Crucial design issues for special access technology; a Delphi study

Abstract

Purpose: To develop and demonstrate a method to involve professional users of assistive technology (AT) in the development process of customisable products. Employing the ideas of user participation and mass customisation, this research addresses the need for reduced product costs and optimised product flexibility. Method: An adaptable six-question Delphi study was developed to establish consensus among AT professionals on design issues relating to a specified AT domain requiring innovation. The study is demonstrated for the special access technology (SAT) domain. A modified morphological matrix structures the application of the study results to the product design process. Results: Fourteen professionals from the Republic of Ireland and the UK participated. Consensus was reached on prevalent parts of SAT that malfunction, primary reasons for SAT malfunction, characteristics of clients associated with SAT selection, client needs regarding SAT use and training, desirable traits of SAT and clinicians’ frustrations with SAT. Conclusion: The study revealed a range of problems related to SAT, highlighting the complexities of successful SAT adoption. The questions led to differentiated insights and enabled design solution conceptualisation from various perspectives. The approach was found to help facilitate efficient generation and application of professional users’ knowledge during the design process of customisable AT.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• High product costs and device abandonment negatively affect many people who use assistive technology (AT). Poor device design is a root cause of these two problems. To address this issue, a method for the practical concept generation of customisable AT is proposed and demonstrated. The method aims to support the development of new, low-cost products which satisfy a broad range of consumers‘ needs.

• The literature requests suitable methods to facilitate the involvement of different types of AT users in the product design process. This paper presents a method to first establish consensus on important design issues for a specified AT domain, and subsequently to apply these issues to the product design process.

• This paper describes the method's application for a customisable special access technology (SAT) device. Crucial design issues for SAT devices are presented to assist future SAT development work in research and industry.

• This research supports and provides validation for a number of past studies about desirable criteria for AT. These studies declared that further research was required to confirm their results.

• Computer access
• mass customization
• morphological matrices
• user-centred design

Acknowledgements

The authors extend their thanks and appreciation to the gatekeepers and participants from Enable Ireland and The Cedar Foundation for their time and contributions to the Delphi study.