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DISCOVERING OPPORTUNITIES TO FULFILL

SENIOR ADULT WANTS AND NEEDS

VIA THE SMART HOME

by

Brenton Elmore

A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillmentof the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science in Design

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY

August 2000

DISCOVERING OPPORTUNITIES TO FULFILL

SENIOR ADULT WANTS AND NEEDS

VIA THE SMART HOME

by

Brenton Elmore

has been approved

July 2000

APPROVED:

ABSTRACT

There are more than thirty major smart home control systems available. A smart home

typically employs a system that automates the control of lighting, heating and cooling,

security, surveillance, and entertainment. Market penetration and product acceptance has

been surprisingly low. Senior adults could be one of the fastest growing population segments

using this technology if it is made easy for them to use. The goals of this study were:

• to understand wants and needs of senior adults

• to interpret how smart home technologies could address those wants and needs, and

• to use the resulting data to guide the development of conceptual products

that illustrate opportunities for the smart home industry.

Formal research questions for this case study were:

Q1. Which wants and needs of senior users could be addressed by the smart home?

Q2. Which user wants and needs does the smart home industry consider viable?

Q3. What design considerations may benefit the smart home industry and senior users?

To answer Q1, senior user wants and needs were documented through ethnographic

observations and field interviews. Research focused on daily experiences and on difficulties

with the use of products, services, and technologies. Persons who provide support services

for this case study population were also interviewed. To answer Q2, industry representatives

were interviewed and those answers were triangulated with document analysis. Q3 was

answered by interpreting results from Q1, Q2, and the literature on universal design and

smart home technology.

Results indicate that some senior wants and needs may soon be addressed by future smart

home products and solutions. However, three wants and needs are not being considered by

the industry: simplification of the interaction with technology, knowing and understanding

individual senior capabilities, and providing assistance with medical issues. The optimum solu-

tion for seniors in this case study is an integrated, community wide, smart home system that

responds to individual capabilities and core values. Insights relating to senior wants and needs

are presented, along with seven guiding principles for developers of smart home technologies.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A sincere thank you to the committee that made this academic voyage immensely

rewarding. “Merci beaucoup” to Dr. Jacques Giard for making those connections between

culture, our influence as designers, and for a demeanor that brings out the best from

students. Thanks to Dr. Michael Kroelinger for a relentless pursuit of higher academic

standards, the can-do attitude, and for guiding insights on doing important research while

maintaining realistic expectations. Thanks to Patricia Moore for a lifetime dedication to

seniors, inspiring others to follow, and for injecting the professional realities into this thesis.

Thanks to Hilarie Nickerson for her deep insights between people and products, asking the

tough questions, and for the dedication in forming this thesis into a reality.

“Tusind tak” to Kirsten Bjergårde for her motivation, patience, understanding, and

financial support. This academic voyage would not have been possible without her.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures ix

1 Introduction 1

Prologue 1

Two Scenarios 1

The Problem 4

Research Questions 8

Primary Questions 8

Subquestions 8

Scope 10

Research Significance and Justification 12

Future Populations 13

Comfort, Dignity, and Independence 17

Security, Safety, and Health 19

Energy Savings 20

More Technology in the Home is Inevitable 20

Terminology 22

Research Assumptions and Limitations 24

v

2 The Literature Review 25

Introduction 25

Conceptual Framework 26

Technology Influences 28

Smart Home Vision 28

Smart Home Reality 29

User Interface Problems 30

Universal Design Influence 34

Overview 34

Formal Definition 35

Real World Inquiry 38

Case Study 39

Definition 40

Study Design 40

Triangulation 41

Ethnography 42

Strategy for Q1 Series 44

Observation Strategy 44

Interview Strategy 44


Interview Strategy 45

Document Analysis Strategy 46


vi

3 Methodology 47

Methodological Approach 48

Pilot Testing 48

The Researcher 48

Data Collection 49

Research Instrument Design 50

Design of Q1 51

Senior Observations 53

Senior Interviews 54

Support Service Interviews 55

Design of Q2 56

Interviews 56

Document Analysis 58

4 Data Analysis and Results 60

Analysis Process 61

Q1.1, Q1.2, Q1.3 and Q1.4 61

Results 64

Q1Summary 86

Results 86

Q2.1 88

Interview Results 88

Document Analysis Results 91

Q2 Summary 93

Results 93

Corporate Strategies 94

Overall Results 96

vii

5 Conclusions 100

Conclusion Influences 101

Review of Q1 and Q2 102

Review of Technology and Universal Design 103

Insights 104

Q3.1 105

Product Improvements and New Markets 107

Scenarios and Products 108

Q3 Summary 109

Seven Guiding Principles 113

Recommendations 115

Final Thoughts 116

Untitled 118

References 119

Appendices

A Current Products and Interfaces 126

B Institutional Review Board Approval 128

C Information and Consent, Senior 130

D Observation Instrument 136

E Interview Guide, Senior 139

F Interview Guide, Support Personnel 150

G Interview Guide, Smart Home Industry 157

H Document Analysis Sample 163

I Document Analysis Results 165

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

1 Introduction

1-01 Conceptual room control panel. 1

1-02 Conceptual light control panel. 2

1-03 Moore on October 21, 2037. 2

1-04 Current smart home components. 4

1-05 Typical control panel. 5

1-06 IBM Home Director control interface. 6

1-07 The design problem. 7

1-08 Product creation. 9

1-09 Scope option 1. 10

1-10 Scope option 2. 11

1-11 The research process. 11

1-12 Baby boom bulge, 1994. 14




1-16 People over 85. 16

1-17 Internet connected fridge. 21

2 The Literature Review


2-02 Conceptual Framework. 27

2-03 Opportunities for interface improvements. 33

2-04 Good grips products. 35

2-05 Summary of universal design. 36

2-06 Research characteristics. 38

2-07 Design research scale. 39

ix

3 Methodology


3-02 Time allocations. 50

4 Data Analysis and Results


4-02 Sorting the data. 62

4-03 Primary and secondary categories. 63

4-04 Physical, High requirements. 65

4-05 Physical, High requirements. 66

4-06 Physical. 67

4-07 Mental processing, Memory. 68

4-08 Mental processing, Medications and safety. 69

4-09 Mental processing, Technology is frustrating. 70

4-10 Mental processing, Technology is complex. 71

4-11 Mental processing, PC’s are too complex. 72

4-12 Mental processing, PC’s are too complex. 73

4-13 Sensory input. 74

4-14 Products, Visual degradation issues. 75

4-15 Products, Visual degradation issues. 76

4-16 Products, Kitchen related. 77

4-17 Products, Kitchen related. 78

4-18 Products, Technology. 79

4-19 Services. 80

4-20 Services, Safety and medical. 81

4-21 Individual. 82

4-22 Social. 83

4-23 Social. 84

4-24 Cultural. 85

x

4-25 iButton ring. 89

4-26 Content summary. 91

4-27 Document analysis results. 92

4-28 Results. 96

4-29 Viable wants and needs. 97

4-30 Thermostat ad. 98

5 Conclusions


5-02 Answering Q3 and Q3.1. 101

5-03 Current smart home components. 105

5-04 Future system. 106

5-05 Future scenarios. 109

5-06 Kitchen connection JINI™ interactive fridge. 110

5-07 JINI™ connected gestural interface. 111

5-08 JINI™ (and JAVA™) Personal Identifiers. 112

5-09 Huli chief. 116

Appendices

A-01 Current products and interfaces. 127

D-01 Observation instrument with data. 137

D-02 Instrument with translated data. 138

xi

1. INTRODUCTION

The most profound technologies are those that disappear.They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday lifeuntil they are indistinguishable from it. —Mark Weiser, Palo Alto Research Center. (1991, 94)

Prologue

Technology can be wonderful when it betters people lives. Technological inventions like the

pacemaker give people the independence to live longer and higher quality lives. These tech-

nological innovations could be extended, not just to devices like the pacemaker, but to all

aspects of living. Following are two scenarios of technological innovation that could assist

people in their homes on a daily basis, resulting in higher quality life.

Two Scenarios

Scenario 1

An older neighbor—Mary—has been asked to take care of the Smith’s house while they are

on vacation. Mary goes over to the house to feed the fish. She was shown the controls on

the home automation panel a few months ago and hopes she can remember how to operate

it. Mary enters the home and a light automatically turns on. She sees the panel on the wall

and approaches it. The title “Welcome Mary”

is spoken and displayed at the top of the

interface. A simplified floor plan of the house

is on the screen. Mary touches “Family

Room” on the plan. The image of the floor

plan fades out and a video feed of the family

room fills the screen. An icon of each

controllable object is shown. Mary sees icons

for a TV, stereo, CD player, and floor lamp

as shown in figure 1-01. Mary taps the floor

light icon.

Figure 1-01

Conceptual room control panel.

An overlay appears, in figure 1-02, with an

“on” and “off ” control for the light.

The “on” button is highlighted because the

system knows the light is currently off. Mary

taps “on.” The light turns on and the overlay

fades away. Does this smart home control

panel scenario satisfy the Smith’s needs as

residents and Mary’s needs as a guest?

