Digital inclusive services refer to technologies designed to diminish social inequalities and ensure equal access to information and communication technologies for all individuals. Previous research has explored various strategies and assessment methods to promote digital inclusion, including the use of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), co-design methodologies, and customised ICT platforms. These studies have compared results obtained through different approaches, such as assessment techniques, user preferences, and technical barriers. While there is a growing need for digital services to be inclusive, there has been limited research exploring how development methods, accessibility features, and stakeholder involvement intersect. Moreover, to fully utilise the potential of technology for societal benefit, it is essential to consider the perspectives of various stakeholders, including developers, designers, policymakers, and end-users alike. Thus, effective promotion of digital inclusion requires a multi-stakeholder development process, actively involving stakeholders with diverse expertise, such as developers, user experience (UX) designers, and accessibility specialists. This thesis aims to explore various factors that can influence the development of inclusive digital services, focusing on the dependencies among stakeholders, agile processes, and accessibility qualities. Employing a mixed methods approach, including workshops, interviews, and surveys across five studies, this research investigated and identified current development processes, as well as the relationship between stakeholder knowledge and accessibility attributes. Each study pursued specific objectives to analyse factors such as the dependencies among stakeholders, their roles, and knowledge levels. By gaining insights into stakeholders' perceptions of accessibility requirements and guidelines, key themes and patterns emerged in the development of a dependency framework. This framework underscores potential dependencies, including stakeholders' domains and the use of customised ICT tools. In conclusion, the research highlights the imperative for continuous collaboration and recognition of factors influencing interdependencies in the development of inclusive digital services. The thesis underscores that sustaining accessibility qualities requires ongoing efforts, considering variations in stakeholders' awareness and roles. The main contributions lie in highlighting the importance of tools that foster collaboration between software engineering and human-computer interaction, ultimately bridging the gap in ensuring inclusive digital services. 

Web accessibility awareness among development teams has increased with initiatives like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and more user-centered development methods. While this awareness has grown, there is a need to explore accessibility from diverse stakeholder perspectives when applying these standards. This study presents findings from a survey of 47 stakeholders who used an internal customized digital tool with design components like patterns, principles, and graphic profiles. This study aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the stakeholders’ experiences when developing accessible public web services with the support of a customized ICT tool. Results show that a knowledge-based digital platform, which is used for assessing and communicating accessibility requirements, can streamline the development process and establish a common baseline for all stakeholders involved in developing accessible public web services. This research highlights the importance of having a holistic perspective from various stakeholders on accessibility and the impact of tailored tools in fostering inclusivity and compliance with web accessibility standards.

Software engineering (SE) models, processes and software development lifecycles have been developing since the early 1960s, with various fashions and trends dominating the development. Currently, lean or agile approaches, like scrum, have received wide and increasing attention. Since the 1990s, when software started to be adopted widely by the general public, the need to focus on human-computer interaction (HCI) grew and HCI development methodologies such as user-centered systems design became popular, addressing the values of actively involving the end users in the development work. For many years, SE and HCI developed in parallel, without involving each other’s disciplines much in the process, but recently the need to effectively integrate HCI and SE has become much more evident and novel approaches, such as Agile UX, have developed. This chapter goes through the historical development of SE and of HCI and surveys the attempts made on integrating the two and concludes with some general recommendations for further development aiming at a seamless integration of SE and HCI for the benefit of all stakeholders involved.

AbstractBackground:Accessibility is acknowledged as a key to inclusion in the Convention of Rights for People with Disabilities. An inaccessible design can result in exclusion from eHealth and cause disability among people who have impairments.

Objective:This scoping literature review aimed to investigate how eHealth services have been developed and evaluated regarding accessibility for people with impairments.

