Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
31 results found in design methodology.
- Ability Model (Ability-Based User Model)
- A representation of a user that focuses on what they can do rather than demographic characteristics or disability categories. Unlike traditional user models that capture preferences, background, or im…
- Accessibility First (Shift Left Accessibility, Built-In Accessibility)
- A design and pedagogical philosophy that treats accessibility as a foundational requirement from the very beginning of a project or course of study, rather than addressing it as an advanced topic or r…
- Accessibility Retrofitting (Retrofitting, Accessibility Remediation)
- The process of modifying existing products, websites, buildings, or systems after the fact to make them accessible to people with disabilities. Retrofitting is typically more expensive, time-consuming…
- Assets-Based Design (Strengths-Based Design, Asset-Based Approach)
- A design philosophy that focuses on the existing strengths, capabilities, resources, and strategies of users rather than defining them primarily by their deficits or limitations. In accessibility and …
- Assistive Technology Abandonment (AT Abandonment, Technology Discontinuance)
- The phenomenon of users with disabilities ceasing to use an assistive technology device or system after initial adoption. Research identifies several predictors of abandonment, including failure to co…
- Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD, Behavior-Driven Development)
- A software development methodology that extends Test-Driven Development by writing test cases as human-readable scenarios in natural language, describing expected system behaviour from the user's pers…
- Co-Design (Participatory Design, Co-Creation)
- A design methodology that actively involves end users, stakeholders, and domain experts as equal partners throughout the design process. In accessibility, co-design ensures that the people who will us…
- Constrained Creativity (Constrained Design, Creative Constraints)
- Constrained creativity is a design approach that supports creative expression by deliberately limiting the choices available to users, providing structure and boundaries within which they can create. …
- Cripepistemology (Crip knowledge, Disabled knowledge)
- A framework recognizing that disability itself is a valuable way of knowing about the world — that disabled people acquire deep, embodied knowledge from their experiences navigating inaccessible envir…
- Culturally Responsive Design (Culturally Sensitive Design, Culture-Centered Design)
- Culturally responsive design is an approach to creating products, services, and research methods that respects and incorporates the cultural values, practices, and communication norms of the communiti…
- Design for User Empowerment (DfUE, Empowerment-Oriented Design)
- A design philosophy that prioritizes giving users — particularly people with disabilities — the skills, tools, and agency to create, modify, and customize their own technology solutions rather than be…
- Design-for-One (Design for One, Bespoke Design)
- A design philosophy where systems are tailored to individual users rather than attempting to accommodate all users through a single universal solution. In contrast to universal design which seeks one …
- Extreme Users (Lead Users, Edge Cases)
- A design methodology that focuses on a small set of users with unusual, demanding, or outlying needs rather than statistically representative users. Developed by Pullin and Newell (2007), the approach…
- Function-Centered Design (Function-Based Design, Functional Profile Design)
- A design approach that organizes user needs around observed functional characteristics — such as attention span, motor control, sensory sensitivities, and communication abilities — rather than diagnos…
- Iterative Design (Iterative Development, Design Iteration)
- Iterative design is a methodology where designs are developed through repeated cycles of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining. Each iteration incorporates feedback from evaluation to improve …
- Making (Maker Movement, Maker Culture)
- Making refers to the practice of creating, building, or fabricating physical objects, often using tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, and electronics. In accessibility contexts, making encompasses …
- Method cards (Design method cards, Ideation cards)
- Structured design tools consisting of cards that present scenarios, questions, or prompts to guide designers through specific aspects of the design process. In accessibility contexts, method cards pre…
- Model-Based User Interface (MBUI, Model-Based UI)
- An approach to user interface design where the interface is generated or adapted automatically from abstract models that describe the tasks users need to perform, the data domain, the user's character…
- Participatory Design (PD, Co-Design Process)
- A design approach originating in Scandinavian workplace democracy that involves end users as active, equal partners in the design process, not merely as research subjects or consultants. In accessibil…
- Participatory Design (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 im…