A Study on Mapping Quantitative Performance to Perceived Service Quality of the Attachable/Detachable Wheelchair Automation Device: Preliminary and Augmented Application for SERVQUAL based Usability Assessment

Purpose: This study proposes a preliminary framework for interpreting the perceived service quality of the attachable/detachable wheelchair automation devices by conceptually linking quantitative performance indicators such as attachment/detachment time, attachment/detachment consistency, driving stability, and safety response with redefined SERVQUAL usability assessment dimensions.This study focuses on the following research question: “Can the perceived service quality, which reflects the convenience of use for users and caregivers in technologically advanced automated (motorized) medical devices, be structured into a quantitative performance indicator?” The detailed research questions to specify this are as follows: 1) Can the attachment/detachment time reduction confirmed through repeated performance experiments be interpreted as an indirect indicator of usability and responsiveness? and 2) How can performance indicators such as attachment/detachment time, compatibility, and consistency of repeated performance be conceptually corresponded to the SERVQUAL dimensions?Methods: This study unfolds in a four-step design: 1) 10 technical experimentations for each of 10 (5 male and 5 female) participants resulting in 100 instances, 2) a heuristic mapping of technical indicators to redefined SERVQUAL dimensions, 3) ANOVA analyses, and 4) a multiple regression analysis. It explored whether such a quantitative performance indicator/technical metric as attachment/detachment time could conceptually align with the user-perceived service quality in the wheelchair automation device evaluation.Results: Quantitative performance indicators were successfully aligned with qualitative SERVQUAL dimensions, suggesting that such technical metrics as attachment/detachment time and consistency, ease of handling, and safety response can serve as proxy indicators of the perceived service quality.Conclusion: This framework offers foundational insights for structuring user-centered evaluation parameters in future assistive technology research.