Reading Apps User Requirements
This project is developing a detailed set of user requirements to help developers, designers, and decision-makers understand what individuals with diverse print disabilities need and expect from digital reading solutions—especially when it comes to accessibility, usability, and inclusive design.
Created through close collaboration between DAISY Consortium members, people with print disabilities, accessibility experts, and developers of specialized reading apps, this resource captures a wide range of expert knowledge and practical insights. Developed through nine months of working group meetings, workshops, and discussions with developers and drawing on the lived experiences of people with print disabilities, this document provides the foundation needed to build reading apps that truly serve all users.
While the user requirements are particularly relevant for those developing or procuring specialized reading apps, it also offers valuable guidance for those working on mainstream reading platforms who wish to make their products outstandingly accessible and user-friendly for everyone. Whether you are building a new reading application from the ground up or enhancing an existing one, we invite you to explore these requirements not just as a treasure trove of insights into the needs of people with print disabilities, but as a roadmap toward more inclusive digital reading experiences. For a high-level overview, see the Executive Summary
How is this different to Reading Systems Evaluation?
- Reading both audio and etext are in scope.
- Our scope is broader than the EPUB format.
- Rather than focussing on fundamental requirements, our user requirements will be aspirational and ambitious.
- The project output is likely to be used as a basis for procuring or developing apps for libraries operated by DAISY members.
How can I get involved?
The working group meetings ran between December 2024 through September 2025. We now invite comments on the Release Candidate version of the specification and the Executive Summary before 31 October 2025.
Background
DAISY member Dedicon identified that existing reading systems do not meet all complex needs. In November 2024 they proposed a project to develop user requirements for reading apps. The project was commissioned by and will report to the DAISY board in November 2025.