The demand for business suits by disabled in wheelchair involved in economic activities has recently increased. Therefore, an online suit-customizing system that considers the special accessibility needs of disabled in wheelchair should be developed. this study aims to develop such a user interface an online customizing system for men`s suits specialized for disabled in wheelchair.
A six-step approach was used in this study: (1) literature review for the development of a testing tool for web usability; (2) heuristic testing with five web specialists; (3) selection of suit style option on the basis of researching existing systems, discomfort, and the design preferences of 200 disabled in wheelchair; (4) development of a user interface prototype on the basis of suggestions for improvement from the heuristic test and suit style options; (5) usability testing of the user interface prototype by 10 men in wheelchair with disabilities; and (6) development of the actual user interface on the basis of suggestions for improvement from the usability test.
Consequently, 29 evaluation items were developed with the six evaluation criteria of interactivity, attractiveness, accessibility, error prevention, informativeness, and consistency. The interface of Company S had high ratings on interactivity, accessibility, informativeness, and consistency in the heuristic test results. and on the basis of suggestions for improvement from the heuristic test, user interface prototype developed in this study had higher ratings on all evaluation criteria than that developed by Company S and Company L.
This online user interface for customizing men`s suits provides better usability to disabled in wheelchair than existing online interfaces aimed at both non-disabled and disabled persons. Therefore, this study can contribute to the commercialization of an online customizing system for men`s suits specializing in serving disabled in wheelchair.