A usability and accessibility design and evaluation framework for ICT services

Abstract

This paper introduces a step by step framework for practitioners for combining accessibility and usability engineering processes. Following the discussions towards the needs of more user centeredness in the design of accessible solutions, there is a need for such a practical framework. In general, accessibility has been considered as a topic dealing with "hard facts". But lately terms like semantic and procedural accessibility have been introduced. In the following pages we propose a first sketch of a framework, which shows how to merge both usability and accessibility evaluation methods in the same process in order to guarantee a unified solution for both hard and soft facts of accessibility. We argue that by enhancing the user centered design process as the ISO DIS 9241-210 (revised DIN ISO 13407) describes it, accessibility and usability issues may be covered in one process. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009.