Achieving inclusive eSocieties has prompted a focus on universally designed ICT-solutions. In ord... more Achieving inclusive eSocieties has prompted a focus on universally designed ICT-solutions. In order to ensure aims and legislations are interpreted in a similar manner, there should be a general consensus on universal design and disability definitions in the professional field. This paper investigates views on disability and universal design in Norwegian expert communities on universal design of ICT through survey research, including which users receive attention. Domain experts are asked on their models (interpretations) of disability, which marginalized user groups they focus on in their work and how they understand “universal design” and related terms. The findings indicate that terminology related to universal design is used differently in the sample. The field “universal design of ICT” is also interpreted in various ways. Further, there seems to be an acquiesce response to most disability views, with right-based disability views being dominant. Unexpectedly, the charity model is also common, as is the social adapted model. The survey measure opposing views related to who should be in charge of assessing a person’s need for treatment and assistance: a divergence is indicated between those agreeing with the expert model (professional intervention assessment) versus the empowering model (individual intervention control) with a moderate highly significant negative correlation. Another interesting finding is that three out of the four user groups reported as the most excluded from the Norwegian eSociety receive quite infrequent attention from experts, with median values for receiving focus in “sometimes” or “seldom” categories. The paper contributes with insights into the existing varying interpretations of disability and universal design definitions among Norwegian domain experts, and discusses how different interpretations may affect how inclusion work is implemented. The paper also points out possibly neglected user groups in current practices. Future studies will continue investigations nationally and internationally; particularly on exploring disability focuses.
The focus on Universal Design (UD) has increased steadily over the last decades. Web content acce... more The focus on Universal Design (UD) has increased steadily over the last decades. Web content accessibility standards and guidelines have been created, and specific legislation is in place in several countries to further UD. However, there are limited insights into the actual practices regarding successful implementation of UD in ICT-projects. This study aims to provide such insights through an interview study with 13 individuals affiliated with 12 ICT-projects that have been successful in ensuring UD. The data from the interviews is analyzed in-depth through a thematic analysis, in search for theoretical interpretations that may generate the basis for a proposed best practice for UD in ICT-projects. Our data identify 13 promoting and 6 obstructive factors related to the implementation of UD, spanning three levels - organizational, process and individual. Our findings both coincide and expand previous research findings. The study highlights the link between user-centered design, usability focus and universal design. On process level, early and continuous focus on UD and usability, in iterative approaches, with frequent quality assurance and user contact, and interdisciplinary collaboration seems to be good practice. Our findings emphasize the importance and influence of having a solid anchoring of UD at all levels (a “UD culture”), as well as individual competences and personal qualities of team members and stakeholders. Main findings are summarized in six factors; “UD anchoring”, “UD competence”, “Focus”, “Collaboration”, “Iterative process” and “QA (Quality Assurance)”. Future work aim to verify findings, model practice factors, contribute towards reliable best practices and design a tool indicating the UD maturity of a project.
A large variety of methods and techniques are being used within user-centered design. This articl... more A large variety of methods and techniques are being used within user-centered design. This article explores the differences in methodology and strategy when doing user-centered design within agile versus non-agile development processes. Methods and techniques reported in user-centered agile development is analyzed and compared with those used in non-agile processes. The findings indicate systematic differences, pointing to the fact that the term “user centered” does not carry the same meaning when used within the agile framework compared to the non-agile design methodology. This discrepancy is something we believe is of interest to the IxD/UX-community as well as the agile community.
Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent i... more Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent in our daily lives. Digital transformations have been, and are still being, initiated across private and public sectors. As such, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe and may block access to key aspects of modern life, such as education, employment, consumerism and health services. In order to combat this, regions and countries such as the USA, Canada, EU and Scandinavia have all legislated universal design (UD) in relation to ICT, in order to ensure as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to access and use digital information and services. However, there has been limited research into how higher educational programs address legislated accessibility responsibilities. This paper looks into the discipline of interaction design (IxD). IxD is the design domain focused on ‘how human beings relate to other human beings through the mediating influence of products’ (Buchanan, R. (2001) Designing research and the new learning. Des. Issues, 17, 3–23). The study presents an analysis of Norwegian higher educational programs within IxD. Based on document analysis, we map the skillsets the study programs state to deliver and investigate to what degree UD expertise is included. Our findings indicate the study programs do not deliver adequate training in UD, in order to fulfill the professional responsibilities related to ICT accessibility. From our findings, we extrapolate five ‘archetypes’ of interaction designers. These personas-like analytical constructs hold slightly different characteristics. For each of the five, we propose UD expertise fitting key skillsets. We hope our contributions are useful both for the higher education sector and the industry and will contribute to raised awareness of UD skills so they can educate interaction designers in their different industry roles with required competences. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS We indicate the current content of interaction design (IxD) programs in higher education and document the lacking focus on universal design (UD). We identify five different archetypes of interaction designers being educated in such programs. We describe key skillsets and strengths for each archetype. We propose UD expertise for the (IxD) profession and link UD expertise to archetype skillsets to emphasize relevance.
