Functional needs

Functional needs describe the ways people interact with a product, based on the functional performance areas in EN 301 549 clause 4.2. Tagging issues, risks, and feedback with functional needs records which users a barrier affects, independently of any single standard.

In the product these are labelled Affected people.

Functional needs belong to the Standards module.

Built-in and read-only

The taxonomy is a fixed, built-in list. You cannot create, edit, or delete functional needs, and the list is the same for every organization. It is read-only everywhere it appears.

The taxonomy

Ablebase ships with the following ten functional needs:

• Those without vision
• Those with limited vision
• Those without colour perception
• Those without hearing
• Those with limited hearing
• Those without speech
• Those with limited manipulation or strength
• Those with limited reach
• Those with photosensitivity
• Those with limited cognition

Note

EN 301 549 clause 4.2 also lists “Privacy” (4.2.11). Ablebase intentionally excludes it from this taxonomy because privacy is a context property rather than a functional need. It is tracked elsewhere as an area risk factor.

Linking functional needs

You can link functional needs to issues, risks, and feedback. On an item’s edit view, the Affected people control lets you select any number from a dropdown; your selections then appear as badges on the item’s detail view. Saving replaces the full set of linked needs.

For where this happens in the product, see Issues and Risks.