Glossary

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Automation Transparency(also: AI Transparency (Automation), Transparent Automation)

The degree to which an automated or autonomous system communicates its current state, intent, and reasoning to the humans who depend on it. In autonomous transport, transparency includes cues such as "holding position for traffic," docking countdowns, or explanations of…

Ballot Design(also: Accessible Ballot Design)

The layout and interaction design of the form through which voters select and cast their choices, covering paper ballots, electronic voting machines, and online interfaces. Well-studied accessibility and usability principles for ballot design include randomising the order of…

Calibrated Trust(also: Appropriate Reliance, Trust Calibration)

An HCI and human-factors concept, articulated by Lee and See, describing the alignment between a user's trust in an automated or AI system and the system's actual capability in a given context: trusting the system when it is reliable and being skeptical when it is not. Designing…

Confidence Indicator(also: Confidence Score, Uncertainty Indicator)

An interface element that communicates how certain an AI or automated system is about a given output, helping users decide how much to trust the result. In accessibility tools for blind and low-vision users, confidence indicators are especially important because users cannot…

Continuous Input(also: Continuous Control, Analog Input)

Continuous input is any interaction technique in which the user varies a parameter smoothly along a range rather than selecting from a set of discrete options — adjusting a slider, dragging a brush, turning a dial, holding a gesture, or modulating vocal loudness. Continuous…

Displayless Interface(also: Screenless Interface, Eyes-Free Interface)

A displayless interface is a computer interaction system that operates without a visual display, relying instead on audio, speech, haptic, or other non-visual output modalities. These interfaces serve two overlapping user populations: individuals with visual impairments who…

Fitts' Law(also: Fitts Law)

A predictive model of human movement that describes the time required to rapidly move to a target area as a function of the distance to the target and the target's size. Formulated by psychologist Paul Fitts in 1954, the law states that larger, closer targets are faster to…

Home Button(also: Home Key, Home Screen Button)

The home button is a persistent, consistently-placed control on a device that returns the user to a known starting state — typically the home screen or main menu — from anywhere in the interface. From an accessibility standpoint, the value of a reliable home button is cognitive:…

Marking Menu(also: Pie Menu, Radial Menu)

A marking menu is a radial (pie-shaped) menu that can be operated in two modes: a beginner mode that displays labelled wedges around the cursor for the user to aim at, and an expert mode that lets an experienced user draw the directional stroke toward the desired item without…

Multi-Layered Interface(also: ML Interface, Layered Interface, Training Wheels Interface)

An interface design approach where novice users start with a reduced-functionality layer containing only basic features, then progress to more complex layers as they become comfortable. This technique reduces cognitive load during initial learning by limiting the number of…

Natural User Interface(also: NUI)

A user interface designed to feel intuitive and invisible, allowing users to interact with technology through natural behaviors such as gestures, voice, touch, or body movement rather than learned conventions like mouse clicks or keyboard commands. NUIs are particularly valuable…

Non-visual Display(also: Nonvisual Display, Non-visual Interface)

A non-visual display presents information to a user through senses other than vision — most commonly hearing (synthesized speech, earcons, sonification), touch (Braille output, vibrotactile patterns, force-feedback haptics), or combinations thereof. Non-visual displays are…

Schema(also: Script, Mental Schema, Cognitive Schema)

A cognitive framework or mental model that organises knowledge about a typical sequence of events in a familiar situation. In accessibility and AAC design, schemas are used to structure interfaces so that prestored messages or navigation options mirror the expected progression…

Soft Key(also: Softkey, Context-sensitive Key)

A soft key is a physical button on a device whose labelled function changes depending on the current application or screen — typically indicated by an on-screen label positioned next to the button. Soft keys let hardware designers fit more commands into a limited number of…

Standard Human Interface(also: SHI)

A concept within the Pervasive Accessible Technology framework referring to a standardized set of input and output capabilities — including microphones, speakers, touch screens, glidepoint touchpads, kiosks, infrared devices, and video cameras — that serve as the physical point…

Training Wheels Interface(also: Training Wheels, Progressive Disclosure)

An interface design pattern that reduces complexity for novice users by hiding or disabling advanced features until they are needed, then gradually revealing them as the user gains competence. Named after the stabilizing wheels on children's bicycles, this approach prevents…

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