Scenario 2

Industrial designer and gerontologist Patricia Moore jumps forward to her 85th birthday

(figure 1-03). The date is October 21, 2037. She reflects on how the technology has met

her wants and needs in her home:

Telecommunication and video equipment haveoffered me a wonderful array of abilities andimprovements in my life. My personal computer,telephone and television interconnect to form apowerful chain of support for my banking, shop-ping and diagnoses. My home security systemprovides pictures of all entry points on videoscreens mounted in each room. When questioninga noise or answering the door bell, I first check amonitor, using voice command, to determine thesource of concern. My telephone can be a visual orauditory contact, responding to voice commands,dialing and redialing numbers as required. It storesunanswered calls, blocks unwanted calls and placespre-determined calls automatically. My HealthCare Center receives my vital signs daily, retrievingand storing any alterations to my medicalprogram. (Moore 1986, 13).

2

Figure 1-02

Conceptual light control panel.

Figure 1-03

Moore on October 21, 2037.

(Moore and Conn 1985, 82)Copyright © 1985 by Patricia A. Moore.

Interestingly, these services are all currently available as individual systems. But, they are

difficult to use and integration remains low. The scenarios illustrate how technology may

improve the quality of our life by addressing our wants and needs. (Please refer to the

terminology section on page 22 in this chapter for a definition of “wants and needs”.) The

scenarios provide a basis to start thinking about this study. For example, what are senior’s

wants and needs? What areas are the smart home industry developing solutions for? What

are the influences of technology and how can it be used? What design influences are impor-

tant? This thesis provides an opportunity to address these questions in the context of a

smart home.

3

The Problem

It’s easy to invent some gizmo. The hard part is makingsomething that people want and need. —Tucker Viemeister, Smart Design. (Dziersk 1993, 20)

Currently the smart home is typically a system that automates the control of lighting,

heating and cooling, security, surveillance, and entertainment. In the last few years with the

influence of the internet, the definition is expanding to include communication and remote

monitoring. A weakness is the lack of integration between subsystems, resulting in a sepa-

rate interface for each product as shown in figure 1-04.

When interviewed, 70% of homeowners expressed interest for technology in their homes

(Kanner 1999, A-17). People expressed interest in accurate temperature control, reducing

utility bills, better security, and a system that provides remote notification if something was

wrong at home.

4

Security

Security & Monitoring

Entertainment

Basic Control:• lighting• HVAC

A User

User Interface

User Interface

User Interface

Figure 1-04

Current smart home components.

Products exist both of the aforementioned scenarios. Most have

been available for five to ten years. “Current Products and

Interfaces”, shown in appendix A, represents a range of the

products on the market. Products are often a numeric keypad,

with a small screen and some specialized buttons as shown in

figure 1-05.

The smart home technology exists and people want it, so why

isn’t this technology part of apple pie and the American dream?

The industry that sells products for the smart home expound on the virtues of their offer-

ings. The following excerpt from a product catalogue explains how their products solve

peoples’ wants and needs. “Smart homes save energy and help the environment through

intelligent control of lighting, heating and cooling. A smart home can protect your family

and possessions from an increasingly violent and crime ridden society through sophisticated

security and surveillance systems. Home Theater systems allow you to enjoy music and

video from anywhere in your house. The elderly and disabled can have full control of the

home from their fingertips” (Smarthome.com 1999, 6).

This marketing literature seems to indicate peoples’ needs are addressed; however, this is far

from reality. A researcher at the Institute for Automation writes, “Although there has been

research going on in the field of Home Automation for several years, implementations of

successful products are rare considering the potential market. The author feels one reason

for this insufficiency is the little effort spent for the design of an integrated user-interface.

Actually the main concern of [electronics] designers is how to incorporate the diversity of

products from different companies into the home system” (Leeb 1994, 897).

The smart home industry has invested heavily in communication protocols and hardware

research, while little consideration is given to usability issues. People reject this technology

because the interface for turning on a light is too complex, error prone, and inconvenient.

Who wants to go to their personal computer and navigate through the interface (IBM

1997) in figure 1-06 to turn on a light?

5

Figure 1-05

Typical control panel.

The literature review in chapter two documents that most of the smart home products,

regardless of technology or cost, fail to meet the user wants and needs. This problem isn’t

restricted to the smart home industry, it is a reflection of our society, and thus partially a

social issue. Donald Norman elegantly documented this problem in his book,Things That

Make us Smart: Defending Human Attributes in the Age of the Machine. He writes:

Society has unwittingly fallen into a machine-centered orientation to life, one that emphasizes the needs of technology over those of people,thereby forcing people into a supporting role, one for which we are most unsuited …

It doesn’t have to be this way. Today we serve technology. We need to reverse the machine-centered point of view and turn it into a person-centered point of view: Technology should serve us. This is as much a social problem as a technological one. (1993, xi)

6

Figure 1-06

IBM Home Director control interface.

Victor Papanek, another designer who

focused on social change, presents another

view point. He stated, “if [in figure 1-07]

we equate the triangle with a design

problem, we readily see that industry and

its designers are concerned only with the

tiny top portion, without addressing them-

selves to real needs” (Papanek 1985, 56).

Professor Papanek continually stressed the importance of increasing our scope as designers

and researchers. By increasing the scope, the real user wants and needs may be discovered.

As the scope is increased, individual and cultural issues become important. Dr. Jacques

Giard, Director of the School of Design at Arizona State University, reminds us that “tech-

nology changes but core values endure” (Giard 2000). Smart home developers should

design systems to meet seniors core values because those do not change. Then, development

could focus on integration of new technologies.

The visionary Austin Henderson, who has done pioneering research in user interface archi-

tecture, emphasizes the proactive role of design. “I see design as trying to figure out ‘where

would we like to be?’ Design is an exercise in imagination: What directions can we go in?

Where might that take us? What would it be like if we got there? What would the implica-

tions be?” (Ehrlich 1998, 37).

This thesis strives to determine people’s wants and needs through a person-centered view-

point. More specifically, the research focuses on senior adults–senior citizens–real wants and

needs from a smart home. The seniors, a demographic largely ignored by technology

sectors, is part of a qualitative case study strategy.

7

Traditionally, thedesigner's share

The real problem

Figure 1-07

The design problem.

Research Questions

Traditional human factors work tries to satisfy existingneeds and conditions. But human factors research shouldtry to exceed user expectations and, ultimately,to create them. —Rick Robinson. (1992, 63)

The introduction has discussed user wants and needs and some of the technology the smart

home industry has created. To define this problem, a research question strategy is used.

John W. Creswell provides a research question framework using the “grand tour” approach

(1994, 70). In this strategy, three primary–grand tour–questions are posed by the researcher

along with five to seven subquestions.

Primary Questions

In this case study,

Q1. Which wants and needs of senior users could be addressed by the smart home?


Q3. What design considerations may benefit the smart home industry and senior users?

The primary questions are asking what are seniors needs in the home environment that

could be solved with technology? Which areas of products and services are the smart home

industry developing? How could the research find overlaps between senior’s wants and

needs and industry offerings?

Subquestions

Subquestions help to narrow the focus of the study while not constraining the researcher

(Creswell 1994, 70). The subquestions in this case study are:

Q1.1 What problems and difficulties do seniors experience in daily life?

Q1.2 How are seniors currently using objects, tools, and technology in their home?

Q1.3 What experiences do seniors in this case study have with products and services?

Q1.4 What external contacts do senior users interact with, including activities and

socialization, that could benefit from a smart home?

8

Q2.1 What wants and needs are being pursued by selected representatives in the

smart home industry?

Q3.1 How does the research translate into product improvements for seniors and

new market opportunities?

Q2 and Q2.1 are included in the thesis to involve the business community and industry.

Without some understanding of the industry, it is unlikely the results from this thesis

would make an impact in bettering seniors’ lives. Larry Keeley of the Doblin Group

research firm explains the relationship between business and design in a section titled

“Forces Shaping Design”:

Culture and business: because of the way they shape one another, it is ofteninstructive to view design through these two very different lenses. Cultureinfluences what customers want and need; it has an effect on what they’llbuy and the personality of most products. At the same time, business shapeswhat designers are asked to do about the needs of a culture. Designers servebusiness clients; the problems of design, with only rare exception, are prob-lems which business people bring to us. It is the grey space in the middlebetween business and culture where design is born. Designers do notverbalize either the issues of the culture or of business very effectively, yetthey process both astutely. (1989, 2)

Quoting Keeley again, interface guru Alan Cooper summarizes the interaction between

engineering, business, and design into a product-centered model similar to figure 1-08.

9

TheProduct

Research & Design

What’s Desirable

We know this is possible. If there is

a market we can sell it.

This is the area of interest,the glue.

What’s Viable

Business & Marketing

Wha

t’s Ca

pable

Engin

eerin

g &

Tech

nolog

y

Figure 1-08

Product creation.

10Keeley calls the first quality “capability,” and it is what the technologist provide. They ask,

“What are we capable of? What is possible?” Keeley calls the second quality “viability,” and

it is the contribution of business people. They ask, “What is viable? What can we sell?”

