Model driven engineering of accessible and multi-platform graphical user interfaces by parameterized model transformations

Abstract With the spectacular development of pervasive computing and the widespread use of mobile technologies, the user usually resorts to a wide variety of user platforms. Moreover, the applications deployed on such platforms usually lack specific support for people suffering from disabilities. This is especially valid in the Tunisian context where the current status of digital accessibility is far from being perfect since the developer's community still ignores accessibility-related programming techniques. Consequently, further efforts are still required to resolve the issues related to the growing variety of available devices and of accessibility difficulties met by different categories of users. Therefore, in this paper we are introducing a model driven approach that aims to assist local and worldwide communities of developers throughout the development process of accessible user interfaces (UIs) targeting several emerging platforms. Based on a set of models from different abstraction levels followed by transformations, this approach provides a generic framework that integrates accessibility concerns starting from the design time. It allows the generation of accessible interfaces with a focus on the graphical and adaptation aspects on various platforms regardless of the developer expertise in UI accessibility. 1