: Iterative Development, Design Iteration)

Iterative design is a methodology where designs are developed through repeated cycles of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining. Each iteration incorporates feedback from evaluation to improve the design progressively. In accessibility work, iterative design is…

Making(also: Maker Movement, Maker Culture)

Making refers to the practice of creating, building, or fabricating physical objects, often using tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and electronics. In accessibility contexts, making encompasses both creating accessible maker tools and developing do-it-yourself assistive…

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs(also: Maslow's Hierarchy, Hierarchy of Needs)

A motivational theory in psychology proposed by Abraham Maslow that organises human needs into a hierarchical pyramid, from basic physiological needs at the base through safety, social belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation at the top. The theory proposes that lower-level…

Metacommunication(also: Designer-User Metacommunication)

In semiotic engineering, metacommunication refers to the overarching communication that takes place between a software designer and a user through the medium of the computer interface. The interface acts as the designer's deputy, conveying messages about what the system does,…

Method cards(also: Design method cards, Ideation cards)

Structured design tools consisting of cards that present scenarios, questions, or prompts to guide designers through specific aspects of the design process. In accessibility contexts, method cards present concrete situations experienced by people with disabilities to help…

Model-Based User Interface(also: MBUI, Model-Based UI)

An approach to user interface design where the interface is generated or adapted automatically from abstract models that describe the tasks users need to perform, the data domain, the user's characteristics, and the interaction context. Rather than hard-coding a single fixed…

PICTIVE(also: Plastic Interface for Collaborative Technology Initiatives through Video Exploration)

PICTIVE is a participatory paper-prototyping technique introduced by Michael Muller at CHI 1991, in which end users and designers jointly build low-fidelity interface prototypes using pre-cut paper UI elements (buttons, menus, text fields, icons), sticky notes, pens, and tape,…

Participatory Design(also: PD, Co-Design Process)

A design approach originating in Scandinavian workplace democracy that involves end users as active, equal partners in the design process, not merely as research subjects or consultants. In accessibility, participatory design ensures that people with disabilities contribute…

Participatory Design(also: Co-Design, Cooperative Design, PD)

A design methodology that actively involves end users as partners in the design process rather than passive subjects of user testing. In accessibility contexts, participatory design is particularly important because failing to consider user opinions early in design is a major…

Participatory Design with Proxies(also: PDwP, Proxy Design)

A variation of participatory design in which people who are familiar with target users or who closely resemble them are included in the design process as proxy participants. Proxies — such as parents, teachers, caregivers, or Speech-Language Pathologists — provide domain…

Persona(also: User Persona, Design Persona)

A fictional character created to represent a type of user who might interact with a product, service, or website. Personas are grounded in research data and typically include details such as name, age, occupation, abilities, goals, frustrations, and technology usage patterns. In…

Point of Infrastructuring(also: PoI)

A concept from Pipek and Wulf's infrastructuring theory naming the moment at which users become aware of the technology they depend on - typically when it breaks, behaves unexpectedly, or no longer supports their task - and begin to adapt, configure, or work around it. Points of…

Pseudo-participation(also: Pseudo-participation by Design)

A term coined by Palacin et al. (2020) to describe forms of user involvement in design that appear participatory on the surface but grant participants limited power to shape outcomes. In accessibility and AI contexts, pseudo-participation occurs when disabled people are invited…

Reflection-in-Action(also: Reflection-on-Action)

A concept from Donald Schön's theory of reflective practice (The Reflective Practitioner, 1983) describing how skilled practitioners adjust their approach in the moment, based on tacit knowledge and immediate feedback from the situation, rather than by following pre-specified…

Requirements Gathering(also: Requirements Elicitation, Needs Assessment)

The process of collecting and documenting the needs, constraints, and expectations of users and stakeholders to inform the design of a technology system or product. In accessibility and assistive technology contexts, requirements gathering poses unique challenges: target users…

Research Probe(also: Design Research Probe, Technology Probe)

A purpose-built, partially functional artefact — often a software prototype, sensor, or interactive installation — deployed in a study not primarily to deliver a finished product but to provoke reflection, surface user needs, and generate design insight. Distinct from cultural…