PRODUCT DESIGNER
A tablet app that helps older people learning modern technologies.
Tutori - Life Long Learning for Elderly
This project was a 6-week capstone course project. My responsibility was to analyze user data from a case study provided by professor Sunyoung Kim, Ph.D. The project aims to
UX Design
UI Design
Team
Hanzheng Lin, Intern
Sunyoung Kim, Ph.D. (Professor)
My contribution
Research data analysis
Persona
User Flows
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability Testing
Tools
Figma
Nviovo
SPSS
Zoom
- The course project of a tablet app was proposed. The app aimed to provide a familiar and interactive way of learning, to build proper mental model for technologies, and to keep track of the learning curve for elders.
Background
As mobile device technology evolves, it increasingly offers beneficial features to elders. However, the digital divide exists as many elders find it difficult to learn how to use these devices.
A research was done by Kim S, et al. to demonstrate how older adults can benefit from a digital device by conducting a series of semi-structured interview with eight people aged 65 years and older for 16 weeks. Each participants was handed an Android tablet, and they were interviewed weekly to serve two goals:
(1) practically to help the participants learn digital skills.
(2) theoretically to investigate how participants learn and develop digital skills over time.
Summary
3. Design Solution
Listing out the user tasks and prioritize them for project ideation.
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Crafting solution from sketches to hi-fidelity interactive app that is capable for usability testing.
1. Research data
Discover problems and painpoints of the user group while using tablet
through the weekly interview research data.
2. Empathizing
Creating 2 user personas that fit into scenarios based on the insights and research analsis.
4. Iteration
Analyze usability testing results, and iterate & revise based on current solutions.
Research
The digital divide during COVID puts technology away from older people, which leads to social isolation and loneliness. The research shows the purposes and benefit of using a tablet for older adults, including entertainment, social connectedness, information seeking.
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There were 3 major painpoints listed out for the target user groups.
Research data analysis & identifying painpoints.
Design Solution
Progress Bar / Progress Pie could help reminding older adults of their previous learning experience. It also helps encouraging and building confidence of learning newer technologies.
Track the learning progress
Design Challenge
Problem
Users are lack of mental models for digital devices, because they could not obtain a basic understanding of how a system works through repetitive instructions.
The research shows that 80% of the participants relies on paper notes as guidance of using tablet apps.
Problem
Users are tend to forget things.
Elderly groups tends to forget things for what they have experienced before. Moreover, they forget their learning progress as well.
How might we
Create a meaningful experience for elderly user group to learn using modern technologies and continuously learning in a trackable way.
Crafting solutions
- Sketches (Up) & User Task Flow (Down)
​The Dashboard is divided into 3 main section:
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Access to tutorials of app installed on this tablet
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Learning history of tutorials
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Provide "discover" page for exploring new app.
Sketch Main Screens & User Flow
1. Set constrain of landscape mode
The extended part of the screen allows the 2 column layout, which increase visual clues. That also helps older adults to build mental model of using tablet apps.
Final iterations of the design
2. Scrolling for tutorial overview
Providing a tutorial overview not only increase the usability of tracking learning progress, but also allow user to navigate much easier to the specific part that they saved.
Iteration
Revise User Flow
Based on the usability testing results, I revised the user flow in order to gain insights of iteration. I listed out several potential iteration points:
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Removed the unnecessary elements & sign-up process.
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Rearrange information architecture of the dashboard, & clarify CTA.
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Redesign product UI (visibility, accessibility, visual clue).
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Enhanced learning progress tracking & display.
Dashboard Re-design
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Learning Status: Adding progress Pie chart to the dashboard.​
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Continue from last time: Get back to where it precisely was.
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Learning History: Increase chance of repeatedly learning.
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Discover: Deprioritize discover section.
Dashboard Re-design
Retrospective
Lesson
Be curious and communicative.
Even though the project was done solely, I I ended up bonding a lot with my professor and classmates. We took times to go through ideas, and perform instant heuristics even during the ideation stage.
This technique also applies to usability testing with participants. Being curious during testing allows me to gather more in-depth feedback, which help me empathize with the user group more.
Lesson
Iterate, test it, & iterate it again.
Due to the time constraint, I was only able to iterate my hi-fidelity design twice before I move on to the next project. If I have more time, I would love to spend more time on investigating other painpoints and integrated them into the design. Furthermore, it might be a good idea to cooperate with CS major students to discuss about the feasibility of the project.
Empathizing
Based on the insights from the research analysis, and research participant background, 2 personas were crafted and we shared our scenario stories during class, to ensure personas represent different target users and different context of the problems.
Modeling users & creating personas
Design Solution
Visual hints, such as pictures & illustrations, are provided to help elderly group to recognize technological devices & applications.
Provide extra phases before instruction.
- A "Screen capture" demo of BoardX. In this case, user want to capture the notes in the red frame. When presenting, the neighbour notes are displayed in the slide and cause confusion.
Crafting solutions
In order to generate as many ideas as possible, I create this low-fidelity concept with all the solution that came through my mind. After that, we held a peer review session to critique each other's work to gain feedback.
Hi-fidelity concepts
Testing
Beside in-class heuristic tests, we want to jump out of the circle to get some fresh ideas from the potential user group. Therefore, we invite 3 senior participants (from age 55 - 65) who didn't have much experience with technologies, to perform a series of tasks and ask them to "think aloud":
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1. Exploring the product in 5 minutes.
2. Watch a tutorial for "Youtube".
3. Bookmark an unfinished tutorial.
Testing with the target user group
â›” Participants find it hard to sign-up.
â›” Heavy information load on dashboard, with low visibility of CTA (where to start learning)
â›” During tutorials, user can't visually find the EXIT or RESTART button.
â›” Confusion of the BOOKMARK button. (What did I bookmark? Where it will be stored? How do I find it again?)