Glossary
Terms used in accessibility research and practice. Each entry has a definition, common aliases, and category tags.
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- Need-Finding Interview(also: Need-Finding Study, Needs Assessment Interview)
- A qualitative research method conducted early in the design process to understand users' current practices, challenges, unmet needs, and desires for future solutions. Need-finding interviews typically use open-ended questions and semi-structured formats to elicit rich…
- Participatory Design(also: Co-Design, Cooperative Design, PD)
- A design methodology that actively involves end users as partners in the design process rather than passive subjects of user testing. In accessibility contexts, participatory design is particularly important because failing to consider user opinions early in design is a major…
- Persona(also: User Persona, Design Persona)
- A fictional character created to represent a type of user who might interact with a product, service, or website. Personas are grounded in research data and typically include details such as name, age, occupation, abilities, goals, frustrations, and technology usage patterns. In…
- Persona Design(also: Design Personas, User Personas)
- A user-centered design technique in which designers create fictional but grounded profiles of representative users — demographics, goals, context, pain points — to guide design decisions when direct user involvement is limited. In accessibility and HCI co-design workshops,…
- Requirements Gathering(also: Requirements Elicitation, Needs Assessment)
- The process of collecting and documenting the needs, constraints, and expectations of users and stakeholders to inform the design of a technology system or product. In accessibility and assistive technology contexts, requirements gathering poses unique challenges: target users…
- User-Centred Design(also: UCD, User-Centered Design, Human-Centred Design)
- An iterative design methodology that places the needs, characteristics, and limitations of end users at the centre of each stage of the design process. In accessibility, user-centred design involves people with disabilities as active participants throughout design and…
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