The interaction designer plays an important role in facilitating high-quality interactions and ac... more The interaction designer plays an important role in facilitating high-quality interactions and accessible user experiences. Currently, interaction designers have diverse and often interdisciplinary backgrounds, in which may create recruitment challenges for the industry. It is also a likely contributory factor to reported challenges on student recruitment to interaction design (IxD) programs – and consequently the reported industry shortage for IxD skillsets. Thus, we need to better understand the interaction designer’s expertise and skills. Facing this fact, the present study provides analysis of Norwegian higher educational (HE) programs within IxD. We investigate in-depth what characterizes the programs, and describe their current content, focus and organization. Overall, the programs educating interaction designers are quite heterogeneous. One of the main finding is that few programs include adequate universal design expertise, and graduates are as such not necessarily conversant with their legal and ethical responsibilities as IxD professionals. We also find a discrepancy between online program presentation and actual content. The paper concludes that added work is needed to alleviate an inadequate articulation of IxD expertise, graduates skillsets, and better support academic and industry recruitment.
Background: In modern societies, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe. Legislation on... more Background: In modern societies, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe. Legislation on Universal Design (UD) reflects socio-economic, democratic and ethical reasons for ensuring all citizens are able to use solutions based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Still, industry and higher education lack guidance on what UD of ICT entails in practice. Aim: This thesis investigates the possibilities and challenges when implementing the legislation in complex real-life settings, and articulates how educators and professionals should view UD expertise, and the necessary latitudes and appropriate priorities for ICT-projects. We answer: (1) What are best practice methodologies for ensuring UD of ICT? (2) What are applied aspects impacting UD of ICT? (3) How can we create advice or tools to facilitate UD of ICT? (4) How should we move towards advancing UD of ICT, and why? Method: Using a mix-method and applied approach, research methods include literature reviews, survey, interview studies, and case studies. We apply content analysis, statistics, and grounded theory to interpret the data, and generative and design-based research to utilize the insights. Contributions: We start by investigating best practice methodological stances and approaches. Due to the complexity of viewing UD of ICT as one field, we reframe our view and propose a uniform understanding of what UD entails for interaction design (IxD) and service design (SD). We find a mutual influence of Personal, Processual, Organizational and Social factors on UD success, and identify Critical Success Criteria (CSC) for ensuring UD in ICT-projects. From this empirical basis, different methods, models, and tools are developed, piloted and prototyped; including defining UD of services, and predicting UD success based on compliance to the CSC. A theoretical framework is modeled, reflecting the identified factors influencing UD. Conclusions: By increasing our abilities to predict and facilitate UD quality prior to or early in ICT-procurement and development processes, the thesis contributions inform future actions and advance a continued integration of UD in society. The findings can have relevance for researchers in the field of UD, for policy makers, for IxD and SD educators and professionals, for providers of ICT solutions targeted to the public, and the designers and developers creating these solutions and services
Studies in health technology and informatics, 2018
Some ICT projects manage to create award winning, inclusive solutions, while others fail. Previou... more Some ICT projects manage to create award winning, inclusive solutions, while others fail. Previous research has gathered data from 34 informants across 23 ICT-projects that have achieved universal design (UD). Their reasons for success are complex, but 15 Critical Success Criteria (CSC) can be identified. This article asks: How can we utilize these insights to promote UD efforts in the ICT-industry? The article proposes a way to model the empirical data for societal utilization; supporting future efforts to promote UD. First, we analyze the relationships between personal, processual, organizational and societal factors, and how the different critical success criteria work together to positively influence the projects in our sample. Next, we apply Hertzberg and Fogg's theories to classify the CSC as triggers, facilitators, motivators or hygiene factors. Based on this deeper understanding, we model the data and propose 3 trigger factors for UD of ICT. Using our model, we propose t...
