Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
27 results found in Design Methods.
- Ability Heuristics
- A set of nine accessibility-focused design heuristics — Adaptability, Equitable Experience, Flexible Task Completion, Efficiency and Effectiveness of User Action, Multiple Modalities, Understandable M…
- Affinity Diagram (Affinity Diagramming, KJ Method)
- A collaborative analysis method where team members organise large amounts of data — such as user research findings, design ideas, or usability issues — by writing individual items on sticky notes and …
- Autobiographical Design
- A design research method in which the designer systematically builds and lives with a system intended for their own use, then reflects on that long-term engagement as a source of design insight. Forma…
- Bodystorming (Embodied Brainstorming)
- A participatory design method where participants physically act out scenarios, interactions, or use cases using their bodies rather than paper prototypes or verbal descriptions. In accessibility resea…
- Card Sorting (Card Sort)
- A user research and information architecture method in which participants organise items (written on cards or displayed digitally) into groups that make sense to them, and may also label those groups.…
- Co-Adaptive Design (Co-Adaptive Interaction, Mutual Adaptation)
- A design approach where both the technology and its users adapt to each other over time through ongoing interaction. Rather than designing a fixed system that users must learn to operate, co-adaptive …
- Co-design (Co-creation, Cooperative Design)
- A design methodology where end users actively participate as partners throughout the design process, contributing their expertise and lived experience to shape solutions. In co-design, researchers and…
- Community-Based Design (Community-Based Participatory Design, CBPD)
- A design approach that situates the design process within a specific community, engaging community members as active participants and co-creators rather than passive research subjects. Unlike lab-base…
- Cultural Probes (Design Probes, Probes)
- A design research technique in which participants are given a kit of open-ended, often playful artefacts - such as disposable cameras, diaries, maps, or prompts - to document aspects of their daily li…
- Disability-first Design (Disability-first Approach, Disability-centered Design)
- A design and research methodology that positions disabled people as active contributors and decision-makers rather than passive subjects or end-users in technology development. In contrast to approach…
- Embodied Sketching
- Embodied sketching is a participatory design method in which participants and designers physically act out interaction ideas with their bodies, props, and the surrounding space rather than only sketch…
- Empathy Simulation (Disability Simulation, Impairment Simulation)
- A design technique where non-disabled people temporarily simulate a disability experience — such as wearing a blindfold, using a wheelchair, or restricting hand movement — to develop empathy and under…
- Human-Centered AI (HCAI, Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, HCXAI, Human-Centered Explainable AI)
- Human-Centered AI (HCAI) is a design and research orientation that places human experience, context, agency, and values at the center of how AI systems are built and evaluated, rather than optimizing …
- Improvisation (Design Improvisation, Research Improvisation)
- In the context of accessibility research and design, improvisation refers to the practice of creatively adapting plans and methods in response to unexpected circumstances, defined as "a creative act c…
- Low-Fidelity Prototype (Low-Fi Prototype, Lo-Fi Prototype, Paper Prototype)
- A rough, inexpensive representation of a design - typically paper sketches, cardboard models, or wireframes - used early in the design process to explore concepts without investing in polished artefac…
- Neuroinclusive Design (Neurodiverse Design, Neurodiversity-Affirming Design)
- A design approach that explicitly accounts for the varied cognitive, sensory, and communication needs of neurodivergent individuals alongside neurotypical users. Neuroinclusive design goes beyond gene…
- Paper Prototyping (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 p…
- Participatory Design (PD, Cooperative Design, Scandinavian Design)
- A design approach originating in Scandinavian workplace democracy movements that emphasizes the direct involvement of people in the design of technologies and systems that affect them. Participatory d…
- Participatory Speculative Design (PSD, Social Dreaming)
- A design research approach that combines speculative design — imagining alternative futures and artifacts that do not yet exist — with participatory methods that position community members, particular…
- Persona (User Persona, Design Persona)
- A fictional but research-based representation of a user group that captures key characteristics, goals, motivations, and needs. In accessibility work, personas are used to represent the diverse experi…