Methods:In line with Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for scoping studies and using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), we conducted a search in 4 databases (PubMed, Scopus, IEEE, and Web of Science) in October 2020 and an update of the search in June 2022. The search strategy was structured according to the PICO model as follows: Population/Problem, digital accessibility for users with impairment; Intervention, health care delivered by any digital solution; Comparison, not applicable; Outcome, use of and adherence to (1) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), (2) other accessibility guidelines, and (3) other means, for designing or evaluating accessibility in eHealth services. A Boolean search was conducted by combining terms related to accessibility and eHealth. All authors participated in screening abstracts according to the eligibility criteria. Each publication, containing a potentially relevant abstract, was read (full text) and assessed for eligibility by 2 authors independently and pairwise. Publications deemed eligible were read by all authors and discussed for consensus.

Results:A total of 8643 publications were identified. After abstract screening, 131 publications remained for full-text reading. Of those, 116 publications were excluded as they did not meet the eligibility criteria. Fifteen publications involving studies of 12 eHealth services were included in the study. Of the 15 publications, 2 provided a definition of accessibility, 5 provided an explanation of accessibility, and 8 did not provide any explanation. Five publications used the WCAG to evaluate accessibility when developing eHealth services. One publication used International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 29138, ISO 2941, and ISO/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 30071-1 standards together with the Spanish Association for Standardization (UNE) 139803 standard. Eleven publications used other means to address accessibility, including text-level grading; literature review about accessibility; user tests, focus groups, interviews, and design workshops with target groups of patients, relatives, and health care professionals; and comparative analysis of existing technical solutions to provide information about useful requirements.

Conclusions:Although a clear definition of accessibility can enhance operationalization and thus measurability when evaluating accessibility in eHealth services, accessibility was insufficiently defined in most of the included studies. Further, accessibility guidelines and standards were used to a very limited extent in the development and evaluation of eHealth services. Guidelines for developing complex interventions that include guidance for accessibility are motivated to ensure that accessibility will be considered systematically in eHealth services.

Contribution: An intensive three-month educational program can be used for rapid integration of foreign-born people into the IT industry. A novel method for integrating industrial needs with the practical parts of a bachelor's Computer Science program. Background: The program was motivated by (1) the societal need to increase the meaningful integration of immigrants into the workforce, and (2) the demand for IT specialists in the IT labor market. Intended outcomes: An effective intensive software developer program with a high level of industrial integration and a working matching model for employment. Application design: The program consists of three different phases; recruitment of participants, training and job matching. The training is divided into six modules using five different teaching methods. An evaluation model, based on passive and active data, is implemented with fast learning loops for teachers and participants. Findings: The program has been run seven times with 263 unemployed participants of different nationalities. On average 82.6 percent of the participants found employment in the IT industry within 5 months of the course ending. Female participants are in the majority and are more successful in securing employment. The findings suggest that it was possible to rapidly prototype and deliver an advanced reskilling program within a university setting and use it as a positive method to support newcomers find meaningful work that has a direct benefit for the local IT industry, as well as for the wider society.

The case study presented in this paper, investigates the conditions for implementing an agile learning environment. The course Software Engineering in Project Form for the second-year bachelor program in Computer Science at the KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, has undergone different iterations to increase attendance rate and student engagement and motivation and closing the gap between theory and practice. For the current academic year of 2021/2022, changes includes converting traditional lectures into student conference seminars and teachers into mentors, in line with the agile learning approach and values. Focusing on group working skills, communication skills and expected learning outcomes, the students were asked to assess their previous experiences and their own abilities in group work and communication, estimate the required qualities for software engineers, rate their preferences for learning and group work, and describe their overall expectations for the course. For this purpose, a survey was distributed to the 211 students, 117 responded. The results suggests that the students seems to prioritize most of the agile values, with the exception of customer collaboration. It can therefore be concluded that the conditions for introducing an agile learning environment will be fruitful. For the duration of the course, until May 2022, further evaluations will be made including interviews with mentors and another student survey after the course has finished, to investigate if, and if so how, the agile approach could increase student engagement whilst reducing the barriers between theory and practice.