Keeley calls the third quality “desirability,” and it is what designers supply. They ask, “what

is desired? What do people want?” Designers must know what will make people happy and

satisfied.”(Cooper 1999, 73) In order to make people happy and satisfied, the wants and

needs will be understood through this research. The researcher/designer provides the glue to

bond the capability to the viability and keep their product focused on wants and needs of

the user.

Donald Norman, the founding chair of the department of Cognitive Science at the

University of California, provides another perspective on the importance of Question 2. Dr.

Norman explains why he left the university, “I have been increasingly bothered by the lack

of reality in academic research. University-based research can be clever, profound, and deep,

but surprisingly often it has little or no impact either upon scientific knowledge or upon

society at large … In the real-world of business, where many different practical constraints

affect the final product, can a person-centered design philosophy have an effect? I will strive

to see that it does” (1993, xii).

One strategy for a successful and influential thesis is to use knowledge from both academia

and the business world, while striving to keep the ideals of person-centered design in focus.

Additionally, because senior wants and needs are tied directly to products, it would be

foolish to consider wants and needs without the context of “business reality.”

Scope

The issues discussed thus far could easily

become unmanageable. There are two

ways to keep the scope manageable. The

first option is to consider a very few issues

and generate many ideas or solutions as

shown in figure 1-09.

The Research Process

Figure 1-09

Scope option 1.

The second option is to consider many real

world issues and come with a few focused

conclusions as shown in figure 1-10. Due to

the exploratory nature of this thesis, the

inverted triangle is the best strategy. As the

research process is completed, insights,

interpretations, and ideas are are presented

in chapters four and five.

A detailed plan of the research process is

shown in figure 1-11. The diagram has a

linear appearance, but the process is very

cyclic in nature. A step is completed, then

compared to the next step, and the

previous step is redefined as the research

progresses. This thesis roughly follows the

research process diagram.

11

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ResearchQuestions

ConceptualFramework

RefineMethodology

PilotTest

CollectData

Categorize &Organize

DevelopIntrepretations

Verify & Check

ReportFindings

Figure 1-11.

The research process.

The Research Process

Figure 1-10

Scope option 2.

Research Significance and Justification

The objectives in graduate study are related to solving aproblem addressing a human need! Without addressingneeds, the project may be of value as artistic pursuit, butit has little meaning with relationship to issues of use,service and improvement of the quality of life or thehuman condition.—Joseph Koncelik, Ohio State University. (1995, 35)

This researcher hopes to provide knowledge to improve the quality of life for the senior.

Anita Shalit with the Administration on Aging provides an example. “Among the advan-

tages for the elderly, the Smart House will centralize control and operation of all household

appliances and systems from a single location in the home, a significant boon to people

with mobility problems. Individuals will be able to tailor security and lifeline systems to

their needs” (Shalit 1987, 13).

There is a history in trying to determine the wants and needs of older populations. An

often cited study is summarized here by Bill Moggridge of the design firm IDEO:

One of the best cases of observation on what old people really do and howthey cope with the built and designed environment was the way PatriciaMoore addressed the problem in the USA. She tried to experience the worldas a woman in the 80s might, using physical restraints in the form of bodybraces, a splint behind the knee and taping her fingers together to simulatephysical changes associated with ageing. She also used make-up to changethe appearance of her face, and put drops in her eyes to make them uncom-fortable. She repeated this experience in many towns and cities in the USA.Observation is essential to understand what it is like to be other thanoneself; to avoid the danger of designing for oneself alone we need a processto help us step outside our own experience. (1993, 15)

This study focuses on how technology can improve the quality of life in the home of

seniors. The inclusion of technology reflects this researcher’s specific interest in person-

centered design through the appropriate application of technology and human

computer interfaces.

12

The research justification concentrates on five areas: 1) future populations; 2) comfort,

dignity, and independence; 3) security, safety, and health; 4) energy savings; and 5) more

technology in the home is inevitable.

Future Populations

Due to current technological limitations and costs, results from this research may not be

applicable for another ten years. But, ten years is just in time to grab a huge potential

market—the baby boomers (Census 1996, 1-2). On the next page, figure 1-12 shows a

snapshot of this large population. Currently seventy-five million women and men, or one-

third of the U.S. population, are classified as baby-boomers (Census 1996, 2-2)!

13

14

Figure 1-12

Baby boom bulge, 1994.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Frank B. Hobbs, and Bonnie L. Damon. 1996. 65+ in the United States, 1-2.

Population by Age and Sex: July 1, 1994

Population in millions

Age

0 1 2 3

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

Male Female

0123

Baby Boom

Figures 1-13, 1-14, and 1-15 give a visual indicator of this “population bulge” aging from

1975 through 2030 (Census 1996, 2-6).

15

85+80–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4

Population by Age and Sex: 1975

Age

Baby Boom

12 10 8 6 4 2 0 121086420

Male Female


1414

Figure 1-13



Projected Population by Age and Sex: 2010

Age

Baby Boom

90+85–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4

12 10 8 6 4 0 121086402 2

Male Female

1414


Figure 1-14



Figure 1-16 shows the number of persons over the age of 85 (Census 1996, 2-8). This

research may improve the lives of some of this decade’s million seniors.

16Projected Population by Age and Sex: 2030

Age

Baby Boom

90+85–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4

14 12 10 8 6 4 0 14121086402 2

Male Female

Population in millionsFigure 1-15



1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.91.4

2.23.0

4.3

6.07.0

8.8

13.8

18.9

Figure 1-16

People over 85.


Population 85 Years and Over: 1900 to 2050 (In millions)

Comfort, Dignity, and Independence

Comfort, dignity, and independence are values most humans cherish. Yet designers,

marketers, and engineers create and manufacture products that seem to be operable only by

the technically inclined 20-year-old male. The miniaturized cell phone is one example. Neal

Bellos discusses the problem in an article profiling the senior consumer. “…older people

have been excluded in the application of today’s scientific and technological breakthroughs,

that exclusion from society’s most profound advances could further their isolation, obsoles-

cence and devaluation … Exclusion is not the only risk. Inappropriate application of tech-

nology may carry with it the hazard of creating a more hostile or dangerous environment

for older people …” (Bellos 1987, 7).

Comfort, dignity, and independence refer to a higher quality of life for the senior adult—

the comfort to enjoy life, the dignity to avoid negative and stereotypical portrayals, and the

independence to perform activities of daily living (ADL) and household tasks. Here is an

example of tasks that reduce a senior’s comfort, dignity, and independence.

In 1983, the Gallup Organization conducted a nationwide survey of 1,500non-institutionalized people age 55 or older to determine consumer wantsand needs. The survey identified 16 problem areas associated with normalfunctioning and activities of daily living [in order of priority].

1. Opening medicine packages

2. Reading product labels

3. Reaching high things

4. Fastening buttons, snaps, or zippers

5. Vacuuming or dusting

6. Going up and down stairs

7. Cleaning bathtubs and sinks

8. Washing and waxing floors

9. Putting clothes on over one’s head

10. Putting on shoes, socks, or stockings

11. Carrying purchases

12. Using tools

13. Being alone (no one would know if anything happened)

14. Using the shower or bathtub

15. Tying shoe laces, bows, and neckties

16. Moving around the house without slipping or falling (Moore 1986, 16)

17

In the past, these manual tasks were beyond the scope of smart homes. With current tech-

nologies and innovations, many of the problems can be reduced in a smart home. For

example, number two–reading product labels–may become unnecessary as smart product

containers communicate with the senior through new smart home interfaces.

Quality of Life at Home

Most people want to live in their own home until they die. But because of their unique

needs they are often removed from their home and “placed” in long–term, dependent care

facilities, like nursing homes. James Pirkl, a transgenerational designer notes, “… the ability

to live independently serves as the key indicator of quality of life … For many persons with

disabilities, he argues, living on their own is a viable goal, much preferred to living in the

protective care of their family or in an institutional setting, where their needs are ‘taken care

of ’” (1994, 78). In the United States, the ability to live at home serves as a quality of life

indicator and using technology as an assistant helps avoid dependent care facilities.

Comfort in the smart home may be achieved through a variety of assistive interfaces

including lighting, heating and air conditioning, and appliances. Custom profiles may allow

individual users to have their own interface that accommodate their skill set or cognitive

models. For example, controls for seniors may be significantly different from those

presented to children. Reminders may reduce stress on older adults by helping them with

frequent tasks and infrequent appointments. Video may be used for entertainment purposes

or an emergency call to the doctor with a close up of the injury presented onscreen. Assisted

living through the interface may allow persons to live in their home until death.

18

Security, Safety, and Health

Security

Security has been a primary concern for centuries. The Acoma Pueblo, or sky city, is one of

the oldest continually inhabited villages in the United States. It was build on a 400-foot

high mesa, with steep cliffs to provide security to its inhabitants (Walker 1993, 42). Today,

the home alarm system is the typical method of security. With smart homes, the concept of

security will be expanded, especially in remote monitoring (Kanner 1999, A-17).

