Addressing Visual Impairments with Model-Driven Engineering: A Systematic Literature Review

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.