## 4 Discussion  
This paper presented an integrated methodology for the development and execution of usability tests for wearable systems. Wearable systems are new and miniaturized technologies that are pervading our lives in several applications: measuring performances in fitness or sport activities, e-health and m-health systems for monitoring physiological signs in chronicity management at home or when monitoring patients in hospital, as well as during rehabilitation processes, and even a prosthesis for an upper or lower limb can be considered a wearable device. New applications at the workplace have recently been introduced with wearable exoskeletons empowering human functions in completing demanding or complex tasks. Usually, two main factors are analyzed: the technological characteristics and performance, and the usability and acceptance of these systems by the users. Technological requirements are mainly quantitative and easy to directly measure. Instead, their usability, acceptance, and the user experience is poorly studied: [PERSON] et al. [13] confirmed this finding. Furthermore, in studies found in the scientific literature, the research methodology \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Item Score** & **Perceived Satisfaction** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Perceived Support in** \\ **the Function** \\ \end{tabular} & **Overall Importance** \\ \hline
1 & very negative & not important at all & not important at all \\
2 & negative & not important & not important \\
3 & slightly negative & slightly not important & slightly not important \\
4 & neutral & neutral & neutral \\
5 & slightly positive & slightly important & slightly important \\
6 & positive & important & important \\
7 & very positive & very important & very important \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 6: Scoring table for the post-test questionnaire for the factors with their semantic meaning and the corresponding value of 1–7 in the Likert scale system. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Item Score** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Wearability (Considering Both** \\ **Wearing and Taking Off the System)** \\ \end{tabular} & **Perceived Comfort** \\ \hline
1 & very difficult & very bad \\
2 & difficult & bad \\
3 & neutral & neutral \\
4 & easy & good \\
5 & very easy & very good \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Scoring table for the post-test questionnaire for the factors with their semantic meaning and the corresponding value of 1–5 in the Likert scale system. is usually simplified or considers only limited factors. From these findings, it emerged that there is a lack of a structured methodological approach to develop a comprehensive protocol. This paper aimed at providing a methodological basis and the related tools for developing a structured protocol. As defined in the methodological section, the first action is to clearly define the objectives of the study. Three main aspects could be addressed: (a) identify design inconsistencies and usability problems or errors; (b) validate the use of the wearable system under controlled test conditions with representative users; and (c) establish a baseline in terms of user performance and user satisfaction levels. This aspect seems to be underestimated, and most of the related studies are reactive and target the second goal, i.e., they involve an evaluation of the usability of a certain device. Indeed, in the design phase, the first goal is crucial and can provide significant elements for product optimization and refinement before the final development and delivery. The third goal can be related to the creation of a reference or gold-standard score to compare systems belonging to the same category of systems. The three goals are different and are also related to different phases of the lifecycle of a product.