What is Good Design in the Eyes of Older Users?

Touchscreen mobile devices and older adults: a usability study

“…The participants in this study also supported the views of Goddard and Nicolle (2012) that highlighted the fact that whilst older users express an interest in using newer technologies such as touchscreen phones, they do not feel that they are designed appropriately for their age group. Insights highlighted within this study suggest the reasoning behind this could be due to the reduced memory capacity of older users -also discussed by Zacks et al (2000) -or the physical design of the buttons on the phone.…”

“…Goddard and Nicolle (2012) stated that older users would like to use touchscreen technologies to enable them to remain engaged in society, yet it was argued by Czaja et al (2006) that older adults were generally less likely to use these types of technologies than younger generations. This study has developed an understanding which could explain the reasoning behind this.…”

“…This literature review suggests that the majority of emerging technologies are designed with the younger population in mind. However, it has been shown that older users desire to use such products to remain active within society; often feeling that these technologies and products are not suited to their needs (Goddard and Nicolle, 2012).…”

“…Education is a crucial factor that has a significant effect on older adult's performance when interacting with technology. Nevertheless, it is important to consider that older adults have expressed their interest in using modern devices however, feel that modern technology is not suitably designed for their abilities (Goddard & Nicolle, 2012). Holzinger, Searle & Wernbacher (2011) described some usability metrics ascertained on the basis of experiments made with applications for elderly people throughout the summer term of 2007.…”

Driving a better driving experience: a questionnaire survey of older compared with younger drivers

“…• Difficulty with ingress/egress (Herriotts 2005) In a super-aged society, where the majority of the population are older and many have reduced physical and mental capabilities, there is a need to ensure that products and services are well designed so that people can engage with them. Goddard and Nicolle (2012) reported that from the older users' perspective, A stratified sampling technique was employed, whereby the driving population was divided into subgroups by gender and age (20-34, 35-49, 50-64, 65-79, 80+). Motoring organisations (eg ROSPA, IAM), older peoples' networks (eg Age UK, University of the Third Age) and public places (eg supermarkets, service stations) were used to randomly target drivers.…”