An Overview of Participatory Design Applied to Physical and Digital Product Interaction for Older People

Abstract

An understanding of the need for user-centred and participatory design continues to gain universal momentum both in academia and industry. It is essential this momentum is maintained as the population changes and technology develops. The contribution of this work draws on research from different disciplines to provide the design community with new knowledge and an awareness of the diversity of user needs, particularly the needs and skills of older people. A collection of usability and accessibility guidelines are referenced in terms of their applicability toward designing interfaces and interaction for an ageing population, in conjunction with results from studies that highlight the extent to which familiarity and successful interaction with contemporary products decreases according to age and prior experience, and identifies the problems users experience during interaction with technology. The hope is that more widespread awareness of this knowledge will encourage greater understanding and assist in the development of better design methods and better on- and offline products and tools for those of any age, but particularly those within an increasingly ageing demographic.

Towards a Reference Model of Guidelines for the Elderly Based on Technology Adoption Factors

“…In a first sweep we downloaded up to 10 papers with each combination, or until matches clearly became off topic. The next phase was to weed out all papers not specifically focusing on our [24,39,41] Emotion [35] Independence [1] topic; only papers that presented design guidelines in the context of web applications were kept. In case of two papers discussing the same topic, we would go with either the one presenting clear guidelines, or otherwise the latest publication.…”

“…There are also many "Check lists" making attempts to either condense or clarify the somewhat "heavy" WCAG list (see footnotes 2 3 4 ). Additional "senior friendly" website design guidelines are provided in [2], and some additional guidelines are also listed in Wilkinson & Cornishs' paper on product interaction for older people [1].…”

Older people and technology: Time to smarten up our act

“…13 Wilkinson et al demonstrated the ease with which older adults can be involved in product design; highlighting the resultant improvement in usability and accessibility of their technology to older age groups as their input would allow users to 'operate at a more unconscious, automatic and skill-based level.' 14 Yet, there is evidence to suggest that older populations often lag in adopting newer technology, relative to other age groups, with many assuming that they are generally technologically illiterate. 1 The reasons for slower adoption are explored by a number of studies.…”

Framework for the Development of Affective and Smart Manufacturing Systems Using Sensorised Surrogate Models

“…The natural provider for the configuration and implementation of occupational environments for a variety of workers in industry 4.0 involves the existence of frameworks, methodologies, and tools to carry out the process of design and development of smart systems, products, workplaces, and occupational environments. There are currently general design frameworks available, such as inclusive design [ 14 ], participatory design [ 15 ], occupational ergonomics (as a scientific discipline that studies the relationships between a person, the activity she/he performs, and the elements of the system in which she/he is immersed) [ 16 ], and collaborative design and computation [ 17 ].…”