Critical Technical Practice

A research stance, articulated by Philip Agre in 1997, in which technologists reflect critically on the assumptions built into their own systems while continuing to build. Critical technical practice argues that technologies embody theory—every design choice encodes a worldview—so building and critique must be integrated rather than separated. In accessibility research, CTP underpins work that treats assistive technologies as political objects, examining how a device reinforces or challenges ableist norms, not just whether it works.