E-laeringssystemer er na? utbredt i norsk universitets- og hogskolesektor (UH-sektor). Dette er p... more E-laeringssystemer er na? utbredt i norsk universitets- og hogskolesektor (UH-sektor). Dette er pa? mange ma?ter positivt for universell utforming, da nye IKT-losninger a?pner for inkludering. E-laeringsverktoy ma? imidlertid vaere universelt utformede, slik at studenter med funksjonsnedsettelser kan benytte seg av verktoyene pa? lik linje med andre studenter. Denne studien ser pa? dagens praksis rundt ivaretakelse av universell utforming i anskaffelse og bruk av digitale eksamenslosninger. Dette gjores gjennom en kartleggende sporreundersokelse i UH-sektoren, og pa?folgende dybdeintervjuer med representanter ba?de fra UH-institusjoner og leverandorer. Studien identifiserer en rekke utfordringer, blant annet en uklar praksiskompetanse pa? universell utforming og fa? universelt utformede normallosninger i UH- institusjoner. Studien peker pa? sentrale forbedringsomra?der i anskaffelsesprosesser, saerlig knyttet til at UH-sektoren undervurderer hvilke konkrete krav de kan stille til te...
Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent i... more Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent in our daily lives. Digital transformations have been, and are still being, initiated across private and public sectors. As such, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe and may block access to key aspects of modern life, such as education, employment, consumerism and health services. In order to combat this, regions and countries such as the USA, Canada, EU and Scandinavia have all legislated universal design (UD) in relation to ICT, in order to ensure as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to access and use digital information and services. However, there has been limited research into how higher educational programs address legislated accessibility responsibilities. This paper looks into the discipline of interaction design (IxD). IxD is the design domain focused on ‘how human beings relate to other human beings through the mediating influence of products’ (Buchanan...
1 Miriam Nes, .NET consultant, Avenir, Miriam.nes@a venir.no 2 Kirsten Ribu, Assistant Professor,... more 1 Miriam Nes, .NET consultant, Avenir, Miriam.nes@a venir.no 2 Kirsten Ribu, Assistant Professor, Oslo Universit y College, Kirsten.ribu@iu.hio.no 3 Morten Tollefsen, MediALT, morten@medialt.no Abstract The digital divide causes democratic problems in societies where the use of technology is necessa ry to participate fully. Improvement of user accessibilit y does not seem to be a priority in industry, students in general have little or no systematic knowledge of principle s of universal design, and the inaccessibility of techno l gical facilities, software and web pages continues to ere ct barriers for many citizens. In order to study the significance of such barriers, we have observed and interviewed people with disabilities, in particular users with Parkinson’s disease, whose problems are simila r to those of the elderly. The ailment leads to serious practical difficulties using every-day technology, and the fi ndings indicate that many obstacles can be overcome by applying princi...
Children with impaired speech using speech-generating devices to communicate are today forced to ... more Children with impaired speech using speech-generating devices to communicate are today forced to use the voice of a grown up for automatic synthetic speech. Research indicates this may be unfortunate for the development of self, communicative interaction, situational feedback and play. Building on previous research, a Norwegian child synthesis was prototyped. Three children using speech-generating devices tested the prototype. User evaluations provided valuable insight into user needs and the challenges of the prototype.
d design, regard proposed integration models and perceive multidisciplinary cooperation and integ... more d design, regard proposed integration models and perceive multidisciplinary cooperation and integration. The impression is that fundamental principles of agile and user-centered methodologies are not necessarily merged in integrated approaches. The developers confirm the UX-designers notion that development is emphasized over design work, and that user-centered work is given the least importance – thus the success of merged models currently rests heavily on comfortable project constraints. Findings suggest proposed parallel integration models are generally well received among developers, however the success of merged models seems to rest heavily on comfortable project constraints. An interesting insight from the study is how proposed parallel models may be disadvantageous to interdisciplinary collaboration in multidisciplinary teams.
