HCI2006: Designing for Older People - Hints and Tips

The HCI 2006 workshop on "HCI, the Web and the Older Population", run by Joy Goodman of the University of Cambridge, Anna Dickinson of the University of Dundee, and Suzette Keith and Gill Whitney of Middlesex University, is no newcomer to the conference. In its fourth year, it welcomed Roger Coleman of the Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, Royal College of Art, and Rick Crust of Hackney's Silver Surfers to talk and participate in the development of personas, the afternoon's activity.

12 summary points from the workshop follow.

1. Older people are the same as younger poeple. You don't change when you reach a certain age. (There are differences but it's not like older people are in one camp and younger people are in another camp).
2. Older people are not homogeneous. They differ in life experiences, disability, etc.
3. The most important thing is what people want to do with their lives. You can't just throw technology at them - it has to fit in with their needs and requirements.
4. Older people have a right to the same functionality as younger people. They don't necessarily want cut-down versions. But there's an issue of how that functionality is presented - how much is presented at once, terminology, etc.
5. We need technology that can be personalised (with varied presentation of same functionality)
6. We need to address the entire life cycle of the product - it's no use if the product is usable if the manual is not. Also issues of salespeople, manuals, maintainence, marketing.
7. How do you tell if technology is successful? Is it enough if it sells well (e.g. the people who buy it aren't always the same as the ones who use it)? (Who buys? Who users? What are the carer issues?)
8. Successful learning for older people is informal, social and fun. Because they're relaxed, it's not scary. And it's not directed.
9. Another reason it's successful is because individuals can do what they want to.
10. Personas are useful to bridge cultural gaps between designers and users (gaps between age groups and between different cultures). It gives designers a view of different lifestyles and is way of connecting with individuals.
11. Personas have to be linked or based on real data - need to have contact with real older people. Otherwise, they can become caricatures.
12. Personas are a useful technique when used with background knowledge of the end-users, carefully and in combination with other tools. Sets of personas can be particularly useful.
12b. The activity of creating personas may be more useful than using them. So, when passing on personas, we may need to pass on information about their creation - make assumptions explicit, etc.

Associated Link: HCI2006

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