Reflections on Cost-Benefit Analyses Concerning Universal Design of ICT Solutions

The proper calculation of the return on investment into universally designed ICT products and services is of interest to the public and private sector alike. This work overviews the findings of related research and a number of available case studies, discusses outcomes, categorizes reported effects, and suggests future research topics and suitable research methodology. Conducting cost-benefit analyses appears to be a very complex area due to the vast number of influencing factors. The effects have to be differentiated for all stakeholders, such as users, service providers, society, etc., and they have to be related with uncertainty estimations and associated sensitivity calculations. All review articles and case studies show that the benefits of universally design solutions outweigh their initial investment.