This paper discusses how organisations pro-actively can ensure compliance with disciplinary best ... more This paper discusses how organisations pro-actively can ensure compliance with disciplinary best practice and regulations on Universal Design (UD) of ICT. We apply system-oriented design to analyse and engineer organisational compliance. The focus is on how best practice – disclosed in theory on how to design for UD, as well as coming regulatory updates – relate to current practices and systems theory on where in a system to intervene in order to change systems most effectively. The aim is a blueprint for a compliant, stable and improved organizational system. The case for the study is the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The work presented is part of ongoing strategic work on UD for NAV. Two contributions are made; 1) a discussion on the success of the utilized approach to inform strategic work on intervention points, and 2) recommended system mechanisms for NAV and similar organizations in order to meet the intention of the UD legislation and current quality benc...
Universal design (UD) of ICT is about creating solutions that are usable and accessible for as ma... more Universal design (UD) of ICT is about creating solutions that are usable and accessible for as many end-users as possible. Currently, agile development is a common approach in ICT-projects. This article investigates the challenges for ensuring UD in agile ICT-projects. We propose the term «agile universal design»(AUD)to denote UD in agile ICT-projects. Through a scoping review, we find that traditional user-centered and quality control activities may be seen as disruptive in the agile process. On the other hand, promotion of stakeholders and user involvement throughout the development process and in all phases fit well with UD approaches. Seven practical AUD challenges are identified and point to the fact that securing high quality usability aspects for users with a diverse set of needs require more than limited early attention followed by mere sporadic user focus. We find main AUD issues to be: a) capturing, communicating, keeping track of and quality assure requirements from stake...
The field of service design(SD)is fast growing. SD methodology focuses on ensuring positive user ... more The field of service design(SD)is fast growing. SD methodology focuses on ensuring positive user experiences across types of touch-points, types of mediums used (digital, paper, TV, radio etc.), devices (mobile, web), platforms (iOS, Android, MS, Linux), browsers, usage situations, weathers (rain, sunshine, cold weather) and so forth. However, universal design (UD) related to SD is under-researched. This paper aims to increase the knowledge of UD in SD. An exploratory approach is used to gather information, including a literature study and an interview study. Our findings show that UD awareness is lacking. Processes are highly qualitative –seeking to understand the user. However, marginalized users are not included. Based on the findings, we suggest six initiatives to promote a more inclusive SD methodology: 1) Define UD in relation to services, 2) Change the legislated focus from digital touchpoints to holistic costumer journeys, 3) Make service designers accountable for UD aspects...
Achieving inclusive eSocieties has prompted a focus on universally designed ICT-solutions. In ord... more Achieving inclusive eSocieties has prompted a focus on universally designed ICT-solutions. In order to ensure aims and legislations are interpreted in a similar manner, there should be a general consensus on universal design and disability definitions in the professional field. This paper investigates views on disability and universal design in Norwegian expert communities on universal design of ICT through survey research, including which users receive attention. Domain experts are asked on their models (interpretations) of disability, which marginalized user groups they focus on in their work and how they understand “universal design” and related terms. The findings indicate that terminology related to universal design is used differently in the sample. The field “universal design of ICT” is also interpreted in various ways. Further, there seems to be an acquiesce response to most disability views, with right-based disability views being dominant. Unexpectedly, the charity model is also common, as is the social adapted model. The survey measure opposing views related to who should be in charge of assessing a person’s need for treatment and assistance: a divergence is indicated between those agreeing with the expert model (professional intervention assessment) versus the empowering model (individual intervention control) with a moderate highly significant negative correlation. Another interesting finding is that three out of the four user groups reported as the most excluded from the Norwegian eSociety receive quite infrequent attention from experts, with median values for receiving focus in “sometimes” or “seldom” categories. The paper contributes with insights into the existing varying interpretations of disability and universal design definitions among Norwegian domain experts, and discusses how different interpretations may affect how inclusion work is implemented. The paper also points out possibly neglected user groups in current practices. Future studies will continue investigations nationally and internationally; particularly on exploring disability focuses.
