SITUATED MEMORYWellbeing for Senior Citizens through Situated Recollection

SITUATED MEMORYWellbeing for Senior Citizens Through Situated Recollection

Copyright © 2014 s.labs

All Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

s.labsP.O. Box No. 6430, Yelahanka New Town,Doddabalapur Road, (Opp. Wheel & Axle Plant)Bangalore 560106 INDIA

lab@srishti.ac.in labs.srishti.ac.in

T he work presented in this book is part of the project Well Being for Senior Citizens through Situated Recollection, which was carried out in S.labs, at Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology. The objective of this project was to understand the various approaches to carry forward the previously done research into experience and interaction rich designs. The book provides the UX plan and blueprint that can be further utilized to implement the design into tangible output.

Preface

W e would like to acknowledge Atul Saraf for the continuous guidance and support he has provided during the course of the project. Our learning has been largely possible due to his feedback and constraints that he put in place for us in the project.

We thank Girish, Naveen and Warren, all of whose feedback at various points help make our process better.

Acknowledgement

1 Project Brief

2 Interpretation of Brief

3 UX Requirements

4 User Personas

5 Early Ideas

6 Concept Visualization

7 UX Blueprint

8 Early Testing with user

9 Interaction Design

Conclusion

Student Reflections

Table of Contents

1 Project Brief

enior citizens often find it difficult to carry out simple tasks on a daily basis due to multiple reasons. They most often live away from their children due to work, education etc. who they rely on. They lack a sense of confidence to do certain things by themselves. With the obvious degradation of physical and mental health due to age, they tend to generate misconceptions about being aged. Most of the issues they face are situational. One of the key issues is the failing short term memory which damages the self-confidence and sense of independence in Senior citizens. Hence, using mobile based technology (smart phone and accessories) to define and design user experience and interaction design solution that empowers senior citizens to be independent and self-confident.

Project Brief

S

Business Stakeholder

A large mobile manufacturer collaborating with S.Labs aims to develop this technology for implementation in market in the span of the next 2-3 years.

Users and key stakeholders

The main end-users are senior citizens living away from their children on a sustained basis. Key stakeholders are immediate family (children), friends, caretaker, and family physician.

ailing short term memory is one of the key issues that damages the self-confidence and sense of independence for the senior citizens. Though there is a lot of excitement around assistive technology connected to mobile devices and sensors, senior citizens worldwide lack meaningful solutions that can seamlessly fit in their changing lifestyles. Most solutions undermine their efforts to keep themselves active and fit by providing direct access to information and surface level interactions.

Context

F

Region

Urban India

Demography

Senior Citizens,Upper Middle Class

Space

Home, living away from children and family members

Time

Should be in the market within the span of 2-3 years

2 Interpretation of Brief

There are multiple misconceptions amongst old people about being aged.

Aged people lack a sense of confidence because of a psychological barrier and emotional dependency.

Aged people often lack a sense of taking self-initiate because they think they lack the capacity to carry through.

Often senior citizens find it difficult to carry out their daily tasks due to; physical constraint, reduced cognition or psychological barrier.

Often senior citizens have reduced short term memory capacity.

Problem Statements

SeniorCitizen

Emotional Connectionwith place

Fragile Health

Loneliness

Subdued Voice

Lack of independence

Lot of free time

Lack of EmotionalSecurity

Lack of active social life

Misconception about being aged

Inability to keepup with the trend

Failing short termmemory

Problems of Senior Citizens

Fragile Health

Loneliness

Subdued Voice

Lack of independence

Lot of free time

EmotionalNeeds

Lack of active social life

Misconception about being aged

Inability to keepup with the trend

Failing short term memory

DispersedFamily

Loneliness

Nostalgic

Emotional/Psychological

Physical

Social/Cultural

Clustering Problems

Alienation

Lack ofConfidence

Interruptionin daily chores

ReducedSocial life

HighlyDependent

Inability to keep up with

trend

HealthEffects

Lack ofSelf Initiative

Anxiety/Panic

BehaviouralChange

Ego?

Consequences

ituated memory can be triggerred by two kinds of knowledge; either through outward aspect such as environment and situation or inwards aspect such as experience, learning or memory. The intent is to leverage these in order to appreciate and encourage senior citizens to carry out their task or to remind and reassure them that they have done it before.

