Usability of a touchscreen assessment tool (TATOO) prototype for clinicians and typically developing children

Purpose Touchscreen devices are widely used in modern life and have quickly become part of daily life for children, including during Occupational Therapy sessions for children with disabilities. Touchscreen Assessment Tool (TATOO) is a prototype application used to evaluate children's performance when using touchscreen devices. The purpose of this study, based on the logical user-centred interaction design framework, was to evaluate TATOO's usability for occupational therapists and typically developing children and to examine the correlations between their usability scores. Methods A convenience sample of clinicians (N = 10) and children with typical development (N = 60) was recruited for this study. The usability assessment was conducted using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and semi-structured interviews for the clinicians, and the Short Feedback Questionnaire-Child (SFQ-Child) for the children. Results The SUS scores (M +/- SD = 85.5 +/- 8.04, range = 70-97.5) indicated good ratings of TATOO's usability by clinicians; the SFQ-Child results showed children also rated its usability very highly, including all ages (4-10 years) and all tasks. The clinicians all expressed positive attitudes towards using TATOO, and no bias was found between the clinicians' usability scores and the children's usability feedback. Conclusion The TATOO is a user-friendly tool. Researchers and clinicians can benefit from the availability of an objective and low-cost assessment tool to promote their evaluation and intervention by providing more focussed individualized recommendations and adaptations. The study also suggests a model to follow when developing applications and evaluating their usability through a mixed-method approach to deepen understanding of the user's needs.