The focus on Universal Design (UD) has increased steadily over the last decades. Web content acce... more The focus on Universal Design (UD) has increased steadily over the last decades. Web content accessibility standards and guidelines have been created, and specific legislation is in place in several countries to further UD. However, there are limited insights into the actual practices regarding successful implementation of UD in ICT-projects. This study aims to provide such insights through an interview study with 13 individuals affiliated with 12 ICT-projects that have been successful in ensuring UD. The data from the interviews is analyzed in-depth through a thematic analysis, in search for theoretical interpretations that may generate the basis for a proposed best practice for UD in ICT-projects. Our data identify 13 promoting and 6 obstructive factors related to the implementation of UD, spanning three levels - organizational, process and individual. Our findings both coincide and expand previous research findings. The study highlights the link between user-centered design, usability focus and universal design. On process level, early and continuous focus on UD and usability, in iterative approaches, with frequent quality assurance and user contact, and interdisciplinary collaboration seems to be good practice. Our findings emphasize the importance and influence of having a solid anchoring of UD at all levels (a “UD culture”), as well as individual competences and personal qualities of team members and stakeholders. Main findings are summarized in six factors; “UD anchoring”, “UD competence”, “Focus”, “Collaboration”, “Iterative process” and “QA (Quality Assurance)”. Future work aim to verify findings, model practice factors, contribute towards reliable best practices and design a tool indicating the UD maturity of a project.
A large variety of methods and techniques are being used within user-centered design. This articl... more A large variety of methods and techniques are being used within user-centered design. This article explores the differences in methodology and strategy when doing user-centered design within agile versus non-agile development processes. Methods and techniques reported in user-centered agile development is analyzed and compared with those used in non-agile processes. The findings indicate systematic differences, pointing to the fact that the term “user centered” does not carry the same meaning when used within the agile framework compared to the non-agile design methodology. This discrepancy is something we believe is of interest to the IxD/UX-community as well as the agile community.
Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent i... more Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent in our daily lives. Digital transformations have been, and are still being, initiated across private and public sectors. As such, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe and may block access to key aspects of modern life, such as education, employment, consumerism and health services. In order to combat this, regions and countries such as the USA, Canada, EU and Scandinavia have all legislated universal design (UD) in relation to ICT, in order to ensure as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to access and use digital information and services. However, there has been limited research into how higher educational programs address legislated accessibility responsibilities. This paper looks into the discipline of interaction design (IxD). IxD is the design domain focused on ‘how human beings relate to other human beings through the mediating influence of products’ (Buchanan, R. (2001) Designing research and the new learning. Des. Issues, 17, 3–23). The study presents an analysis of Norwegian higher educational programs within IxD. Based on document analysis, we map the skillsets the study programs state to deliver and investigate to what degree UD expertise is included. Our findings indicate the study programs do not deliver adequate training in UD, in order to fulfill the professional responsibilities related to ICT accessibility. From our findings, we extrapolate five ‘archetypes’ of interaction designers. These personas-like analytical constructs hold slightly different characteristics. For each of the five, we propose UD expertise fitting key skillsets. We hope our contributions are useful both for the higher education sector and the industry and will contribute to raised awareness of UD skills so they can educate interaction designers in their different industry roles with required competences. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS We indicate the current content of interaction design (IxD) programs in higher education and document the lacking focus on universal design (UD). We identify five different archetypes of interaction designers being educated in such programs. We describe key skillsets and strengths for each archetype. We propose UD expertise for the (IxD) profession and link UD expertise to archetype skillsets to emphasize relevance.
The interaction designer plays an important role in facilitating high-quality interactions and ac... more The interaction designer plays an important role in facilitating high-quality interactions and accessible user experiences. Currently, interaction designers have diverse and often interdisciplinary backgrounds, in which may create recruitment challenges for the industry. It is also a likely contributory factor to reported challenges on student recruitment to interaction design (IxD) programs – and consequently the reported industry shortage for IxD skillsets. Thus, we need to better understand the interaction designer’s expertise and skills. Facing this fact, the present study provides analysis of Norwegian higher educational (HE) programs within IxD. We investigate in-depth what characterizes the programs, and describe their current content, focus and organization. Overall, the programs educating interaction designers are quite heterogeneous. One of the main finding is that few programs include adequate universal design expertise, and graduates are as such not necessarily conversant with their legal and ethical responsibilities as IxD professionals. We also find a discrepancy between online program presentation and actual content. The paper concludes that added work is needed to alleviate an inadequate articulation of IxD expertise, graduates skillsets, and better support academic and industry recruitment.
