Team Family JamUX Research // 3/8/2014

• Service Design Jam Team Goal– our goal is to better connect elders with their

existing support networks through play.

• Research Goal(s):– Connect our solutions to real needs of users– Identify how users actually do/do not connect to

their elders currently– Surface how, why, and how frequently users

connect with elders– Understand any similarities or differences between

virtual and in-person connection between elders and their family/caretakers/wider support network.

Research Process

Research Process Cont’d

• We conducted interviews with 2 individuals within the Cooper office. – This was definitely guerilla research based on

the timeline of the hack event/design jam. – The two individuals we talked to were those

who have some kind of contact with their elders in their life and are responsible for some level of support, but are not elders of their family themselves.

– We define these folks as “family/caretakers” but not elders themselves

“Quote”

• Without developing a persona but surfacing some top qualities among our participants, we identified some of the following trends:– Elders depend increasingly on their support network over

time for helps– Pre-existing platforms like Facebook, Facetime, and Skype

are used frequently– Community groups play an important part of an elder’s

support group– A lot of an elder’s support network is distributed across

the country and therefore virtual connection is a strong priority of whatever we build

– Elders are increasingly sedentary in the activities they can participate in over time

How the research influenced our design

• We identified that activities we should offer should include substantive sedentary activities

• Integrated 3rd party applications are used to connect with elders where they are at

• Virtual connection options were built in, as well as face to face options for connecting to elders