Abstract
There are few guidelines on how to involve older people in the design process of new IT related
products. In this paper we describe some of the difficulties encountered when working with
older people, and introduce the concept of mutual inspiration, illustrated by our experiences.
We argue that mutual inspiration can provide a way to make interactions with older people
more effective, leading towards more active involvement in the development process and more
innovative results.
Introduction
The population of the developed world is getting older. In Scotland in 1960 the over 60s
constituted 15% of the population; by 2025 this proportion will increase to 29% [GROS
population estimates 2001]. In addition, fewer older people live with their children than did in
the past, more people now live alone or with similarly-aged spouses [Grundy, 1996]. As
Information and Communication Technology is expected to play an important role in enabling
older people to live independently for longer and in supporting their communication needs, it is
important to ensure that general technology products are usable by this age group as well as to
develop products specifically targeting the older population.
Although most people agree on the importance of involving older people during the
development of new technology [Keates and Clarkson, 2002], there are relatively few examples
or guidelines for their successful involvement. Often traditional formats have to be adapted;
various researchers report on the problems encountered when running focus groups with older
people [Lines and Hone, 2002; Barret and Kirk, 2000]. There are some case studies about
design processes involving older people [Ellis and Kurniawan, 2000; Gheerawo and Lebbon,
2000; Hofmeester et al, 1999] which give valuable pointers as to how information can be
elicited from this age group.
In this paper we describe a way of looking at interacting with older people intended to
facilitate the development of better methodologies. We will first examine the problems of
involving older people in the development process. We introduce the concept of ‘mutual
inspiration’, illustrated by our experiences of the interaction between software developers and
designers, and apply this to the interaction between technology developers and older people.
The research described is part of the UTOPIA (Usable Technology for Older People:
Inclusive and Appropriate) project, a three-year SHEFC-funded consortium of four Scottish
Universities (http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/UTOPIA/) [Dickinson et al, 2002]. We
are currently exploring various application areas and researching which issues are relevant to
the development of products in those areas, including the development of methodologies that
maximise the contribution of older people.
Older people in the development process
Older people
Older people are as diverse as the younger population, indeed, more diverse in their range of
abilities. This diversity of ability exists not only within groups, but also for individuals: one
person’s abilities can vary widely though time depending on factors like fatigue and illness
[Gregor et al, 2002]. It is thus impossible to draw up a simple profile, or to identify a single
stereotypical user. However, although the only common factor in this group is age (and there is
a full generation of age difference between a 64 and an 86 year old!) there are certain ways in
which older people in general can differ from the typical younger developer or researcher.
Older people can be affected by a variety of major and minor sensory, physical and cognitive
impairments, often in combination and gradually increasing. These have to be taken into
account in any sort of interaction with them, affecting the choice of location, the group size and
any (written or otherwise) materials used [Barret and Kirk, 2000].
Such impairments, however, are just one of the factors that play a role in developing for and
with older people. Other characteristics that will determine the successful use of an application
or product are more difficult to capture in design guidelines. These concern the context into
which the new technology will have to fit. In order to design truly usable technology questions
such as the following need to be considered: What does an older person need, like and want?
What does she fear? What experience with, and attitude towards, technology does she have?
What are her finances, her living arrangements and her social network? How does the
technology fit in with the rest of her life? How is she going to hear of the new product? Will she
be motivated to learn to use it? How will she learn? Who will support her? For these aspects
(and to find out about other aspects) the contribution of older people to the design process is
essential.
Older people vs Technology Developers
The typical researcher or developer finds it easier to design for someone like themselves rather
than for people in a different stage of life who may very well have different needs, wants,
priorities and expectations [Keates and Clarkson, 2002].
For example, developers may find it
difficult to fully understand the impact of
age-related impairments; knowledge of the
existence of an impairment will not
necessarily allow the developer to predict
its detailed effects. For example, we talked
to a woman in her late sixties who had had
a stroke which resulted in some functional
impairment. We discussed her use of her
mobile phone (Phillips C12 Savvy) and
then showed her a more modern, smaller
one (Motorola v66). Contrary to our
preconceptions she did not comment on
the size of the buttons, instead she
remarked that she liked a small phone
which would fit in her pocket, as she could
not use a handbag (it slides down her
paralysed shoulder).
This cultural and experiential gap is especially large when developing IT products and other
new technology. Discussing subjects that are part of everyday life for most people like housing
is easier than discussing modern technology and computers, where enormous changes have
taken place over the last few decades and the participant and the developer can have very
different experiences. Many older people have had little exposure to computers, while for
younger people (especially those who develop new technology!) much technology is an
integrated part of their lives and they find it difficult to imagine life without it. A colleague in web
accessibility commented in surprise that his grandfather had asked what the text on the
television screen was that started “www”. People who are accustomed to older technologies
may not be aware of the possibilities of new technologies which severely limits their ability to
contribute to a discussion concerning them. It is generally recognised that apart from a few
visionaries most people are unable to imagine technical options outside their own experiences.
