We hoped that by bringing together academic researchers, industrial developers and government practitioners we can promote improved policies and refined designs. These designs will serve the needs of novices and experts, young and old, English and non-English speakers, and fluent and struggling readers. Improved designs will also benefit disabled users and users working under disabling conditions. As the papers arrived and we read more about what researchers and practitioners were doing, our conviction grew that improvements were possible. In fact, evidence accumulated that designing for many different kinds of users often led to superior designs for all users.
Diversity promotes quality.
Maybe the outpouring of innovative ideas and the positive examples of success shouldn't have surprised us. After all pioneers such as Gregg Vanderheiden in the US, Alan Newell in England, and Constantine Stephanidis in Greece made this point a decade ago in dealing with designs for disabled and elderly users. I am delighted by their association with this conference as we bring their message to a wider audience who care about the broader issue of universal usability. This report produced strong responses from many sides including government agencies and corporate leaders. As researchers broadened their scope to examine developing nations the gaps became even more disturbing.