Computer environments for improving end-user accessibility

In several computer applications, end-users are experts in a specific domain, not necessarily experts in computer science, who use computer environments to perform their daily tasks. In this paper we present a methodology for designing interactive systems based on the development of multimedia and multimodal environments for supporting the activities of such domain-expert users. We call these environments Software Shaping Workshops: they aim at easing the way people program and interact with computers, thus allowing domain-expert users to develop software applications without the burden of using a traditional programming language, but using high level visual languages tailored to their needs. It is shown how this design methodology is easily applicable through the software tool BANCO.