Abstract

Purpose

This study proposes a therblig-based evaluation technique as a new accessibility tool for physical products like home appliances that spinal cord injured users occasionally use.

Material and Methods

This study recruited nine spinal cord injured users for the interview and observation regarding home appliance usage and analytically structured their usage behaviors using therbligs. The therblig notations eventually referred to actual and potential accessibility issues that spinal cord injured users would encounter when using the home appliances.

Results

The primary therblig operations causing accessibility issues for spinal cord injured users were 'reach,' 'move,' 'grasp,' 'position,' and 'use’, corresponding to their disability characteristics. In addition, this study proposed a new effective therblig called “hook,” which is suitable for better representation of user behavior and accessibility evaluation of spinal cord users.

Conclusion

This study provided an interaction-based accessibility evaluation technique, which is easy to learn and apply, especially for physical products.