Glossary

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Dead Time(also: Wait Time, Idle Time)

In scanning-based assistive technology interfaces, the period during which a user must passively wait before they can make their next input action. In row-column scanning, dead time occurs while waiting for the desired row or column to be highlighted. Longer dead times reduce…

Degrees of Freedom(also: DoF, 3DoF, 6DoF)

In virtual and extended reality, degrees of freedom refers to the number of independent movement axes available to a user within a virtual environment. Three degrees of freedom (3DoF) allows rotational head tracking only — looking up/down, left/right, and tilting — which is…

Deictic Gesture(also: Pointing Gesture)

A deictic gesture is a pointing or indicating motion (typically with a finger, but also with gaze, head, or tool) that directs another person's attention to a specific referent in the shared environment. In face-to-face tutoring, deictic gestures are central to effective…

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…

Designing with Friction(also: Friction by Design)

An HCI design stance, associated with Matthias Korn and Amy Voida, that argues for deliberately introducing friction into interactive systems to surface politics, provoke reflection, and enable democratic contention — rather than pursuing frictionless user experience as a…

Device Independence(also: Device-Independent Design, Input Agnostic Design)

A web design principle that ensures content and functionality are accessible regardless of the input device or interaction method used to access them. Device-independent design avoids assumptions about how users will interact with content — not relying solely on mouse events,…

Device-Dependent Event Handler(also: Device-Dependent Event, Mouse-Dependent Event Handler)

An event handler in web development that is triggered only by a specific input device, such as a mouse click or touch gesture, rather than being accessible through multiple input methods. Device-dependent event handlers create significant accessibility barriers because users who…

Dialog Act(also: Dialogue Act, Speech Act)

A classification label representing the communicative intention behind a spoken or written utterance in a conversational system. In the context of accessible technology, dialog acts are used to interpret what a user wants to accomplish when issuing voice commands — for example,…

Dialogue Design(also: Interaction Dialogue, User Dialogue Design)

Dialogue design in human-computer interaction refers to the structured planning of the conversational exchange between a user and a system, defining how input is accepted, how the system responds, and how errors are handled across interaction turns. In accessible interface…

Direct Touch Mapping(also: DTM, Touch-to-Audio Mapping)

An interaction technique in accessible touchscreen interfaces where the physical position of a user's finger on the screen corresponds directly to a position within the underlying content, such as a data visualization. When applied to chart accessibility, direct touch mapping…

Disambiguation(also: Target Disambiguation, Touch Disambiguation)

In accessible interface design, disambiguation is the process of resolving ambiguity when a user's input could correspond to more than one interactive target. This commonly occurs on touchscreens where small, densely packed elements make precise selection difficult, particularly…

Discrete Specification(also: Discrete Positioning, Grid-Based Positioning)

In cursor control interfaces, a positioning method where the user selects from a finite set of predefined locations to move the cursor to an approximate position quickly. Examples include grid-based systems where the screen is divided into numbered cells, or ghost cursor systems…

Distraction Reduction(also: Distraction Removal, Distraction Minimization)

Design strategies and technologies that minimize or eliminate elements that divert attention from primary content or tasks. In video accessibility for ADHD, distraction reduction involves identifying and removing or de-emphasizing visual elements (overlays, busy backgrounds,…

Drag and Drop(also: DnD)

An interaction pattern in which users select an on-screen object by pressing and holding, then move it to a new location before releasing. Drag and drop is widely used in visual programming environments, file management, and content editing. It presents significant accessibility…

Drone Accessibility(also: UAV Accessibility, Accessible Drone Piloting)

The design and adaptation of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and their control interfaces to be usable by people with disabilities. This includes providing alternative input methods such as voice commands, adapted controllers, and tangible interfaces, as well as multimodal…

Dwell Activation(also: Dwell Click, Dwell Selection)

An input method where an action is triggered by maintaining focus on a target for a specified period of time (the dwell time). Commonly used with eye tracking and head tracking systems, dwell activation allows users to select items without needing to physically click. While…

Dwell Selection(also: Dwell Click, Dwell Time Selection, Hover Click)

An interaction technique where a user activates or selects an on-screen element by keeping a cursor, gaze point, or pointer within the target area for a specified duration (the dwell time), rather than clicking or tapping. Dwell selection is essential for people with motor…

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