Background: In modern societies, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe. Legislation on... more Background: In modern societies, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe. Legislation on Universal Design (UD) reflects socio-economic, democratic and ethical reasons for ensuring all citizens are able to use solutions based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Still, industry and higher education lack guidance on what UD of ICT entails in practice. Aim: This thesis investigates the possibilities and challenges when implementing the legislation in complex real-life settings, and articulates how educators and professionals should view UD expertise, and the necessary latitudes and appropriate priorities for ICT-projects. We answer: (1) What are best practice methodologies for ensuring UD of ICT? (2) What are applied aspects impacting UD of ICT? (3) How can we create advice or tools to facilitate UD of ICT? (4) How should we move towards advancing UD of ICT, and why? Method: Using a mix-method and applied approach, research methods include literature reviews, survey, interview studies, and case studies. We apply content analysis, statistics, and grounded theory to interpret the data, and generative and design-based research to utilize the insights. Contributions: We start by investigating best practice methodological stances and approaches. Due to the complexity of viewing UD of ICT as one field, we reframe our view and propose a uniform understanding of what UD entails for interaction design (IxD) and service design (SD). We find a mutual influence of Personal, Processual, Organizational and Social factors on UD success, and identify Critical Success Criteria (CSC) for ensuring UD in ICT-projects. From this empirical basis, different methods, models, and tools are developed, piloted and prototyped; including defining UD of services, and predicting UD success based on compliance to the CSC. A theoretical framework is modeled, reflecting the identified factors influencing UD. Conclusions: By increasing our abilities to predict and facilitate UD quality prior to or early in ICT-procurement and development processes, the thesis contributions inform future actions and advance a continued integration of UD in society. The findings can have relevance for researchers in the field of UD, for policy makers, for IxD and SD educators and professionals, for providers of ICT solutions targeted to the public, and the designers and developers creating these solutions and services
Studies in health technology and informatics, 2018
Some ICT projects manage to create award winning, inclusive solutions, while others fail. Previou... more Some ICT projects manage to create award winning, inclusive solutions, while others fail. Previous research has gathered data from 34 informants across 23 ICT-projects that have achieved universal design (UD). Their reasons for success are complex, but 15 Critical Success Criteria (CSC) can be identified. This article asks: How can we utilize these insights to promote UD efforts in the ICT-industry? The article proposes a way to model the empirical data for societal utilization; supporting future efforts to promote UD. First, we analyze the relationships between personal, processual, organizational and societal factors, and how the different critical success criteria work together to positively influence the projects in our sample. Next, we apply Hertzberg and Fogg's theories to classify the CSC as triggers, facilitators, motivators or hygiene factors. Based on this deeper understanding, we model the data and propose 3 trigger factors for UD of ICT. Using our model, we propose t...
E-laeringssystemer er na? utbredt i norsk universitets- og hogskolesektor (UH-sektor). Dette er p... more E-laeringssystemer er na? utbredt i norsk universitets- og hogskolesektor (UH-sektor). Dette er pa? mange ma?ter positivt for universell utforming, da nye IKT-losninger a?pner for inkludering. E-laeringsverktoy ma? imidlertid vaere universelt utformede, slik at studenter med funksjonsnedsettelser kan benytte seg av verktoyene pa? lik linje med andre studenter. Denne studien ser pa? dagens praksis rundt ivaretakelse av universell utforming i anskaffelse og bruk av digitale eksamenslosninger. Dette gjores gjennom en kartleggende sporreundersokelse i UH-sektoren, og pa?folgende dybdeintervjuer med representanter ba?de fra UH-institusjoner og leverandorer. Studien identifiserer en rekke utfordringer, blant annet en uklar praksiskompetanse pa? universell utforming og fa? universelt utformede normallosninger i UH- institusjoner. Studien peker pa? sentrale forbedringsomra?der i anskaffelsesprosesser, saerlig knyttet til at UH-sektoren undervurderer hvilke konkrete krav de kan stille til te...
Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent i... more Systems and services based on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are now prevalent in our daily lives. Digital transformations have been, and are still being, initiated across private and public sectors. As such, the consequences of digital exclusion are severe and may block access to key aspects of modern life, such as education, employment, consumerism and health services. In order to combat this, regions and countries such as the USA, Canada, EU and Scandinavia have all legislated universal design (UD) in relation to ICT, in order to ensure as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to access and use digital information and services. However, there has been limited research into how higher educational programs address legislated accessibility responsibilities. This paper looks into the discipline of interaction design (IxD). IxD is the design domain focused on ‘how human beings relate to other human beings through the mediating influence of products’ (Buchanan...
