Glossary

Search results

Page Structure Preservation(also: Layout Preservation, Structure Retention)

The principle of maintaining the original spatial layout and DOM structure of a webpage when applying accessibility enhancements, content filtering, or other modifications. Preserving page structure ensures that users' mental models of familiar websites remain intact, that…

Paper Prototyping(also: Lo-Fi Prototyping, Low-Fidelity Prototyping)

A rapid design technique that uses paper, cardboard, and other simple materials to create tangible representations of product concepts before investing in digital or electronic implementation. Paper prototyping allows designers and users to quickly explore form, layout, and…

Partial Automation(also: Adaptive Automation)

An accessibility technique in digital games and interactive systems where the system automatically performs actions or controls mechanics that a user cannot execute due to a disability, while leaving the user in control of all mechanics they can perform. For example, in a…

Passive Exploration(also: System-Directed Presentation)

An interaction paradigm in non-visual interfaces where a complete representation of information is presented to the user all at once, rather than being discovered through user-directed navigation. In the context of accessible graphics and data visualisation, passive exploration…

Personalization(also: User Personalization, Interface Personalization)

The adaptation of digital content, interfaces, or experiences to individual user preferences, needs, and contexts. In accessibility, personalization is essential because people with the same type of disability may have very different needs and preferences — for example, some…

Playful Interaction(also: Playful design)

A design stance that treats play — voluntary, intrinsically motivated, rule-structured activity — as a core property of interactive systems rather than a surface layer of rewards or points. Playful interaction emphasizes the felt experience of users (curiosity, challenge, flow,…

Point-of-Interest Techniques(also: POI Techniques)

Interaction methods in VR that allow users to select and navigate to specific points of interest in the virtual environment, designed to be accessible for people with limited mobility. These techniques typically allow users to highlight, select, and move to predetermined…

Preset(also: Default Configuration, Template Setting)

A predefined combination of settings or options that can be applied as a group, reducing the number of individual decisions a user needs to make. In accessibility interfaces, presets help users with cognitive disabilities by offering curated starting points rather than requiring…

Proactive Prompt(also: Proactive Cue)

In voice-interface and conversational-agent design, a system-initiated utterance or visual cue that surfaces a suggestion, reminder, or next step without the user first asking. Examples include suggesting the weather at a user's usual wake-up time, reminding someone to take…

Procedural Accessibility

An aspect of web accessibility that addresses the consistency and clarity of interaction sequences and workflows within digital systems. Procedural accessibility ensures that similar services follow the same patterns of interaction — for example, all online purchasing processes…

Procedural Feedback System(also: Process-Oriented Guidance System)

An assistive technology paradigm that provides dynamic, step-by-step support throughout complex multi-step tasks rather than addressing isolated moments of need. Unlike traditional assistive tools that help with discrete actions (e.g., identifying a color or reading a label),…

Progressive Disclosure(also: Staged Disclosure, Layered Interface)

An interaction design pattern that initially presents only the most essential options or information, revealing additional complexity progressively as users need or request it. Progressive disclosure reduces cognitive load and visual clutter by avoiding overwhelming users with…

Prompt engineering(also: Prompt design, Prompt crafting)

The practice of designing and iteratively refining natural language inputs to large language models to elicit more accurate, relevant, or useful responses. In accessibility contexts, prompt engineering is an emerging skill that enables disabled users to customise AI interactions…

Provenance Indicator(also: Source Attribution)

Information that identifies which AI model, trial, or prompt produced a particular piece of content in a multi-model comparison. Provenance indicators help users understand which models generate which claims, enabling them to build mental models of individual model strengths and…

Pull Notification(also: On-Demand Notification, User-Initiated Notification)

A notification or information delivery model where content is provided only when explicitly requested by the user, in contrast to push notifications which are delivered automatically. In assistive navigation contexts, pull notifications allow blind users to request specific…

Put That There(also: Put-That-There)

A pioneering multimodal interactive system built at MIT's Architecture Machine Group (1979-1980), reported by Bolt (1980) and further developed by Schmandt and Hulteen (1982). Users seated in a 'media room' could manipulate a graphical database — such as a Caribbean shipping map…

16 results.