Safety

We must remember the advances in smart home technology will benefit not just the direct

user, but others in society too. The smart home may reduce the stress and requirements of

home health care providers, safety providers, support personnel, and family members while

simultaneously providing a safer environment for the senior. “About 9 million people of all

ages have disabilities so severe that they require personal assistance to carry out everyday

activities. About 80 percent of the people who take on the role of primary helper are rela-

tives and nearly half of these primary helpers live with the person with a disability” (Census

1997). The smart home will provide additional safety to the occupant, especially when

helpers are not on premise.

Health

The home health care market is one of the fastest growing industries in the health care

economy. Stephanie Schacter from the Institute for the Future explains, “national health

expenditure figures show that the home health care segment grew 20.2% (average annual

growth) from 1990 to 1995, and will grow 10.5% annually from 1995 to 2000” (Schacter

1997, 81). A smart home will support the home health care market and reduce costs associ-

ated with institutionalized care.

Another exciting avenue is the role robotics may play.

Engelhardt (1989) has suggested the potential role of robotic technology inelder care. Her study of robotic applications in long-term care identifiedcare-giving tasks specifically amenable to this technology, including ambula-tion, housekeeping, physical therapy, surveillance and monitoring,nursing/medical assistance, vital sign monitoring, mental stimulation/

19

rehabilitation, and transfer/lifting. The wide implications technology havefor care giving are seen in the physical demands of care the NationalInstitutes of Occupational Safety and Health indicate that health careworkers have the highest incidence of overexertion injury of any industry:some 62% of all cases. (Smith 1990, 522)

Smart homes may remove “back breaking” chores for the resident and/or health care

workers. For example, some home builders are incorporating piping into concrete driveways

before they are poured. Smart home sensors detect snow and circulate hot water through

the piping; the snow melts and no shoveling is needed by the senior (Stein 1989, 76).

Energy Savings

In Scandinavia, there are several prototype projects that allow homes to communicate with

utility companies, unattended, in real time. These test are in preparation for regional and

national implementations of permanent systems. The systems are “being promoted to

improve energy efficiency and address environmental concerns”(Cross, 1998, 72). These

systems will save energy and financial resources for seniors. Most importantly, the senior

won’t be burdened with energy management issues, the systems will manage themselves.

More Technology in the Home is Inevitable

Consider how technology has entered homes in the past. Most everyone has experienced the

frustration of the video cassette recorder (VCR) that incessantly flashes “12:00.” One survey

indicated that “one-third of American VCR owners have given up on programming these

devices because they cannot understand the instructions and controls” (Cooperstock 1997).

More specifically to the point of this thesis, Cooperstock, a researcher at Sony Computer

Science Laboratory, writes: “The hype of intelligent appliances and ‘smart homes’ has so far

failed to produce consumer electronics technology of mass appeal. It is our contention that

common frustration with overly complex user interfaces has been the foremost obstacle

preventing society from reaping the benefits promised by such technology” (Cooperstock

1997). Technology and electronics will continue to invade the home; it is inevitable.

Frigidaire and Sony Corporation offer two examples that illustrate their vision of “smart”

appliances in the home.

20

Frigidaire’s Smart Appliances

Recently Frigidaire demonstrated a prototype

of a refrigerator (figure 1-17) that doubles as

an at-home ordering device. “Like the scan-

ners used in grocery stores, the refrigerator’s

scanner can read UPCs [from an empty milk

carton] and retailer loyalty cards. It also

features a Web interface that flashes personal-

ized retail ads. Hook the interface up to a

system like Streamline, the Westwood,

Massachusetts-based online supermarket that

makes deliveries, and you’ve got the new age

milkman” (Bruinius 1999, 28).

It is important to consider how this technology will impact senior adults. Many seniors’

highlight of the week is going to the grocery store (Viola 2000).

Sony’s Vision

Technology penetration and integration in the residence is definitely part of Sony’s vision.

“In the year 2000 almost all our products will go to the Net without using the PC,” says

Sony president Nobuyuki Idei. In addition, the products “will be ‘situation aware’—so

they’ll do what they’re supposed to without being asked” (Sheff and Kunkel 1999, 268). In

Sony’s vision, products are part of a reactive, ubiquitous, communications network. These

ubiquitous systems must consider the specific capacities and capabilities of senior adults.

21

Figure 1-17

Internet connected fridge.

(Bruinius 1999, 31)Copyright © 1999NewMedia.

Terminology

Activities of daily living, ADL: In Transgenerational Design Pirkl list the six basic activities of

daily living: bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, continence, and feeding.

Additional ADLs are communication, grooming, visual capability, walking, and

the usage of upper extremities (Pirkl 1994, 217).

AOL: America Online, Inc. An Internet service and content provider, http://www.aol.com.

Cognitive model: An abstract representation people use in the mind to refer to another

object, thing, or concept. For example, computer users have a cognitive model

associated with “cut”. Users understand this represents the action of removing

the selected thing and placing it in the computers clipboard.

Gerontology: The study of the aging process including physical, mental, social, and

economic factors (Pirkl 1994, 217).

Home automation: See “Smart home”

JAVA™: A computing platform based on networks. The key idea is that products and

services can communicate with each other regardless of the type of computer

(Sun 2000a). For example, the computer be a small CD player or a large

file server.

JINI™: A connection technology based on the simplicity of plugging devices together. The

benefit is that products and services work together without the need for special

software, cables or intervention from a user (Sun 2000b). For example, plug in a

TV and an inexpensive video camera and instantly have video communications

with family and friends.

Manifest (content): Decoding the meaning of a word(s) where the visible content is used

and minimal inference is required to understand the meaning. The opposite is

“latent content” where much inference is required to understand the true

meaning or symbolism of a word(s) (Robson 1993, 276). For example, if

someone says they are “tired” the manifest content means the person is

exhausted. The latent content could mean the person is not interested.

Needs: See “Wants.”

Senior(s): In the American culture, the term usually applies to persons 60 to 65 years old

or older. In this thesis, it applies to the case study senior(s)—anyone over 70

years of age.

22

Smart appliance: Any appliance or device that contains a central processing unit and usually

communicates data with other appliances or systems.

Smart home: A residence where there is an integration between devices, products, and

services. Integration is achieved via a communication network. Most smart

homes have at least one control panel or user interface for human interaction.

The goal of a smart home is to better people’s lives.

Tasks: An immediate function to be performed to achieve an objective.

Ubiquitous: A computer, network, or system that seems to be everywhere, often in a trans-

parent mode, requiring minimal human interaction.

Usability: Defining a level of physical or mental ease of use—is it “user friendly,” can it be

used efficiently, and without errors (Wickens, Gordon, and Liu 1998, 69).

Users: The human population using the device, product, service or system.

User-centered design: Consideration of the person is most important variable in the design.

A methodological principle where the device, product, service or system is

designed to meet human wants and needs (Wickens, Gordon, and Liu 1998, 47).

Wants (and needs): In this thesis, wants refers to seniors wants and needs.

Wants and needs are very broad words. These words occur so frequently in

design and research that their meanings are blurred. The American Heritage

Dictionary defines want as: “1. To desire greatly; wish for: He wants to leave. 2.

To fail to have; be without; lack: A house that wants cheer is melancholy. 3. To

need or require.” Need is defined as: “1. A lack of something required or desir-

able: crops in need of water; a need for affection. 2. Something required or

wanted; requisite: Our needs are modest .” These words are synonymous as the

dictionary uses each word to define the other. Often, the art of marketing

encourages people to want, then transform that want into a need (Giard 2000).

Additionally, one person’s want is often another’s need.

Due to the high level of ambiguity, confusion, and subjectiveness of these two

words, in the context of this study there will be no distinction between wants

and needs. Psychologically the words are difficult to separate, thus they will

occur as a pair.

23

Research Assumptions and Limitations

1. The process of qualitative research is inductive, meaning the research is concept

generating, rather than theory proving.

2. Only a few issues related to senior wants and needs can be documented due to

limited resources.

3. For specific methodological approach, this researcher relies heavily on Colin Robson’s

Real World Research (Robson 1993).

4. The researcher acknowledges limitations of understanding senior wants and needs,

through observation and interview.

5. Literature specific to older users and smart home technologies are minimal.

6. The technology sector changes rapidly. The researcher has discovered literature

collected in 1999 may already be out of date.

7. Universal design is an ideal goal state, not a reality.

8. The smart home industry has little in–depth data specific to seniors wants and needs.

9. Different data may have emerged with actual smart home users. However, the

researcher was unable to locate smart home users over the age of 70, probably

because technology is too complex, and this is a new and emerging market.

10. The smart home industry will only discuss issues related to publicized technology,

not future internal, and possibly proprietary, developments.

11. Any case study is not generalizable to the general population.

12. Improved quality of life may be achieved by bringing the seniors issues to the

consciousness of the industry through this case study strategy. It may be found the

research could be applied to a larger segment of the population, but these inferences

are beyond the case study strategy.

13. The data is weighted from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M.

14. Participants may have tried to please the researcher so he would visit again.

15. Participants are subject to the “Hawthorne Effect,” they behave differently in the

presence of the researcher.

24

2. THE LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Shown in figure 2-01, the next step in the

research process is defining the conceptual

framework. The framework outlines the

research road map. Then, the literature

review covers the influences of technology,

universal design and presents the strategy for

conducting real-world, field-based research.

