Becoming a critical user… A Workshop on Influencing the Design of AAC Technology

Description

Active involvement of end users at all stages of development is crucial for the design of systems which meet real-world needs and are easy to use. User-Centred Design (UCD) is a process that aims to consider the whole user experience by including multiple stakeholders in the design process. Crucially, UCD proposes that the user is involved in all phases of design; from problem specification, through solution prototyping and evaluation (Norman, 2013). Although UCD has become good practice in the development of mainstream
software, the involvement of users in the design of AAC systems remains less common (Tönsing, et al. 2022). This may be due in part to the challenges of adapting design tasks for disabled designers, but may also link to the difficulty design teams encounter when recruiting skilled users to act as critical subject matter experts and co-designers, a subtly different role from that of an “expert by experience”. One way to encourage the involvement of more users in the design of AAC systems is to equip people to be more critical in their feedback on products. It is often difficult for users to “think outside the box” when considering the challenges they face, or the potential of technology to solve these: users need to be able to identify and describe their needs without being limited to what they think technology can and cannot do. This workshop will provide participants with insights into the design process so that they can provide critical feedback on AAC systems, as well as being able to identify areas where technology could support unmet needs. By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: i) identify aspects of good and poor design; and ii) describe a need for technology in a structured way.

Period	9 Sept 2025
Event title	Communication Matters International AAC Conference 2025
Event type	Conference
Location	Leeds, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of Recognition	National