An Inclusive Approach to Cooperative Evaluation of Web User Interfaces

Accessibility has been one of the major challenges for interface design of Web applications nowadays, especially those involving e-government and e-learning. In this paper we present an inclusive and participatory approach to the Cooperative Evaluation of user interfaces. It was carried out with an interdisciplinary research group that aims to include students with disabilities in the university campus and academic life. HCI specialists and non-specialists, with and without visual disabilities, participated as users and observers during the evaluation of a Web site designed to be one of the communication channels between the group and the University community. This paper shows the benefits and the challenges of considering the differences among stakeholders in an inclusive and participatory approach, when designing for accessibility within the Universal Design paradigm.