Such a culture gap can lead to the situation where developers come up with products based on
their interpretation of the older person’s needs - a solution which is less than ideal and
potentially patronising.
There are language and cultural differences which may make communication between
younger and older people difficult. Older people, in our experience, can be reluctant to
complain, or criticise products. Words may have different meanings for different age groups,
and especially technical terms which may seem like normal words to younger people (‘monitor’
or ‘windows’) can be difficult to avoid or to describe. When asked about ‘technology’ very few of
the people we spoke to could name examples, even while they just had been discussing older
technologies like phones and televisions.
Older people can experience more computer anxiety, and be more negative about the
amount of effort required to learn to use them, often fuelled by the assumption that they have
no use for them [Marquie et al, 2002, Czaja and Lee, 2003]. Some of the older people we have
interviewed have entrenched beliefs about their inability to operate new technology. During a
home visit a woman demonstrated her use of television-based email (which involved using a
keyboard and mouse) but, when asked about using a computer, responded that she could
never use a PC. This discomfort about computers and other technology is likely to affect the
contribution that this person makes to the design process if these issues are not recognised
and resolved.
Concept of Mutual Inspiration
The need to collaborate with people with different backgrounds and skills, wishing to draw on
each others’ strengths, reminds us of our experiences with collaboration between software
developers and designers in industry-based projects. In some of these projects a real
cooperation never came into existence, and the end result was heavily dominated by one of the
parties, without fully realising the strengths of the other party. In extreme cases this could mean
a database-driven website with a thin layer of design covering an interface that mainly reflected
the underlying technical structure, or a website looking like a print brochure without
implementing the interactive possibilities of the medium.
However, occasionally such a collaboration produced results that surprised both parties,
inspiring both to create something they would have been unable to do independently. In our
experience, inspiration comes from questions and suggestions, from learning how and why the
other person makes choices in their area of expertise, from discovering the possibilities
presented by the other discipline. The creative process often follows an iterative route, with
each person contributing in turn.
Abstract
There are few guidelines on how to involve older people in the design process of new IT related
products. In this paper we describe some of the difficulties encountered when working with
older people, and introduce the concept of mutual inspiration, illustrated by our experiences.
We argue that mutual inspiration can provide a way to make interactions with older people
more effective, leading towards more active involvement in the development process and more
innovative results.
Introduction
The population of the developed world is getting older. In Scotland in 1960 the over 60s
constituted 15% of the population; by 2025 this proportion will increase to 29% [GROS
population estimates 2001]. In addition, fewer older people live with their children than did in
the past, more people now live alone or with similarly-aged spouses [Grundy, 1996]. As
Information and Communication Technology is expected to play an important role in enabling
older people to live independently for longer and in supporting their communication needs, it is
important to ensure that general technology products are usable by this age group as well as to
develop products specifically targeting the older population.
Although most people agree on the importance of involving older people during the
development of new technology [Keates and Clarkson, 2002], there are relatively few examples
or guidelines for their successful involvement. Often traditional formats have to be adapted;
various researchers report on the problems encountered when running focus groups with older
people [Lines and Hone, 2002; Barret and Kirk, 2000]. There are some case studies about
design processes involving older people [Ellis and Kurniawan, 2000; Gheerawo and Lebbon,
2000; Hofmeester et al, 1999] which give valuable pointers as to how information can be
elicited from this age group.
In this paper we describe a way of looking at interacting with older people intended to
facilitate the development of better methodologies. We will first examine the problems of
involving older people in the development process. We introduce the concept of ‘mutual
inspiration’, illustrated by our experiences of the interaction between software developers and
designers, and apply this to the interaction between technology developers and older people.
The research described is part of the UTOPIA (Usable Technology for Older People:
Inclusive and Appropriate) project, a three-year SHEFC-funded consortium of four Scottish
Universities (http://www.computing.dundee.ac.uk/projects/UTOPIA/) [Dickinson et al, 2002]. We
are currently exploring various application areas and researching which issues are relevant to
the development of products in those areas, including the development of methodologies that
maximise the contribution of older people.
Older people in the development process
Older people
Older people are as diverse as the younger population, indeed, more diverse in their range of
abilities. This diversity of ability exists not only within groups, but also for individuals: one
person’s abilities can vary widely though time depending on factors like fatigue and illness
[Gregor et al, 2002]. It is thus impossible to draw up a simple profile, or to identify a single
stereotypical user. However, although the only common factor in this group is age (and there is
a full generation of age difference between a 64 and an 86 year old!) there are certain ways in
which older people in general can differ from the typical younger developer or researcher.