1 Miriam Nes, .NET consultant, Avenir, Miriam.nes@a venir.no 2 Kirsten Ribu, Assistant Professor,... more 1 Miriam Nes, .NET consultant, Avenir, Miriam.nes@a venir.no 2 Kirsten Ribu, Assistant Professor, Oslo Universit y College, Kirsten.ribu@iu.hio.no 3 Morten Tollefsen, MediALT, morten@medialt.no Abstract The digital divide causes democratic problems in societies where the use of technology is necessa ry to participate fully. Improvement of user accessibilit y does not seem to be a priority in industry, students in general have little or no systematic knowledge of principle s of universal design, and the inaccessibility of techno l gical facilities, software and web pages continues to ere ct barriers for many citizens. In order to study the significance of such barriers, we have observed and interviewed people with disabilities, in particular users with Parkinson’s disease, whose problems are simila r to those of the elderly. The ailment leads to serious practical difficulties using every-day technology, and the fi ndings indicate that many obstacles can be overcome by applying princi...
Children with impaired speech using speech-generating devices to communicate are today forced to ... more Children with impaired speech using speech-generating devices to communicate are today forced to use the voice of a grown up for automatic synthetic speech. Research indicates this may be unfortunate for the development of self, communicative interaction, situational feedback and play. Building on previous research, a Norwegian child synthesis was prototyped. Three children using speech-generating devices tested the prototype. User evaluations provided valuable insight into user needs and the challenges of the prototype.
d design, regard proposed integration models and perceive multidisciplinary cooperation and integ... more d design, regard proposed integration models and perceive multidisciplinary cooperation and integration. The impression is that fundamental principles of agile and user-centered methodologies are not necessarily merged in integrated approaches. The developers confirm the UX-designers notion that development is emphasized over design work, and that user-centered work is given the least importance – thus the success of merged models currently rests heavily on comfortable project constraints. Findings suggest proposed parallel integration models are generally well received among developers, however the success of merged models seems to rest heavily on comfortable project constraints. An interesting insight from the study is how proposed parallel models may be disadvantageous to interdisciplinary collaboration in multidisciplinary teams.
This paper discusses how organisations pro-actively can ensure compliance with disciplinary best ... more This paper discusses how organisations pro-actively can ensure compliance with disciplinary best practice and regulations on Universal Design (UD) of ICT. We apply system-oriented design to analyse and engineer organisational compliance. The focus is on how best practice – disclosed in theory on how to design for UD, as well as coming regulatory updates – relate to current practices and systems theory on where in a system to intervene in order to change systems most effectively. The aim is a blueprint for a compliant, stable and improved organizational system. The case for the study is the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). The work presented is part of ongoing strategic work on UD for NAV. Two contributions are made; 1) a discussion on the success of the utilized approach to inform strategic work on intervention points, and 2) recommended system mechanisms for NAV and similar organizations in order to meet the intention of the UD legislation and current quality benc...
Universal design (UD) of ICT is about creating solutions that are usable and accessible for as ma... more Universal design (UD) of ICT is about creating solutions that are usable and accessible for as many end-users as possible. Currently, agile development is a common approach in ICT-projects. This article investigates the challenges for ensuring UD in agile ICT-projects. We propose the term «agile universal design»(AUD)to denote UD in agile ICT-projects. Through a scoping review, we find that traditional user-centered and quality control activities may be seen as disruptive in the agile process. On the other hand, promotion of stakeholders and user involvement throughout the development process and in all phases fit well with UD approaches. Seven practical AUD challenges are identified and point to the fact that securing high quality usability aspects for users with a diverse set of needs require more than limited early attention followed by mere sporadic user focus. We find main AUD issues to be: a) capturing, communicating, keeping track of and quality assure requirements from stake...
The field of service design(SD)is fast growing. SD methodology focuses on ensuring positive user ... more The field of service design(SD)is fast growing. SD methodology focuses on ensuring positive user experiences across types of touch-points, types of mediums used (digital, paper, TV, radio etc.), devices (mobile, web), platforms (iOS, Android, MS, Linux), browsers, usage situations, weathers (rain, sunshine, cold weather) and so forth. However, universal design (UD) related to SD is under-researched. This paper aims to increase the knowledge of UD in SD. An exploratory approach is used to gather information, including a literature study and an interview study. Our findings show that UD awareness is lacking. Processes are highly qualitative –seeking to understand the user. However, marginalized users are not included. Based on the findings, we suggest six initiatives to promote a more inclusive SD methodology: 1) Define UD in relation to services, 2) Change the legislated focus from digital touchpoints to holistic costumer journeys, 3) Make service designers accountable for UD aspects...
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