Universal Usability and Inclusive Design Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover the vocabulary and core concepts of Universal Usability, inclusive design principles, legal requirements, and assistive technologies for diverse user populations.

The Equality Act (2010)

A UK law making it illegal to discriminate against various groups, including people with disabilities, and requiring service providers to anticipate needs for reasonable adjustments.

Reasonable Adjustments

Positive steps that service providers are legally required to take to ensure disabled people can access services, going beyond simply avoiding discrimination.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Principles

The four foundational principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust.

Perceivable (WCAG)

Guidelines for text alternatives, time-based media, adaptable content, and distinguishable content.

Operable (WCAG)

guidelines for keyboard accessibility, providing enough time, avoiding seizures and physical reactions, navigation, and input modalities

Understandable (WCAG)

guidelines for readable content, predictable content, and input assistance

Robust (WCAG)

Guidelines compatible with current and future user agents (eg. for status messages or modal dialogs)

Universal Usability

Refers to the design of ICT products and services so that they are usable for every citizen.

Universal Design

Designing products, buildings, or environments for the maximum number of people possible regardless of age or disability, often without the need for specialized adaptation.

Inclusive Design

Methodologies to create products that enable people of all backgrounds and abilities, addressing accessibility, age, economic situation, language, and ethnicity.

Accessibility

A narrow focus on ensuring services can be used by people with disabilities, acting as a bare minimum for meaningful experiences.

The Curb-cut Effect

The concept that designing for people with disabilities (like dropped curbs) often results in products that are better for everyone.

Disability (Structural Definition)

The conflict between a human functional capability ($\text{Ability}$) and a barrier created by a product or environment ($\text{Barrier}$).

Haptics

The primary modality for physical input, including interactions like typing, pointing, touching, sliding, and grabbing.

JAWS (Job Access With Speech)

A standalone screen reader software used by blind or low-vision computer users to navigate digital content.

NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access)

A standalone screen reader that provides access to the Windows operating system for people with visual impairments.

Chording Keyboards

Specialist adaptive hardware that uses combinations of keys to enter data, designed for users such as those who are blind or have low vision.

Equitable Use

A principle of Universal Design where the design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities, such as automatic doors.

Flexibility in Use

A principle of Universal Design that accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities, like an adjustable chair.

Tolerance for Error

A principle of Universal Design that minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions (e.g., a car unlocking if keys are left inside).

Multimodal Interaction

Providing access to system functionality through a variety of input and output channels corresponding to the five senses.

VoiceOver

An Apple screen reader that provides audible or braille descriptions of UI controls, text, and images in over $60$ languages and locales.

Participatory Design

A collaborative approach that involves end-users, stakeholders, and designers in the decision-making process through workshops and iteration.