In this thesis the strategy is the meta-design,

or conceptualization stage, for the various

methods presented in chapter three. Colin

Robson, an expert in research strategy,

explains the logic, “it is useful to distinguish

between the strategy and the tactics you adopt

when carrying out an enquiry. Strategy refers

to the general broad orientation taken in

addressing research questions—the style, if

you like … Tactics [are] the specific methods

of investigation” (1993 , 37).

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ResearchQuestions

ConceptualFramework

RefineMethodology

PilotTest

CollectData



Verify & Check

ReportFindings

Figure 2-01


Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework covers the main features(aspects, dimensions, factors, variables) of a case studyand their presumed relationships. —Colin Robson. (1993, 150)

As described in Colin Robson’s book, Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and

Practitioner-Researchers, the framework forces the researcher to be explicit about the strategy.

Please review the framework on the next page. In the framework, the Researcher/Designer

box shows the strategy and methodologies for Question 1 and Question 2. In Question 3

design considerations are generated from the results. The User box illustrates factors influ-

encing the research questions aimed at the older population. The Technology box factors in

“what’s capable,” what can be built. The Smart Home Industry box ties in “what’s viable,”

what are the business and marketing realities. Robson stresses the research questions must

match the conceptual framework (1993,153). This researcher believes the match is strong.

26

27

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Technology Influences

The conceptual framework (on page 27) illustrates technology as part of the smart home

potential. This section will address a few issues related to smart home technology.

Smart Home Vision

Home appliances such as refrigerators, clocks, and ovenswill be Internet connected, along with vending machinesand dog collars. Devices will sense the world in variousways, responding to speech and other sound, movement,acceleration, heat, gesture, touch, and so forth. Thesedevices will know where they are, who and what they arenear, and the time of day. Intelligent, networked deviceswill become so common as to be unremarkable, andeventually taken for granted.—Larry Press. (1999, 21)

This vision continues to be presented with little realization. The literature review of tech-

nology confirms a disconnect between the vision of a smart home and the reality of product

acceptance, as discussed in chapter one.

In 1988 a book on smart homes proclaimed, “In April 1987, ground was broken for the

world’s first Smart House. With the building of this house, one of the last major frontiers of

the information age was breached” (Smith 1988). By the mid-1990s everything was staged

for the smart home revolution. Technological protocols were finalized and standards were in

place. However this revolution, or even evolution, never occurred. Many consumers do

want a system that may reduce the complexity of products in their residence. However,

David Butler, a home automation researcher and business consultant, explains, “… today’s

home control systems are often more difficult to use than the products they control. These

systems are little more than elaborate scheduling machines” (1991, 163).

28

Smart Home Reality

Butler gives his belief as to why market penetration remains low. He notes, “Scores of

companies are busy developing a new generation of feature-rich products and services for

the home. However, until user interface design practice catches up with the demands of

increasingly complex products, ease-of-user will remain a major impediment to mass market

penetration” (1991, 163).

In Alan Cooper’s book, The Inmates are Running the Asylum, Why High-Tech Products Drive

Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity, he adds these problems exists because engineers and

programmers are designing them. Even though product development teams have a manager,

that manager usually comes from an engineering, programming, or business background

where user needs are either not considered or not understood (1999, 221). As a result, user

interfaces have become cumbersome. Smart home systems are technology-centric instead of

user-centric. The benefits of current products do not outweigh the psychological costs.

Smart home technology advances come from infrastructure research, protocol development,

and falling technology costs. Research began in the mid-1980s, and final standards were

established in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, those standards and protocols are regional and

proprietary. An emerging standard in Europe is the ESPRIT Home System (EHS). In

Japan, the Home Bus system and Home Audio-Video interoperability (HAVi) have support.

The United States has three emerging protocols: the CEBus (Consumer Electronics Bus),

D2B (Domestic Digital Bus), and Home API(Application Programming Interface)

(Corcoran and Desbonnet 1997, 1063; Fujita and Lam 1994, 587; Leeb, 1994 , 897).

Sony is committed to HAVi. Microsoft, Intel, Mitsubishi, and Honeywell are committed to

Home API (Sheff and Kunkel 1999, 274). This researcher sees a disturbing trend for future

users. This may be the beginning of the next in-home frustration—multiple, incompatible

protocols. For example, a future Sony self-programming DVD recorder may not be compat-

ible with a future Microsoft touch screen wall. The senior user may have to buy a protocol

converter, install a Microsoft patch, and then restart the house. This is a frustrating vision

for most people.

29

User Interface Problems

Smart home literature documents the user interface as the largest barrier to market penetra-

tion. The difficulty associated with smart home control panels is discussed from at least

three perspectives—the human-computer interface community, the electrical engineering

community, and the interior/architectural community. Following are key points and expert

commentary from the literature.

Increased Mental Load

“Contemporary homes include a large number of electronically controlled devices such as

microwave ovens, VCRs, heating/cooling systems and security systems which can be sched-

uled to start and stop functioning at given times … Typically each device has its own inter-

face. As the number of devices in a home increases so does the mental load required to

operate the devices, since different procedures must be employed to operate each device.

Additionally poorly designed user interfaces can make the scheduling task frustration and

difficult” (Plaisant and Shneiderman 1992, 375).

Poor Interface Design

Product interfaces may be difficult to control because of poor design. This may include a

physical design that’s difficult to use, a design that is illogical to the user, or poor mapping

between the physical and logical interface (Butler 1991, 166).

Overly Complex Interfaces

Cooperstock, a researcher at Sony’s computer science laboratory, notes that remote controls

and command consoles litter our homes and work environments. Once the complexity is

reduced, technology will become more usable (Cooperstock 1997).

Lack of Adaptability

“Users must be able to understand the information and make changes accordingly. The

users of home automation systems will span the cross section of society; they may be very

young or very old, they may feel comfortable or uneasy with the new technology; they may

not speak the language of the country in which they reside fluently; or, they may have

30

disabilities. Yet home automation must provide a universal interface for this diverse popula-

tion. How can interfaces be usable for all these diverse groups? … the display must be

multi-modal” (Mynatt et al. 1998, 171).

Reluctance by Manufacturers

Manufactures of smart home technologies have been reluctant to take risks in the smart

home market. This may be because these are new and unproven markets (Corcoran and

Desbonnet 1997, 1063).

Remove the Keyboard and Keypads

“It is now possible to track people’s motion, identify them by facial appearance, and recog-

nize their actions in real time using only modest computational resources. By using this

perceptual information we have been able to build smart rooms and smart clothes that have

the potential to recognize people, understand their speech, allow them to control computer

displays without wires or keyboards, communicate by sign language, and warn them when

they are about to make a mistake” (Pentland 1998, 952).

Feature Overload

“Those gadget-obsessed, control-freak programmers love to fill products with gizmos and

features, but that tendency is contrary to a fundamental insight about good design. Less is

more …When an interaction designer has done a particularly good job, the user will be

quite unaware of her presence. Like service in a world-class restaurant, it should be incon-

spicuous. When the interaction designer has accomplished something really good, users

won’t even notice it” (Cooper 1999, 199).

No Skill Transfer

“One important design principle is that users should be supported in transferring their skills

from one device to another. A promising approach to overcome the difficulties in inter-

acting with electronic home devices is to develop a set of user interface elements which are

on the one hand, defined according to human factors principles, and on the other hand

consistently implemented into all kinds of [products and] goods.” (Burmester and Machate

1994, 97)

31

“A solution to the problem of multiple user interfaces is to provide a home automation

system consisting of a single user interface that must then be general enough to support

scheduling any device for a variety of tasks.” (Plaisant and Shneiderman 1990, 459)

User Interface Problems Summary

The aforementioned issues, summarized in figure 2-03, all point to the lack of under-

standing the person, their cognitive models, and their wants and needs. Basically the

products are hard to use and lack integration. The literature is looking at individual

components, not complete systems.

A marketing technology survey reports that price was the most important purchase

decision, and ease-of-use—usability—was the second highest rated buying preference

(Burmester and Machate 1994, 97). Obviously, wants and needs can be addressed by

delivering usable product solutions.

32

Technology,User Interface

•Reduce The Mental Load•Reduce The Interface Complexity•Provide Adaptability•Minimize Reliance On Keyboards•Reduce The Number Of Features•Provide Skill Transference•Reduce & Combine Interfaces

Figure 2-03

Opportunities for interface improvements.

There is good news to report. Gerontechnology—a new field that is an intersection of

gerontology and technology—has emerged to better understand some of these problems

and to use technology to provide solutions.

Three major areas of gerontechnology apply directly to the functioning andindependence of aged and aging persons: prevention, enhancement, andcompensation. Prevention refers to technology that helps prevent or retardage-associated declines in functioning. Compensation refers to the use oftechnology that compensates for lost function. These two areas are comple-mentary. For example, manipulation of the visual environment (illumina-tion, glare, contrast, and characteristics of visual images) can compensate forage-associated losses. Enhancement refers to the use of technology to enrichthe functioning of aging and aged persons, particularly in communication,recreation, education, and work. Aging brings new opportunities for socialinteraction and communication. (Brouwer-Janse et al. 1997, 42)

Using technology to enhance communication, recreation and education of seniors is a

guiding principle in this study. Social issues are addressed in the next section–Universal

Design Influence.