Design Intent

S

Environment

Situations

Experience

Learnings

Memory

Situated Memory

Leverage situated memory to enhance self-efficacy† in senior citizens to carry out daily tasks using mobile

based systems.

Vision Statement

† is the extent or strength of one's belief in one's own ability to complete tasks and reach goals.

An intelligent system that notifies the user only when required.

Smart objects eco-system that communicate with one another in the background to help people locate it.

Help users capture a moment/object/space to remember.

An interface that considers ambient environment before notifying the user.

A smart interface that acknowledges user accomplishment.

Design Opportunities

3 UX Requirements

This phase was all about to figure out that what the product should do or how to do it. To make it to be effective and measured, we made it to be specific, unambiguous and clear.

We have structured UX requirements under 6 broad sections.

I Intent

A Audience

M Medium

A Action

S Space

T Time

Requirements

Business Goals

Increase sales of mobile phones and additional secondary accessories.

Expand sales into new demography.

Stakeholder Vision

Senior citizens should become more independent and carry out their daily tasks with ease.

Be able to take good care of their health and be emotionally fit.

Intent

Success Criteria

Increase level of confidence and satisfaction amongst the senior citizens.

Decrease in frequency of instances showing short term memory loss.

10% increase in successfully accomplishment of task in period of 4 weeks.

Brand Objective

Develop an assistive tool for senior citizens which delivers enhanced inclusive experience.

Be the first to venture into a non-intrusive assistive technology for the senior citizens.

Competition

Health tracking and improvement apps and productivity apps such as to-do list and reminders.

Target Users

Senior Citizens living away from their children on sustained basis.

Stakeholders

Immediate family (Children and grandchildren).

Consulting doctor/ Physician/Caretaker.

Large mobile manufacturer.

Friends

Audience

Needs

Simple and easy to learn assistive technology.

Awareness of changing technology.

Overall wellbeing.

Ability to accomplish daily tasks.

Pain Points

Failing short-term memory.

Living away from their children/family.

Physical inability due to old age.

Lack of education or awareness of changing technology.

Aspirations

Overcome failing short term memory.

Have an active social life or a peer group.

Overall emotion and physical wellbeing.

Perceptions

I don't need help. I can take care of myself.

Learning or following technology trend is a lot of effort or waste of time.

Assistive technology doesn't really help.

My children don't understand me.

Product

Mobile device (primary)

NFC tags

Service

Internet access and wireless networks. (WiFi, Bluetooth)

Medium

Technology Constraints

Multiple tags and mobile that need to network.

Access to internet at all times.

Wireless networking. (Bluetooth, wifi)

Interfaces

Smart, intelligent, responsive and cross-platform/cross-device interface.

Platform

iOS

Priority

Assist user accomplish daily tasks with an encouraging and acknowledging tone of voice.

Actions

Functions/Features

Reminders of tasks.

Track and Locate objects.

Learn and remember daily routine and schedule.

Encouraging feedback.

Complete voice command.

Keep track of events, situations and locations and use them to help trigger memory in user.

Tasks

Remind users of essentials before leaving the house.

Help users trigger memory of a space or objects or actions.

Encourage user everytime a task is accomplished.

Location

Home

Local Market/grocery store

Hospital/Medical shop

Social gathering place/ club/park

Space

Touch Points

Grocer

Doctor

Watchman

Auto-rickshaw

Society members

Local pharmacist

Friends

Environment

Busy street

Crowded Market

Evening stroll with or without friends.

Social gathering.

Medical check-up in the regular clinic.

Scenario

Forget doctor's appointment.

Feeling sick but neglecting it.

Leaving the house without bare essentials.

Cannot locate an object in the house.

Miss out on something from the grocery list/ shopping list.

Not being careful while on the street.

Lazy to go for a walk or social gathering.

Time

Throughout the day.

Time

4 User Personas

Lives in a self financed society where most of the residents are known to each other and are active in society management. Has a son:Varun, living in New York who is a Bank consultant. He has a 64 years old wife, Sunita, who mostly stays at home. Likes to keep himself fit by doing multiple activities during the day. He has a set of close friends he likes to hang out in the evening with. Suffers from diabetes so takes medicines twice a day. Does all the home shopping by himself usually during/after his evening walk. He is likes to be well read and well informed about the current affairs. Trying to keep up with an active lifestyle, he sometimes forget small things on a daily basis. He has a tough time finding things around the house.

