Problem

Most elders wish to live longer at home. The challenge is to help them become independent, emotionally and physically resilient as they go through a difficult transition of retirement and body changes.

How might we help elders in fighting against social isolation so that they enjoy better life quality?

Solution

A wearable(smart watch) plus mobile ecosystem that provides support elders and fosters elder-caregiver relationships. The smart watch logs elder's moods and records the stress levels without elder intervention. This shall be shared with the caregivers and will be reminded to contact the elders through the app along with support from mental health specialists thereby preventing social isolation and improving well-being.

Understanding the ground reality...

To validate the secondary findings, understand their relationship with technology, and see how they interacted with digital devices, a field study was conducted in 2 scenarios: elders in a care home (7 elders) and elders living with family (2 elders).

MethodPre-study Interview: Designed to make the participant feel comfortable and build a flow of conversation.
‍Survey & Interview: A questionnaire iMalayalam) was created covering areas of health, finance, dependence, perception toward technology
‍Tasks: Designed to understand their knowledge of devices and pain-points.

Making sense of the data

Based on the research conducted, the target audience was finalized. The solution shall be for Indian elders above 75 with limited knowledge of digital devices.

Loneliness

Most elders are lonely because of reduced social life. They eagerly look forward to their children’s call or someone to talk to and stay at home as long as they can can.

"I feel  like I am in a cage. But I can't go and stay with children as I will be a burden to them"

Design & Accessibility

Most elderly in India are not well-versed in technology, and the digital products in the market are not catered towards the elderly, resulting in various accessibility issues.

“My youtube is not working and I will go to a shop tomorrow to resolve it”

Perception on Technology

Only a minority of the elders are reluctant to try smartphones due to the perceived utility, and difficulty and some may also find it a wastage of time.

“I am learning to use my new phone from my daughter. I forget most things, but I like it.”

This is for...

Based on the insights, archetypes were created based on the elders’ excitement/willingness to learn and familiarity with technology. The project primarily focuses on the Essentialists and the Enthusiasts as they are willing to adopt new technology.

Resistor

“I use feature phone for call, other sources for news. New phones are waste of time."

Essentialist

“I  tried learning this, but it’s too hard and everyone is busy. So, I use it only to call."

Enthusiast

“Everyone around me has a smartphone. So, I decided to learn from my grand daughter."

Expert

“I use my Airtel phone to check Facebook, video call children and  to make payments."

Which direction?

During the immersion phase, it was clear that elders are not proficient in digital devices and have a hard time learning these due to cognitive limitations. Therefore, an efficient solution will have "minimal user intervention."

Exploring opportunities through themes

19 Opportunity Areas
HMW help elders to manage their finances better?
HMW foster relationships with their loved ones and make them closer?
HMW fight against social isolation and help their mental wellbeing?
HMW create opportunities for the elders that utilizes their abilities and helps them find as second purpose?
HMW provide a play time for elders that promotes health and keep them occupied?
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A brainstorming session (Miro) with frog employees was also conducted.‍

Turning opportunities to ideas

A brainstorming session (Miro)with frog employees was conducted based on the chosen
Fight against social isolation
Financial planning
Becoming independent

Health, Independence & Support

Following the brainstorming session, 3 ideas were finally shortlisted and validated against their desirability, viability, and feasibility. The final solution is decided to fight social isolation and make them independent.

A wearable(for elders) plus mobile ecosystem(for caregivers) that improves mental well-being by empathizing with elders through mood/stress detection and provide medical support.

Will the solution solve the problem?

Before proceeding with the idea, concepts were validated by experts working with the elders.

Translating the idea into screens

Is the design usable and useful?

Usability testing was conducted for the application with 2 participants (1 caregiver & 1 elderly). Following are the key main problems identified:

1. Accessibility
For the wearable app, the font size and button tap size should be increased. Having voice assistant can help the user navigate the interface as the UI is small.

“It is difficult for me to read and can I have a voice-over assistant in this?"

2. Poor information visualization & load
Information needs to be visualized in a better way and only required information should be present to reduce cognitive load.

“But I want to see how my dad's stress level varies across the week?"

3. Poor UX copy
There were confusions due to improper UX copy.

"Uhm...What does reflect and I'll pass mean?"

If I were to do it again...

1. Designing with elders
I now understand that while designing for marginalized people, they should be included throughout the process. Due to time and financial constraints I wasn't able to do so.
‍2. Conducting Field Research
I understood the importance of note-taking: collecting each details including quotes, needs, pain-points (Recollecting from memory won’t work) and recruiting the correct audience.

3. Designing for elderly and Wear OS
It is a challenge to design in a limited space for the elderly. The main take-away is to include only the required functions. Wear OS design guidelines were followed for designing.