33

Universal Design Influence

A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but othernames for universal design can be a thorn in the side ofpractitioners. Simply put, universal design is design forall people. Sometimes called—and confused with—assis-tive design, accessible design, adaptive design, transgen-erational design or life-span design, universal design isvery different. What separates universal design fromother design approaches is its focus on social inclusion.—Abir Mullick and Edward Steinfeld. (1997, 14)

Universal design is an important consideration to the research questions because:

1) chapter one documented “this is much a social problem as a technological one” (Norman

1993, xi), and 2) the design community has accepted universal design as a vehicle to create

good design considerations that will help to answer Q3.

Overview

Universal design is about providing access to all. Mullick, at The Center for Inclusive

Design & Environmental Access, states, “for a design to be truly universal, it should offer

the same level of access, assistance and enablement to all users. The social aspect of universal

design is grounded in democratic values of non-discrimination, equal opportunity and

personal empowerment” (Mullick and Steinfeld 1997, 15).

Universal design is an on going process to seek an ideal state. “Universal design is, in fact,

about individualization through diversity, different design for different users within the same

system. This is, however, only an ideal. True universal design is often perceived to be unat-

tainable concept. In fact, universal design does not prescribe to a final state since nothing is

truly universal nor is product evolution ever finished” (Mullick and Steinfeld 1997, 18).

Edward Steinfeld, also at The Center for Inclusive Design & Environmental Access, expands

on Mullick's thoughts, “because the quest for improved usability never ends, practicing

universal design demands continually rethinking the design of every product. This

includes—and produces—innovation in form, technology and marketing” (1997, 20).

34

Universal design can be a good business model. Steinfeld again notes, “some companies

perceive universal design as marketing strategy while others see it as a means to be unique

in the industry, to have products with qualities not available in competitors’ lines. If these

features are successful in the marketplace, confirmation will occur and universal design

practice is likely to become an essential ingredient of the business” (1997, 22).

An example is the OXO Good Grips

product line (figure 2-04). In this example,

consumer demand escalated sales, and thus

increased the adoption of universal design.

Steinfeld explains, “industry representatives

argue that if the broad population made

purchasing decisions based on increasing

convenience and usability, producers would

listen. Where producers directly feel

consumer demand, in fact, usability plays a

more important role in product innovation.

But, actual consumer demand is often

hidden because of indirect sales practices or

limited choices” (1997, 22). Universal

design may appear to be a thorn in the side

of the smart home industry. However,

consumer demand and increased sales may

result from its inclusion.

Formal Definition

Molly Follette Story with The Center for Universal Design outlines the seven principles of

universal design. This definition was generated by a team of universal design researchers at

North Carolina State University, while working under a research demonstration project

sponsored by the U.S. department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and

Rehabilitation Research. Universal design tries to achieve seven goals.

35

Figure 2-04

Good grips products.

1. Equitable Use: The design is useful and marketable to any group of users.

2. Flexibility in Use: The design accommodates a wide range of individualpreferences and abilities.

3. Simple and Intuitive Use: Use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills orcurrent concentration level.

4. Perceptible Information: The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.

5. Tolerance for Error: The design minimizes the hazards and the adverseconsequences of unintended actions.

6. Low Physical Effort: The design can be used efficiently and comfortablyand with a minimum of fatigue.

7. Size and Space for Approach and Use: Size and space for approach,reach, manipulation and user are appropriate regardless of the user’sbody size, posture or mobility. (1997, 30)

Story explains the guidelines (summarized in figure 2-05) are an unattainable ideal but help

to define a way to maximize the solution to fit the needs of the largest number of users. She

stresses it is important to also consider other aspects of good design including:

“…aesthetics, cost, safety, gender appropriateness, cultural diversity and ecological responsi-

bility” (Story 1997, 32).

36

UniversalDesign

•Provide Equitable Use•Provide Flexibility In Use•Make It Simple And Intuitive•Information Should Be Perceptible•Provide Tolerance For Error•Minimize Physical Effort•Provide Appropriate Size and Space

Figure 2-05

Summary of universal design.

Applying the principles of universal design to a smart home has many benefits including:

• usability (and thus quality of life) is increased for the occupant, the senior

• people visiting the senior will be accommodated

• resale value and/or rental demand will increase because controls will not

need to be retrofitted

If the spirit of universal design is maintained in this case study, the outcome may be better

design for everyone. Roger Coleman professor at the Royal College of Art in London

provides a summary: “…a deeper understanding of the needs and aspirations of older

people can often lead to innovations and better design for all …interfaces that work well for

older people in their daily lives are less likely to be screen based and more likely to integrate

intelligent technology with everyday activities. Finally, we must recognize that aging is a

natural, universal process and design for that—not treat older people as a separate, alien

group. We all get old and so must always design for our future selves, not just our present

abilities” (Brouwer-Janse et al. 1997, 45).

37

Real World Inquiry

The purpose of this thesis is to understand which wants and needs of senior users could be

addressed by the smart home and which wants and needs the industry considers viable. This

generative research is targeted at real-world, field-based information. For example, observing

seniors in their natural environment—the home, versus observing them in a controlled

environment—a laboratory.

Robson’s chart (below) confirms that qualitative, real world inquiry matches the nature of

the research questions in this thesis (Robson 1993, adapted from page 11).

Real World Inquiry Experimental Research

solves problems rather than just gaining knowledge

looks for robust results rather than relationships between variables

field based rather than lab based

outside university rather than in a research institution

strict time constraints rather than as much time as the problem needs

generalist researcher rather than highly specialized researcher

multiple methods rather than single method

38

Figure 2-06

Research characteristics.

This type of design research falls half way between scientific and literary analysis. Paul

Rothstein, assistant professor in industrial design at Arizona State University, provides an

overview of the differences shown in figure 2-07 (Rothstein 2000). Several design research

groups, including Doblin and E-lab (both in Chicago), use the midrange between scientific

and literary as a general analysis strategy. The strategic advantage is the analysis is defend-

able, yet includes the “fuzziness” of the real world. Following Robson’s model, this literature

review provides the strategy, and tactics are covered in chapter three.

Case Study

Case study is explicitly and avowedly not concerned withsamples as far as the case is concerned. It is studied in itsown right and no attempt is made to seek statisticalgeneralizability. —Colin Robson. (1993, 144)

A case study strategy is used because is allows the researcher to:

• find out what is happening

• seek new insights

• ask questions

• assess phenomena in a new light

• is usually, but not necessarily, qualitative in nature (Robson 1993, 42)

To clarify the case strategy, a formal definition is given, and the study design is specified.

39

Scientific

Highly StructuredFormal

More QuantitativeStriving for "objectivity"

Reducing Bias

LiteraryDesign Research

Less StructuredReflectiveMore Qualitative Accepting "subjectivity"Documenting BiasDoblin

& E-lab

Figure 2-07

Design research scale.

Definition

“Case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a

particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of

evidence” (Robson 1993, 52). In this thesis, a strategy is an approach, rather than a method.

The strategy is to go out and gather data directly from senior users and representatives in

the smart home industry. Empirical is the collection of multiple forms of evidence as

defined in the methodology chapter. Particular refers to senior user wants and needs. A

contemporary phenomenon is the case, here a few similar cases—participants in a community

in Tucson, Arizona. The context is the residential, independent living environment. Finally,

multiple sources of evidence is triangulation of the data sources. Research details follow in

chapters two and three.

Study Design

Robson points out it is not necessary to have each point or question fully developed from

the start of the study, the design evolves after the research begins. A case study starts with:

• a conceptual framework

• a set of research questions

• a sampling strategy

• methods and instruments for data collection (1993, 150)

Research questions were presented in chapter one. The conceptual framework (on page 27)

is discussed in the beginning of this chapter. A sampling strategy follows in this chapter.

Chapter three discusses the methodological approach and research design.

40

Triangulation

An inherent weakness of qualitative research is biases that arise from doing field research. If

the researcher relies on a single type of data, “…there is a danger that undetected error in

our inferences may render our analysis incorrect. If, on the other hand, diverse kinds of data

lead to the same conclusion, we can be a little more confident in that conclusion”

(Hammersley and Atkinson 1997, 231). Triangulation is using diverse kinds of data gener-

ated by multiple methods. Creswell explains, “the concept of triangulation was based on the

assumption that any bias inherent in particular data sources, investigator, and method

would be neutralized when used in conjunction with other data sources, investigators, and

methods (Jick, 1979)” (Creswell 1994, 174). Multiple investigators may not be feasible in

the context of a university thesis, but multiple data sources and methods are used.

Triangulation also lends validity to the case study. As noted, data and findings are not

generalizable to other populations. However, the researchers interpretation of the data can

be validated using multiple perspectives of the phenomenon being researched.

Q1 questions are triangulated by 1) ethnographic observations of the seniors, 2) field inter-

views with seniors, and 3) field interviews with service providers. Triangulation for Q2 is

achieved via 1) document analysis of a representative magazine and 2) e-mail and phone

interviews with industry representatives. Q3 answers are inherently triangulated by 1) Q1

answers, 2) Q2 answers, 3) technology literature review, 4) universal design discussion, and

5) a mixture of literature presented in chapter one.

