CEN workshop

“Curriculum for training ICT Professionals in Universal Design”

Dónal Rice, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, NDA, Ireland

Barbara Schmidt-Belz, Fraunhofer FIT, Germany

Content

– Introduction• What is Universal Design (UD)?• Why training of ICT professionals in UD?• What is a CEN workshop?• Why a CWA "UD-Prof"?

– Universal Design training for ICT professionals• Topics of the curriculum• Levels of granularity• Different Training requirements of ICT professionals

– Status and Outlook

What is good design?

What is bad design?

– http://www.hbo.com/curb-your-enthusiasm/episodes/7/62-vehicular-fellatio/video/larry-on-perforation#/curb-your-enthusiasm/episodes/7/62-vehicular-fellatio/video/larry-on-perforation/index.html/

Bad design excludes

Bad design excludes:

"At night I can see the writing, but by day I find it impossible to use. I know there's

something written there but I don't know exactly what it says."

Bad design excludes

“Science Finds, Industry Applies, Man Conforms”

“The only important thing about design is

how it relates to people”

Victor Papanek (1970)

Good design enables

Enables doing everyday things…

Enables cooking…

Enables work…

Enables fun

What is Universal Design?

“Universal Design - • means the design and composition of an environment so

that it may be accessed, understood and used by persons of any age or size or having any particular physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual ability or disability

• means in relation to electronic systems, any electronics-based process of creating products, services or systems so that they may be used by any person”

– - Irish Disability Act 2005• “Universal design” shall not exclude assistive devices for

particular groups of persons with disabilities where this is needed - UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Why training of ICT professionals in UD?

– Levers to foster Universal Design and eInclusion• Raising awareness• Legal obligations( e.g. public administration services)• Guidelines (e.g. accessible web sites; public procurement)• Providing the necessary knowledge and skills to

stakeholders

– Major obstacles in companies against taking up UD (http://www-edc.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/inclusivedesign/id1/surveyofbusiness/) • Lack of time and money• Lack of knowledge and tools• Not perceived as client demand

Why training of ICT professionals in UD?

– Long-term goal: UD becomes part of professional education• Part of mainstream ICT study programmes (bachelor or

masters level)• Specialized masters level programme

– Short-term goal: Vocational training in UD for ICT professionals• Raising awareness among companies and stakeholders• ICT professionals acquiring knowledge and skills• Companies become fit to take up UD

–> Curriculum for vocational training to be developed

What is a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA)?

– CEN – European Committee for Standardisation – CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) is a new type

of publication• To satisfy market demands for a more flexible and timelier

alternative to the traditional European Standard (EN)• But still possesses the authority derived from the

openness of participation and agreement inherent in the operations of CEN and its national members

• Its openness distinguishes the CWA from documents developed by industry consortia featuring limited participation („de facto standards“).

Who?

–Chair: Dónal Rice, Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, NDA, Ireland–Vice chair: Barbara Schmidt-Belz, Fraunhofer FIT,

Germany–Secretariat: Elizabeth O’Ferrall, National Standards

Authority of Ireland

–Based on a deliverable from the EU-funded project dfa@inclusion–Plus expert group of 20 core members, plus

contributions and comments from 50 organisations and individuals

22

Why a CWA „Curriculum for training ICT Professionals in Universal Design”?– Experts set a frame by specifying the curriculum

and guidelines for the training– Companies can offer courses referring to the

CWA as a specification– Companies that get training for their employees

can feel confident that a CWA-conform course has a good quality

– Certification procedures might be set up, building on this curriculum.

Content

– Introduction• What is Universal Design (UD)?• Why training of ICT professionals in UD?• What is a CEN workshop?• Why a CWA "UD-Prof"?

– Universal Design training for ICT professionals• Topics of the curriculum• Levels of granularity• Different Training requirements of ICT professionals

– Status and Outlook

Curriculum for Training ICT professionals in Universal Design

Level of Granularity

10 Topics:•Target user groups of UD•User interfaces and UD•User-centred design and UD•UD for Web applications•UD for Games and consumer electronics•Software architecture and UD•Assistive technology•Evaluation of UD•Business cases for UD•UD Policy and Legislation

Introduction

Major aspects

Details

SpecificationGoals, Outcome: (knowledge/skills/

competences)Content, Methods,

Duration

>220 References mapped to the

appropriate units

Topics of the curriculum (1/2)

Topic Short description

Target User Groups of Universal Design

Awareness of users with impairments; principles and motivation for UD

User Interfaces and UD UD of User Interfaces; new UI paradigms supporting UD

Software Architecture and UD

Impact of UD on software architecture decisions

Web applications and UD Accessibility of Web content, authoring tools, user agents and services; UD for Web applications

Consumer Electronics, Games

Accessibility of devices for entertainment and communication

Topics of the curriculum (2/2)

Topic Short description

User-Centred Design process and UD

Principles of human-centred design process as a frame for Design for All

Evaluation of UD Evaluation of qualities of use, including accessibility

Assistive Technology and UD Assistive technology; the role of AT in a UD approach

Business Cases for UD Business cases of implementing UD in a company

Ethics, Legislation, Privacy and UD

Legal and ethical basis of UD; legal aspects of user involvement in development and personalization of services

Course structure and pre-conditions of the different levels of granularity

–Introduction : The topic is introduced and the most important facts are given (15-30 mins)–Major Aspects : All major

aspects of the topic are covered but full details are avoided (4-12 hours)–Details : The topic is

covered in sufficient detail as necessary to apply the knowledge and skills on the job (16 – 30 hours)

IN/ID - YYYY-MM-DD Title / Titre – 28

General Understanding of ICT

Special Professional SkillsIntroduction

Major Aspects Details

Recommended Resources

Typical training requirements of ICT professionals

Content

– Introduction• What is Universal Design (UD)?• Why training of ICT professionals in UD?• What is a CEN workshop?• Why a CWA "UD-Prof"?

– Universal Design training for ICT professionals• Topics of the curriculum• Levels of granularity• Different Training requirements of ICT professionals

– Status and Outlook

Status of CWA

– Initiative, business plan and initial draft came from the EU-fundet project DfA@eInclusion

– Kickoff May 2009, business plan agreed, chair Dónal Rice, NDA-IE, vice chair Barbara Schmidt-Belz, Fraunhofer FIT

– 1st phase of public commenting until 04.10.2009– 15 Experts sent a total of 167 comments– 2nd meeting Nov 2009, discussion and decisions– 2nd phase of public commenting until 12. Jan 2010– Experts sent a total of 238 comments– 3rd meeting June/July 2010, discussion and decisions– Final version agreed, to be published in Dec 2010.

Outlook

– With CEN – published December 2010– Published as accessible PDF (world first for a

standards document?!)– Promote, e.g., via networks such as EDeAN and

eAccess+

– Need for experience with this CWA Courses compliant with this CWA Certification procedures to be set up Collecting experiences, contacts to trainers and ICT

professionals– Need to review and update this CWA, based on

experiences

Thank you for your attention and

interestContacts:

Chair: Dónal Rice, NDA-IE, DJRice@nda.ieVice-Chair: Barbara Schmidt-Belz, Fraunhofer FIT, WebCC

http://www.universaldesign.ie/curriculum