Addressing Visual Impairments with Model-Driven Engineering: A Systematic Literature Review
Judith Michael, Lukas Netz, Bernhard Rumpe, Ingo Müller, John Grundy, Shavindra Wickramathilaka, Hourieh Khalajzadeh
TL;DR
The paper surveys how model-driven engineering (MDE) has been used to address visual impairments, revealing late emergence, fragmented methods, and limited end-user validation. Across 30 primary studies, WCAG guidelines predominate, while concrete modeling of vision-specific needs and fully functioning generated systems are rare. The authors identify methodological gaps, weak reproducibility, and a need for reusable modeling artifacts and evaluation packages, and they propose a roadmap emphasizing explicit accessibility modeling, reusable transformation rules, and better integration of user testing. The work highlights the potential of MDE to streamline accessibility work but calls for more technically rigorous, user-centered, and replicable research to translate promises into practice with real-world impact.
Abstract
Software applications often pose barriers for users with accessibility needs, e.g., visual impairments. Model-driven engineering (MDE), with its systematic nature of code derivation, offers systematic methods to integrate accessibility concerns into software development while reducing manual effort. This paper presents a systematic literature review on how MDE addresses accessibility for vision impairments. From 447 initially identified papers, 30 primary studies met the inclusion criteria. About two-thirds reference the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), yet their project-specific adaptions and end-user validations hinder wider adoption in MDE. The analyzed studies model user interface structures, interaction and navigation, user capabilities, requirements, and context information. However, only few specify concrete modeling techniques on how to incorporate accessibility needs or demonstrate fully functional systems. Insufficient details on MDE methods, i.e., transformation rules or code templates, hinder the reuse, generalizability, and reproducibility. Furthermore, limited involvement of affected users and limited developer expertise in accessibility contribute to weak empirical validation. Overall, the findings indicate that current MDE research insufficiently supports vision-related accessibility. Our paper concludes with a research agenda outlining how support for vision impairments can be more effectively embedded in MDE processes.