Goals

Stay fit and active, Remember where he keeps things around the house.

Pain Points

Wants to be doing something all the time, Forgets where he keep things.

Influencers

Peer group, Family

Ramesh Pai68 Years Old

I get bored of sitting in one place.

Lives in an apartment complex. Has many friends in the building and usually hangs out with them every evening. Does all the household chores by herself. Has a son and daughter both of whom live in a different city. She likes to watch TV soap operas for most part of the day. Even if she is doing some chores, her TV is on. Lives ith her husband who volunteers in teaching alternate education methods and is out for most of the day. She talks to her daughter at least twice a day and with her son once in two days. Having multiple things going through her mind at all times, lot of things slip her mind. For instance, taking a bag while going shopping or where she left her glasses after watching tv.

Goals

Be able to recollect where she keeps things, Not to let her attention get diverted easily.

Pain Points

Tries to multitask at all times even when she can’t, Somewhat carefree.

Influencers

Husbands and kids, Social circle

Veena Sheik62 Years Old

What would I do without TV?

5 Early Ideas

Early Ideas

6 ConceptVisualization

e feel that it is most common for senior citizens to forget certain things when they leave the house and no access to it when they have left the house makes them feel most anxious. There is no solution exploring this space. Therefore, we want to pursue the scenario of the user being able to make sure that he/she has taken everything when leaving the house. In addition to this scenario, after talking to multiple senior citizens about the most common issues they face in daily life, they showed concerns about being confused about multiple medicines that they have to take. They come up with their own solutions to keep tab of which medicines they are supposed to take at what time but the process is overwhelming. Hence, we explored a scenario in this space.

Concept

W

User can tag multiple objects and map it to

location, time or both.

These tags are real and tangible, made out of

RFID chip.

User gets only 5 real tags to place.

Scenario 1

He tags wallet and keys and maps them to the exit door.

Now, whenever he leaves his home, smart watch shows him the objects which he had mapped to the exit door.

He can go back and make sure that he has taken those objects.

Scenario 2

The user tags each kind of medicine and maps it to a particular time.

All the tags are mapped to the medicines cabinet/storage.

Based on the proximity of smartwatch to the medicine cabinet and the time of the day, the smartwatch displays the tags which the user should take.

In case, the user forgets to take medicine at the prescribed time, the smart watch alerts the user with display of a tag after giving the user buffer period based on user's daily routine and pattern.

ScenariosSwati often forgets home keys beforee leaving.

She puts one of the tag on her keyring.

1

2

Her phone alerts when she reaches in the proximity of the keys.

She is not bothered of forgetting it anymore.

4

3

She tries to remember where she had put the keys last time.

Failing to find out, user can locate via augmented reality.

5

6

7 UX Blueprint

Smart mobile devices that does not judge you, underestimate you or overestimate you.

Smart mobile devices that recognizes user capability and only enhances it.

Smart companion-like devices that perceive and relate to the user’s association

Key Guiding Principles

1

2

3

8 Early testingwith user

Will the solution help you

remem

ber things better

over time?

Do you feel you might just

rely completely on the

solution and stop bothering

about certain things over

time?Could you im

agine using

this solution in some other

way or for som

ething else?

Anything else you would like

to point out about the

solution?

Conclusion

Thank you so much for

helping us and being a

part of our research. Your

responses have been

very useful.

Key ElementsObject: Tangible/Intangible

thing that need to be captured.

Physical Surrounding: Things around the object.

Tags: NFC enabled colored

stickers.

ProbesSmartphone, Dummy Stickers

Pre-QuestionnaireWhat are the important

things according to you,

you must carry when leaving the house?Has it ever occurred that

you have forgotten something when you have left the house?How do you feel at such

instances?

Is it easy to find these objects at home, just before leaving the house?

How much do you rely on

your phone and other gadgets in you day to day life?