41

Ethnography

Some of the methods we use help us to understand thestructure of people’s everyday lives, to learn the thingsthat people actually do. Not what they say they do but infact what they actually do. —Larry Keeley. (Mitchell 1996, 123)

Anthropologist, sociologist, cognitive psychologist, human factors specialist, and designers

all define ethnography very differently. Contemporary ethnographers have defined ethnog-

raphy as, “…referring primarily to a particular method or set of methods. In its most char-

acteristic form it involves the ethnographer participating, overtly or covertly, in people’s

daily lives for an extended period of time, watching what happens, listening to what is said,

asking questions—in fact, collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issues

that are the focus of the research” (Hammersley and Atkinson 1997, 1).

The traditional ethnographer may immerse themselves in people’s daily lives for months or

even years. However, design research projects never have that quantity of time or budget.

Human computer interface expert Ben Shneiderman, explains his methodology:

As ethnographers, user-interface designers gain insight into individualbehavior and the organizational context... Whereas traditional ethnographersimmerse themselves in culture for weeks or months, user-interface designersneed to limit this process to a period of days or even hours, and still obtainthe relevant data needed to influence a redesign (Hughes, et al. 1995)...Unfortunately, it is easy to misinterpret observations, to disrupt normalpractice, and to overlook important information. Following a validatedethnographic process reduced the likelihood of these problems. (1998, 108)

In human computer interface research, industrial design research, and this thesis, the

process has been modified for use in short time spans. The main point is that ethnography

is a method used to study real life. In the field of design research, ethnography has emerged

as an excellent method for understanding complex user wants and needs. A few brief exam-

ples of this emerging methodology are listed on the next page.

42

The first article, “Ask, and Ye Shall Discover, The Ethnographic Interview” (Arnold 1996,

12), discusses how ethnography can shed light on other cultures related to product design.

Next, “Beyond Being There, Interactive Ethnography” (Nardi and Reilly 1996, 22) explains

how to convey the rich data sets to other designers, marketers, and managers. Recently this

researcher participated in a workshop and lecture titled “Observing Users/Designing

Experiences” (McCoy, McCoy, and Rothstein 2000). The workshop, sponsored by Arizona

State University, used ethnographic methods as a basis for creating new design scenarios.

Finally, “Ethnography in the Commercial World” (Blythin, Rouncefield, and Hughes 1997,

39) describes how ethnography was used to create changes in the management practices of a

large bank corporation. Common research process threads exist in the articles.

The ethnographic research design process roughly follows five steps:

1) The process begins with defining the research–the questions and conceptual framework.

2) Methodologies are defined. For example, observation, interview, and document analysis.

3) Data is collected, it is an emergent process.

4) Ethnography is about organizing and categorizing the data, looking at the data

from multiple perspectives, then developing interpretations.

5) Next the analysis is reported (Rothstein 2000).

Obviously the “The Research Process” in figure 2-01 roughly mirrors the ethnographic

method. The process is emergent in nature and yields new insights and discovery.

43

Strategy for Q1 Series

There are many strategies to determine wants and needs of older adults. Two previously

mentioned examples are Patricia Moore’s case study (using a participant observational

method) and the Gallup Poll survey. For this thesis, subjects should be documented in their

natural environment—their residence. Donald Norman, cognitive psychologist said, “…the

real problem is trying to understand people in their everyday settings—at home … To

understand how people operate in these everyday settings requires you to follow them

around, watch them, and try to understand what tasks they’re trying to accomplish and

thereby to better understand what their real needs are” (Mitchell 1996, 97). To understand

people in their home, Q1 is answered through observation and interview strategies as

shown in the conceptual framework (on page 27). Interviews include both the seniors and

people that provide support services.

Observation Strategy

“It is just not possible to study everything” (Robson 1993, 154). The study is narrowed by

focusing on which persons are observed, the settings for data collection, and when and what

activities are of interest. Robson recommends a who, where, when, and what outline. The

specifics are documented in the methodology chapter.

Interview Strategy

Seniors

Observation alone can not answer the questions. Issues related to biases, prejudices, and

buying habits simply can’t be answered solely with observation. Face-to-face, conversational

interview techniques provide a direct, “flexible and adaptable way of finding things out”

(Robson 1993, 229).

44

Support Services

In addition to asking the user about support services, it makes sense to ask the support

provider too. The conceptual framework shows part of the strategy to answer Q1.4 is to

incorporate support service interviews. Support service people are those who interact with

the participants, external to their home, for services like scheduling doctor appointments or

providing transportation to those who can no longer drive. The who, where, when, and

what outline is appropriate.


As with the Q1 series, a case study approach is appropriate for Q2 and Q2.1. There are real

world constraints and influences including existing products, marketing strategies, and

production capabilities. Interviews of representatives in the smart home industry assist the

researcher in understanding these constraints. Document analysis, also called content

analysis, provides validation of the interview answers, provides insights, and presents an

industry overview.

Interview Strategy

The strategy in this case study is to recruit industry representatives who can relay which

wants and needs are being pursued, developed for, and why they are viable. Obviously, the

process is not simply posing Q2 and Q2.1 to the representatives—the researcher can’t

directly ask about wants and needs. Wants and needs must be discovered through other

questions. For example, the industry representatives may be thinking in terms of marketing,

applying the newest technology, or how the question might relate to an existing product.

The strategy is to create an interview guide and then interpret the wants and needs from

those answers. The interview guide questions are written to understand several issues that

can shed light on the wants and needs. For example, what is the interviewees relationship to

smart home product development? The guide attempted to find out why consumers are—

and are not—buying smart home products. Findings from the literature review and prelimi-

nary field work were presented to the interviewee in an attempt to understand if the

industry even recognizes these problems and if they intend to react.

45

Document Analysis Strategy

Document analysis provides another research lens, another tool to understand which wants

and needs are being pursued by the industry. Document analysis is a method where written

sources are analyzed and conclusions are drawn from the data. Document analysis—also

known as content analysis—validates and collaborates interviews and observations, making

the findings more trustworthy (Glesne 1999, 58). Thus the analysis process mines for

answers to Q2 and Q2.1 and is a reflecting tool for industry interviews.

Document analysis is an indirect technique that allows the researcher to be unobtrusive and

non-reactive. Another strength is that the data can be reviewed and replicated by other

researchers. It is appropriate for a thesis because minimal time, money, and external

resources are available. A weakness of document analysis is biases may occur because the

documents have been written for some other purpose. Documents may not tell the full

story (Robson, 1993, 280).


The strategy for answering Q3 and Q3.1 is to first gather the data from Q1, Q2, and the

literature review. Then to find overlap between the data sets and develop interpretations and

insights. Details are specified in the conclusion.

46

3. METHODOLOGY

The previous chapter outlined the conceptual

framework and research strategy. This chapter

takes the strategy and incorporates it into

methods and research instruments. In this thesis,

the methods and instruments were generated,

pilot tested, refined, and retested (see figure 3-01).

This chapter discusses the methodological

approach, and design of the research instruments.

There is heavy usage of Colin Robson’s book in

creating the conceptual framework and

outlining the methodology in this chapter. The

primary reason is there are few adequate, thor-

ough, and academic resources on carrying out

qualitative research in the fields of industrial

design and human factors. Robson’s book

provided a thorough compendium of academic

researchers that have been influential in the

qualitative fields of industrial design and human

factors including: H. Becker; N. Denzin; B.

Glaser and A. Strauss, Y. Lincoln and E. Guba;

M. Hammersley and P. Atkinson; J. Jung; R.

Likert; M. Miles and A. Huberman; B. Skinner;

E. Tufte; and J. Zeisel.

Finally, Robson’s methodologies are presented in

an easy to understand format and provides

appropriate cookbook examples.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ResearchQuestions

ConceptualFramework

RefineMethodology

PilotTest

CollectData



Verify & Check

ReportFindings

Figure 3-01


Methodological Approach

In review, this case study develops intensive knowledge of four seniors and three representa-

tives in the smart home industry. Referring back to the conceptual framework in on page

27, the methodological approach is shown in the Researcher/Designer box. Question 1

incorporates ethnographic observations and field interviews of the seniors. Service providers,

three in this case, were also interviewed. Question 2 incorporates document analysis of a

smart home publication, and phone and e-mail interviews of representatives in the smart

home industry.

Pilot Testing

An irony exists in that many qualitative research sources do not consider pilot testing part

of the qualitative process. The logic is that questions and the conceptual framework are

redefined in the field. But, this researcher believes no pilot testing is a risky proposition.

Therefore, pilot testing was used to validate the instruments prior to fieldwork and prepared

the researcher for the unexpected.

The research instruments (discussed later in this chapter) were generated and field tested on

researcher acquaintances. As expected, the pilot testing illuminated the need for changes in

the methodologies, categories, and questions. For example, the User box on page 27 origi-

nally contained six user categories: physical attributes, mental processes, sensory input,

services and culture. The pilot testing revealed the need for product and individual categories.

