Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
126 results found in Interaction Design.
- Active Exploration (User-Directed Exploration)
- An interaction paradigm in non-visual interfaces where users physically control their navigation through information, discovering content by directing a pointer, stylus, or finger across a surface or …
- Adaptive Disclosure (On-Demand Disclosure, Progressive Disclosure for Accessibility)
- An interface design pattern in which supplementary accessibility content — summaries, keyphrase previews, navigation maps, alternative descriptions — is revealed only when the user requests it rather …
- Adaptive Interface (Adaptive UI, Self-Adapting Interface)
- A user interface that automatically adjusts its layout, content, or behavior based on user context, abilities, preferences, or device constraints without requiring explicit user configuration. Adaptiv…
- Adaptive Interface (Adaptive User Interface, Self-Adapting Interface)
- A user interface that automatically modifies its presentation, behaviour, or content based on detected user characteristics, capabilities, preferences, or environmental conditions. In accessibility, a…
- Adaptive interface (Adaptive UI, Self-adapting interface)
- A user interface that automatically adjusts its parameters — such as target sizes, input methods, timing, layout, or interaction modalities — in response to detected changes in the user's abilities, c…
- Aftercare (Post-Interaction Care)
- Reflective or supportive activity following an intimate, intense, or sensitive interaction, in which participants check in on each other's wellbeing, discuss the experience, and address any needs that…
- Area Pointing (Point and Click, Mouse Pointing)
- Area pointing is the conventional target-acquisition paradigm in graphical user interfaces, in which the user must move a cursor inside a confined two-dimensional target region and then execute a clic…
- Asynchronous Control (Self-Paced Control, Asynchronous BCI)
- A mode of interaction with a computer or assistive device where the user can issue commands at any time of their choosing, rather than being constrained to respond within system-defined time windows. …
- Attention Tunneling (Visual Tunneling, Attentional Tunneling, Cognitive Tunneling)
- A phenomenon in which a user concentrates so narrowly on a primary information source - typically a visual overlay, head-up display, or instrument - that they fail to notice relevant events, objects, …
- Audio Feedback (Auditory Feedback, Sound Feedback)
- Information conveyed to a user through sound in response to an action or event within a system. Audio feedback encompasses a wide range of techniques including earcons (short abstract sounds), auditor…
- Audio-Based Interface (Audio Interface, Auditory Interface)
- A computer interface that uses sound as the primary means of conveying information and supporting interaction, rather than visual display. Audio-based interfaces are essential for blind and visually i…
- Audio-Tactile (Audio-Tactile Interaction, Audio-Haptic)
- An interaction paradigm that combines tactile (touch-based) and auditory feedback to convey information. Audio-tactile systems pair physical surfaces, such as raised maps or 3D-printed models, with lo…
- Aural Interaction (Auditory Interaction)
- Aural interaction refers to human-computer interaction that takes place primarily through the auditory channel, encompassing both speech-based input/output and non-speech audio such as auditory icons,…
- Barrier Pointing (Edge-Based Pointing)
- An interaction technique for touch screens that uses the physical edges of a device as barriers to assist with target acquisition. When a target is placed near a screen edge, users can slide their fin…
- Binary Selection (Binary Choice, Yes/No Selection)
- An interaction method where users make choices between two options at each step, progressively narrowing down to their desired selection through a series of binary decisions. Binary selection is used …
- Chairable (Chair-based interface, Wheelchair-integrated technology)
- A design concept for input and output devices that are integrated directly into a wheelchair frame, enabling users to interact with assistive technology without requiring a separate smartphone, wearab…
- Clarifying Question (Clarifying Questions, Counter-Question)
- A clarifying question is a follow-up query posed by a system or interlocutor to resolve ambiguity, fill missing context, or confirm intent before acting on a user's request. In conversational interfac…
- Click-Time Distribution (Timing Profile, Click Precision)
- A statistical model of when a switch user activates their switch relative to a target timing event, used to characterize the precision and consistency of a user's motor control. In the Nomon interface…
- Closed-loop Interaction (Closed-Loop Feedback, Perform-Assess-Adjust Cycle)
- An interaction pattern in which a system continuously observes the user's action, evaluates it, and returns immediate feedback that shapes the next attempt, producing an iterative perform-assess-adjus…
- Clutching (Clutch Mechanism, Clutch Gesture)
- In gesture- and motion-based input systems, a mechanism that lets the user temporarily disengage the recogniser so that everyday, non-communicative movements — reaching, adjusting posture, gesturing s…