ActivityHe tags wallet, keys and

other necessary objects he

needs to take along with

while leaving the house. He

maps them to the exit door.Now, when he is closer to

the door and has not taken

all the objects he is supposed to take with him,

the phone alerts him and

shows him the tags of the

objects he has not taken.He then tries to recall the

object associated with the

specific tag and finds it.

In case, he fails to remember the associated

object, he can view the

object and look for it.In case, he cannot find the

object, he can locate it using his smart phone through augmented reality

display.

Post-QuestionnaireWould it help if you had this

solution? How much difference would

it make in your life?Is it easy to use, understand

how it works?Are the tags easy to associate with?Would you like them to be

some different kind?What difficulties did you

face while using this solution?

Do you feel the the way the

system alerts you, is helpful

or obstructive?

Objective

Understand user’s

perception about situated

memory.

Understand the solution

space and whether the

users respond to it

positively to it.

Explore new point of views

and fresh perspectives on

the solution.

Introduction

I am <Name>, a student of

Srishti School of Art, Design

& Technology.

We are trying to develop a

solution that will trigger

situated memory in senior

citizens and help them

carry out their daily basic

tasks.

We are trying to understand

the experiential quality of

the solution and whether it

will be appreciated by the

you.

Validation Protocol

About the study

We will take about 45 mins

of your time for this

interview to know about

your views on the situated

memory in senior citizens

and the solution we are

working on.

Please feel free to tell us

anything without any

inhibitions.

Participation Consent

We will be recording your

voice as a back-up to the

notes we take during the

session.

Please be assured that

nothing you say will be

shared publicly. It will be

only for our own internal

reference.

This form <show consent

form> asks for your official

agreement to participate in

this data gathering

interview session.

If at any time you are

unclear about what we are

doing, or uncomfortable in

any way, please let us know.

You are also free to ask us

to stop this conversation

any time.

Do you have any questions

before we get started?

Ice breaker

How old are your children?

What do they do and

where?

How is it to live away from

them?

How often do you keep in

touch with them?

Are you member of any

social clubs around here?

In this phase of the project, wemoved on to the field for some realdata that would support our ideasand design.

We constructed a protocol to carryout the test with the user and reachedto the user that qualifies the personathat we made earlier.

Protocol

ouse-wife of a bank consultant. Lives in a colony of individual bunglows along with her husband and her father. She has a very active lifestyle and is pursuing her hobby of stitching quilts. An avid user of a smartphone and multiple things to take care of during a day like, attending to her father, cooking, talking to her friends and children, shopping, cleaning etc.

User DebriefVaradha Joshi

H

The solution will definitely and majorly help my father with the medicine case, or something along the lines of that. Not only him but me too. Right now there is a nurse for him who along with us becomes a tag for him in a sense. So this solution would then reduce our pressure.

This solution though easy to use will require quite a bit of learning. I am finding it fairly easy to use due to the fact that I am glued to my phone.

You cannot ask a machine to relate to human emotion, therefore the way it alerts doesn’t matter. I am old enough and know that it is a phone. So the tone doesn’t really affect me. It just needs to get my work done and more direct, the better.

The solution will lead to heavy dependency on the product so improving memory in the long run, won’t happen.

9 InteractionDesign

s its name suggests, this phase was to gather and create information that will be needed to implement the design. We began this by planning the task flow for the user and the system and then nailing down the details of each of the screens. This was a rigorous process where we continued to make several versions of the same task flows till it was perfected.

After the task flows and details about each screens, we refined the screens on paper to bring out the clarity on interaction, layout, hierarchy of the elements.

The final paper prototype was then translated into digital visual designs for the app on computer.

IxD Requirements

A

Task Flow

Start

Walkthrough Login Native Notification

Select option?

Register Home Recall Cue Navigate

Remember Tag

What?Take Picture Place Tag

Select Time

Select Location

When?

Where?

This sub-phase was to create and refine the screens for the app from the task flow that we had created.

The focus was to clearly sketch the screens by showing as much as of those minute details and the micro-interactions that constitutes the whole user experience.

Paper Prototyping

n to the last phase, the front end of the app was going to be designed. Every other deliverable till now prescribes how it is going to be. It begins with taking the refined paper prototyping and converting it into high fidelity views.

Here, we focussed on adherence of design with iOS interface guidelines, quality and aesthetics, designing right for the target audience, simplicity and readability.

