SAVI
Communication Technology to Enhance Emotional Attachment to Others
System Description
Savi is designed to give people freedom from the loneliness and isolation that can often accompany aging. Through this software, seniors can connect with a private family network that protects against spam and other unwanted activity. They can share photos and send messages easily even if they have had little or no experience with mobile devices.
My Role: I designed user interface and developed high fidelity prototype using Indigo Studio (Prototyping tool). I conducted user studies, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews and thematic analysis.
Design Goal
Needfinding
why we choose to design a mobile technology to enable emotional attachment to the family in a private setting that will increase older adults’ interest and engagement. A mobile device has the capacity to improve the quality of life of the older population because it helps them to communicate easily with their friends and family and keep up with their health management and community development
Initial System Design
We designed a suite of apps suitable for older adults called Savi. We minimized the function and designed an easy to use interface with large prompts and print. The Savi apps let older adults stay in touch with family and friends via instant messages or photo sharing. Our initial design consideration for Savi was focused on improving usability for older adults. This version of design presents the failure of engaging older adults in the use of mobile technology.
We performed a pilot study with an 80-year-old woman. Initially, we aimed to determine the usability of the system, how well users navigated the information, and to understand the overall usage of the system. She was asked to perform a series of tasks relevant to the Savi tablet’s functionality, and then answer a series of follow up questions about her experience with the system. She failed all tasks, she did not want to try even a single button.
From this pilot study, we learned that a system should be designed to help older adults feel positively about the technologies they are afraid to use and find difficult. This study intended to understand their needs and look for ideas that could make them happy, by conducting focus group interviews with the family as well as older adults.
Second (Final Design)
To make the app simple and get older adults interested in using Savi, we only created three apps for older adults’ use. Splash screen features and family admin apps were added to the second Savi iteration to foster positive emotions and user experiences in the context of mobile usage for older adults.
* To see the final design of Savi, please watch the video at the top
User Study
We conducted the focus group study and semi-structured in-depth interview to explore older people’s general attitudes toward the use of mobile phones and the barriers to their use
Analysis
We used thematic coding and other qualitative methods to analyze the focus group interview data. The verbal responses to the interview questions were analyzed to identify design principles and emotional triggers with Savi interaction for older adults
General Attitudes towards Mobile Technology
Qualitative Analysis
We identify “emotional connection to others” as the most important factor to motivate the elderly to use mobile devices. Main themes that emerged from the data were: “Communicate and collaborate with family”, “Comfort”, “Discoverability”, “Perceived usefulness and benefits”, “The necessity of training”, “Pleasurable experience”.