Older people can be affected by a variety of major and minor sensory, physical and cognitive
impairments, often in combination and gradually increasing. These have to be taken into
account in any sort of interaction with them, affecting the choice of location, the group size and
any (written or otherwise) materials used [Barret and Kirk, 2000].
Such impairments, however, are just one of the factors that play a role in developing for and
with older people. Other characteristics that will determine the successful use of an application
or product are more difficult to capture in design guidelines. These concern the context into
which the new technology will have to fit. In order to design truly usable technology questions
such as the following need to be considered: What does an older person need, like and want?
What does she fear? What experience with, and attitude towards, technology does she have?
What are her finances, her living arrangements and her social network? How does the
technology fit in with the rest of her life? How is she going to hear of the new product? Will she
be motivated to learn to use it? How will she learn? Who will support her? For these aspects
(and to find out about other aspects) the contribution of older people to the design process is
essential.
Older people vs Technology Developers
The typical researcher or developer finds it easier to design for someone like themselves rather
than for people in a different stage of life who may very well have different needs, wants,
priorities and expectations [Keates and Clarkson, 2002].
For example, developers may find it
difficult to fully understand the impact of
age-related impairments; knowledge of the
existence of an impairment will not
necessarily allow the developer to predict
its detailed effects. For example, we talked
to a woman in her late sixties who had had
a stroke which resulted in some functional
impairment. We discussed her use of her
mobile phone (Phillips C12 Savvy) and
then showed her a more modern, smaller
one (Motorola v66). Contrary to our
preconceptions she did not comment on
the size of the buttons, instead she
remarked that she liked a small phone
which would fit in her pocket, as she could
not use a handbag (it slides down her
paralysed shoulder).
This cultural and experiential gap is especially large when developing IT products and other
new technology. Discussing subjects that are part of everyday life for most people like housing
is easier than discussing modern technology and computers, where enormous changes have
taken place over the last few decades and the participant and the developer can have very
different experiences. Many older people have had little exposure to computers, while for
younger people (especially those who develop new technology!) much technology is an
integrated part of their lives and they find it difficult to imagine life without it. A colleague in web
accessibility commented in surprise that his grandfather had asked what the text on the
television screen was that started “www”. People who are accustomed to older technologies
may not be aware of the possibilities of new technologies which severely limits their ability to
contribute to a discussion concerning them. It is generally recognised that apart from a few
visionaries most people are unable to imagine technical options outside their own experiences.
Such a culture gap can lead to the situation where developers come up with products based on
their interpretation of the older person’s needs - a solution which is less than ideal and
potentially patronising.
There are language and cultural differences which may make communication between
younger and older people difficult. Older people, in our experience, can be reluctant to
complain, or criticise products. Words may have different meanings for different age groups,
and especially technical terms which may seem like normal words to younger people (‘monitor’
or ‘windows’) can be difficult to avoid or to describe. When asked about ‘technology’ very few of
the people we spoke to could name examples, even while they just had been discussing older
technologies like phones and televisions.
Older people can experience more computer anxiety, and be more negative about the
amount of effort required to learn to use them, often fuelled by the assumption that they have
no use for them [Marquie et al, 2002, Czaja and Lee, 2003]. Some of the older people we have
interviewed have entrenched beliefs about their inability to operate new technology. During a
home visit a woman demonstrated her use of television-based email (which involved using a
keyboard and mouse) but, when asked about using a computer, responded that she could
never use a PC. This discomfort about computers and other technology is likely to affect the
contribution that this person makes to the design process if these issues are not recognised
and resolved.
Concept of Mutual Inspiration
The need to collaborate with people with different backgrounds and skills, wishing to draw on
each others’ strengths, reminds us of our experiences with collaboration between software
developers and designers in industry-based projects. In some of these projects a real
cooperation never came into existence, and the end result was heavily dominated by one of the
parties, without fully realising the strengths of the other party. In extreme cases this could mean
a database-driven website with a thin layer of design covering an interface that mainly reflected
the underlying technical structure, or a website looking like a print brochure without
implementing the interactive possibilities of the medium.
However, occasionally such a collaboration produced results that surprised both parties,
inspiring both to create something they would have been unable to do independently. In our
experience, inspiration comes from questions and suggestions, from learning how and why the
other person makes choices in their area of expertise, from discovering the possibilities
presented by the other discipline. The creative process often follows an iterative route, with
each person contributing in turn.
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