Visual Design

O

The app pushes the notification whenever it wants to remind

something to the user

Notification Login Screen

The user taps on the big circle with his picture to continue

Login Screen

The mic slides in and user speaks his name on this

screen for authentication.

Login Screen

The name is recognized from the voice input and shown back as a

feedback for a moment

Login Screen Logging in..

The Home screen shows the link to user profile, the primary functions

(remember and tag) and the recent things user has captured

Home Screen

Tapping on user picture opens the user menu for profile, settings and

logging out

User Profile

The screen shows blurred image as it is focussing on. The user may tap on

the screen to explicitly tell which object he would like to remember or

system does by itself

Remember what?

Once the image is focussed on, the app takes the snapshot and show

back to the user

Snapshot captured

The app then asks the user to name the just taken snapshot.

Name the snapshot

It then asks the user to map it to trigger - Where/When? or skip

Trigger

The snapshot is still being shown on top, and user moves across time

to select a day/time. The user may pinch/zoom to go deeper or higher

in the timeline

When?

The user is presented with 5 most common places and a Plus icon to

enable him to add a new place

Where?

Confirmation

This screen comes after the notification, the app doesn’t tell the

object but try to help the user to remember it

Recall Screen

The more user taps on the circle, it changes its color and slowly reveals

the object

Reveal Revealed

Based on the previous screen, user should then try finding the object.

Failing to remember again, he may tap on the screen to reveal the

location.

Location Revealing location..

Based on the proximity ot the object (tag), the app confirms that user has

found the object and show this

Success

The app shows Augmented Reality map in which the circle denotes the

tag that is placed on the object

Navigate

The app detects if the user is outside or inside by sensing the amount of external light and shows a dark and

easily readable version of the navigate screen

Navigate (outside) Success

ur proposed solution is a smartphone app, that can be used to remember objects and information, which is accessible in situations where the users may or may not need. The app comes with 5 tags of different shapes and colors to remember 5 objects which user may consider important or likely to forget.

SnapTag is an intelligent digital assistance system for senior citizens. It is like a companion who helps accomplish daily tasks by leveraging situated memory of the user. Unlike its competitors who alert and remind users which lead to dependencies on the app, SnapTag remembers any information or object that the user stores and contextually encourages the users to recollect it through triggers without actually giving out the information directly. This exercises the user’s mind and makes them to use their situated memory. SnapTag is detailed to an extent where even micro-interactions have been designed specifically for the senior citizens keeping in mind their motor skills and possible surroundings.

Conclusion

O

aving worked on multiple projects with S.labs now, design process comes to me naturally while exploring problem space. This particular project however was a new exposure to me in the space of geriatric care. The approach to user research and feedback had to be specifically designed in this project, in order to tackle multiple constraints focused to this audience pool. For instance, the psychology and exposure of senior citizens to technology, mindset due to social and cultural influences and importantly physical limitations. Nevertheless, the exploration and the whole process enhanced my skills further as a student of experience design. This being said, drawing from my own experience and exploring solution spaces was the most exciting part. This project gave me the opportunity to explore principles of UI and develop the mobile interface as well. Previously, it had always been about research and conceptualisation, but now I feel I've gained experience in taking the process to a complete deliverable level, providing a holistic end to end experience.

Suraj Baadkar

H his project was quite closely packed, we had to work in much more confined space than my earlier project with S.labs. This has allowed me to explore solutions beyond my saturation level. The constraints that Atul has put us in made us to detail out as much as we can, which clearly reflects in the final output. This project demanded designing for specific target audience, and such project needs extra attention to be put on the personas so that your influence does not interfere into the design. While ideating and designing solutions, its not about that your hundreds of ideas will go waste, but that helps in crafting one great solution and that is what, that crafts you as a good designer.

Gaurav Singh

T

How Universal is Good Design for Older Users? Dan Hawthorn

Design Principles to Accommodate Older Adults? Miranda Farage, Kenneth Miller, Funmi Ajayi, Deborah Hutchins

How situated is cognition?Jacobian Sandberg, Bob Wielinga

Visual Working Memory in Situated Language ComprehensionEmilia Ellsiepen, Matthew Crocker

References