Accessibility

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When developing interfaces we should consider a variety set of ability dimensions, cognitive, physical, age, gender, culture, personal history and emotional, physical and spiritual needs. We have to expect our interface will not be used only by the "average user", i.e., we should develop it for everyone.

Disabilities have to be considered, including temporary ones, e.g., when someone is sick or injured, driving or walking. For example, when reading while walking, a person will have his/her reading speed and comprehension reduced, fragmented attention, higher cognitive load and impaired dexterity. Permanent disabilities (cognitive, motor, hearing, visual) are even more important.

When we think on accessibility it's likely to the Curb Cub effect to happens, i.e. it'll help everyone, it's inclusive. One example is closed-captioning, created for hearing impaired people, developed other uses, e.g., language learning and "data mine" .

Some countries have laws regarding accessibility. US has the US Disabilities and Rehabilitation Acts. Canada doesn't have a federal legislation, but in Ontario public sector and large organization shall conform to the W3C WCGA 2.0 guidelines.