Designing, making, and validating accessible products and services

Participatory accessibility, i.e., the involvement of users in the design, making, and validation of accessible products and services, has been encouraged under the premise that it would ultimately prove beneficial both in terms of usability and user satisfaction. This article examines the role of u...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Arias Badia, Blanca, Bestard-Bou, Joan Josep, Hermosa-Ramírez, Irene
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repositorio:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/60570
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10230/60570
http://dx.doi.org/10.47476/jat.v5i2.2022.229
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Participatory accessibility
Accessibility validation
Accessibility consultancy
Users’ professionalisation
Persons with disabilities
Disabled people organisations
Cosultancy
Descripción
Sumario:Participatory accessibility, i.e., the involvement of users in the design, making, and validation of accessible products and services, has been encouraged under the premise that it would ultimately prove beneficial both in terms of usability and user satisfaction. This article examines the role of users and Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) in the design and validation of access services by providing the results of four in-depth interviews with representatives of non-profit organisations active in Catalonia. The main topics covered in the interviews include users’ views on design, production, and validation processes, the training and professionalisation of user consultants and validators, and users’ input on standards. The results show that users are mainly involved in validation actions today. They are only rarely considered in early stages of the production chain. DPOs see the occasional exceptions to this trend as a positive indicator that processes may change in the near future. They demand the true integration of persons with disabilities in all the links in the production chain and, crucially, in management positions, as the only way to effectively cater for users’ needs.