ABSTRACT
The ultimate evaluation remains the performance of a product in its intended market. The Cambridge Engineering Design Centre has been developing a number of evaluation approaches that focus on accessibility. These range from making designers more aware of accessibility and usability issues to user trials and exclusion audits. This chapter describes the rationale for these approaches and describes their application to a number of familiar products. Design evaluation plays an important role in the design of more inclusive products and services, enabling designers and product managers to identify areas for special attention and improvement. Effective use of evaluation must balance the ease of theoretical studies with the potential benefits of a well-planned, but more expensive, user trial. It is important to realise the particular benefit of evaluation in inclusive design, where a broader, and possibly less familiar, range of user capabilities must be considered. Good design will be dependent upon good and robust evaluation.