The Researcher

In ethnography and other forms of qualitative-focused research the researcher is the primary

instrument or tool, especially when using observation. Thus, a brief discussion of the

researcher is required. Robson states, “the primary data are the interpretations by the

observer of what is going on around her. The observer is the research instrument, and hence

great sensitivity and personal skills are necessary for worthwhile data” (Robson 1993, 195).

These personal skills and sensitivity are known as rapport and subjectivity. Social researcher

Corrine Glesne provides a succinct explanation: “In qualitative inquiry, the nature of

relationships depends on at least two factors: the quality of your interactions to support

48

your research—or rapport—and the quality of your self-awareness of the potential effects of

self on your research—or subjectivity.

The term rapport describes the character of effective field relationships … subjectivity

contributes not only to more trustworthy research, but also to greater understanding of

yourself and your psychological investment in your research” (Glesne 1999, 95).

Creswell explains that researcher biases and values need to be explicitly stated (1994, 145).

This researchers biases and values can be categorized into three main points.

1) Biases towards seniors includes the preconception that they complain and don’t take

action. However, this is understandable because of mis-treatment by society, possibly less

education, and being overtaxed by overly complicated technology.

2) Biases towards the smart home industry includes the expectation of poor product

usability. This was reinforced when the researcher purchased IBM’s Smart Home system, an

inexpensive and difficult to use product.

3) The researcher has a social agenda, wanting equal treatment towards seniors. This agenda

covers both more usable products and less discrimination from society.

It is understood that the researcher shall act in an ethical manner. Ethics are monitored

through the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) at universities as required by the federal law

(Glesne 1999, 114). This researchers proposal was reviewed and approved by the IRB at

Arizona State University (see appendix B).

Data Collection

Unlike with quantitative designs, few writers agree on a precise procedure for data collection, analysis, and reporting of qualitative research. —John Creswell. (1994, 143)

Although there is no precise procedure for data collection, a key idea stated in qualitative

literature is for the researcher to explicitly outline the process for data collection. Thus each

section will discuss the implementation of data collection. Approximately half of the data

collected was not relevant to the smart home or could not be solved with technology. This

data is retained by the researcher but not used in this thesis.

49

Research Instrument Design

The conceptual framework (on page 27) and chapter two outlined the research instruments

used. This section covers the design of those instruments. The first four research questions,

are answered through ethnographic method, observation, and interview.

Q1 Which wants and needs of senior users could be addressed by the smart home?

Q1.1 What problems and difficulties do seniors experience in daily life?

Q1.2 How are seniors currently using objects, tools, and technology in their home?

Q1.3 What experiences do seniors in this case study have with products and services?

Answers to Q1.4 are sought through interview.

Q1.4 What external contacts do senior users interact with, including activities and

socialization, that could benefit from a smart home?

Questions probing the smart home industry, are answered by interview and document analysis.

Q2 Which user wants and needs does the smart home industry consider viable?



Q3 and Q3.1, are discussed in the

conclusion chapter. Figure 3-02 shows

the approximate time allocated to (and

the weight of ) each research question.

Because observation and interviews are

prevalent and understood methodolo-

gies in design, little time will be spent

discussing the theory and design. An

assumption will be made that the

researcher has significant training and

education in these areas, and the reader

has knowledge and understanding of

the strengths and weaknesses.

50

Observation andInterviews: Q1

Support ServiceInterviews: Q1

Literature Review: Q1, Q2,and Q3

IndustryInterviews: Q2Document

Analysis: Q2

Figure 3-02

Time allocations.

Design of Q1

A discussion of the who, where, when, and what outline follows.

Who defines persons to be observed and interviewed. This study is concerned with those

who could benefit from home automation and can afford smart home technologies. Five

participants totalling twenty observation/interview sessions were planned. Due to poor

health, one participant dropped out of the study. In the end, four senior users, one male

and three female, from 75 to 86 years old, became the case study population.

Where defines the study location. Data collection took place in Santa Catalina Villas, an

independent living environment, part of the San Vacas community in Tucson, Arizona.

When defines the times and dates of the case sample. The field work occurred in two-to

five-hour blocks of time from 9:00 A.M. to 10:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, March 2

through April 28, 2000, totaling of 18 observation/interview sessions (not including pilot

testing). Information was captured using multiple visits. Sampling through the day was

attempted, but in the end, appointments were scheduled to meet the convenience of both

the researcher and participants.

What is of interest to the research?

Q1. Which wants and needs of senior users could be addressed by the smart home? This

question is assisted by asking more granular questions—the subquestions.

51

Q1.1 What problems and difficulties do seniors experience in daily life? For example, what

daily activities make seniors tried, frustrated, happy and sadly, strong and weak? How do they

manage with cleaning, shopping and repairs? What are the real issues and how can they be

improved with technology? Could a smart home reduce some of the problems and difficulties?

Q1.2 How are seniors currently using objects, tools, and technology in their home? For

example, what things are seniors interacting with and are these good or bad experiences?

What is familiar? What objects are not used because they are too difficult to operate? How

is stuff organized? What are cultural experiences and values must the design of smart home

technology consider?

Q1.3 What experiences do seniors in this case study have with products and services? For

example, what products do they use? What safety and reference services are used most

often? How are goods and services purchased? What do seniors know about the potential

benefits of smart home technologies?

Seniors were informed about the study and its purpose. A consent form was signed by each

participant. This document is in appendix C.

52

Senior Observations

The goal was to capture a day in the life of the case population—the four seniors.

Research Instruments

Appendix D contains two examples of the research instrument. Observations and facts were

kept separate from insights and interpretations. Photo codes linked text to visual images.

The researcher’s interest was in observing spontaneous daily activities. Here is a sampling:

• Usage of electronics; TV, VCR, voice mail, answering machine, iMac and programs.

• Services; ordering services on the phone, companion services, dining hall meals.

• Kitchen related; cooking, making drinks, making lists, using appliances.

• Socialization; with other residents, happy hour, staff.

• Chores; light cleaning, medication administration and dispensing.

To get data specific to perceived problems, the researcher prompted the participant to

engage in tasks and activities including:

• Using electronics; set the time on TV, use features on phone, program products.

• Highly cognitive chores; how organized medication dispensing, organizing paperwork.

• Obtaining transportation; catching a ride, driving, visiting friends and family.

• Problems and difficulties in daily living; stories and examples.

Data Collection

Data were recorded on the observation sheets (appendix D). High resolution digital photos

were taken when appropriate and linked to the written data sheets. Audio and video record-

ings were not used because the pilot testing show them to be too invasive and distracting.

The depth–amount–of the data recorded varied depending on circumstance. For example,

if the user was using technology, detailed notes were recorded. If the participant was

reminiscing about the past, not related to the research questions, the researcher stopped

writing notes. Many documents were seen during the observations. For example, a partici-

pant had created a list of the 15 doses of medication she must take each day. This type of

data was recorded with photos.

53

Often the participant would do one thing and say another. For example, “I hate getting this

type of unsolicited e-mail.” Then the participant would immediately print it out for future

reference, instead of deleting it. Herein lies the power of ethnographic observation, the

researcher can interpret the situation and then ask the user if this interpretation is accurate,

yielding valuable insight (Rose, Shneiderman, and Plaisant 1995, 116).

Senior Interviews

For clarity, observations and interviews are in separate sections. However, the process of

switching from observation to interview was very fluid. Often the observation led to an

interview and vice-versa.


Senior interviews use a semistructured technique, where questions are written out prior to

the interview but can change as appropriate during the interview. Appendix E contains the

senior interview guide. All of the questions in the interview guide are logically tied to the

conceptual framework. For example, Q1.1 asks, what problems and difficulties do seniors

experience in daily life? Some of those problems are obviously physical issues. Thus the first

section in the interview guide, in appendix E, is titled “Physical Attributes (1)” and links to

the same name in the conceptual framework (page 27). This example continues with the

first question. “Do you have any difficulties in gripping controls, remotes, etc.?” The guide

continues on, addressing the other seven categories in the conceptual framework.

Data Collection

The questions in the interview guide were read aloud to the participant and recorded on the

guide by the researcher.

54

Support Services Interview

Specific to Q1.4, support personnel that interact with the seniors were interviewed to

determine how smart home technologies could benefit both the senior and the support

service provider. Appropriate service and support providers arose directly from the case

study seniors.

Who? Three people were interviewed:

1) A shuttle bus driver that transports seniors.

2) A medical office receptionist.

3) The activity director of the independent living environment.

1) Frank drives a shuttle bus for seniors. He takes them to run errands, often going to the

grocery store (Viola 2000). 2) Sue (first name only) is a receptionist in a medical office. She

helps seniors schedule appointments and understand their insurance (Sue 2000). 3)

Marcelle is the activity director at Santa Catalina Villas, the study location. She plans social

functions, physical activities, and excursions to events around town (Schaefer 2000).

Where? Service providers were interviewed in the field, in Tucson.

When? Interviews were conducted during the user observation period.

What? Basically Q1.4, what external contacts do senior users interact with, including activi-

ties and socialization, that could benefit from a smart home? For example, what types of

social interactions occur between neighbors, relatives, friends, pets, and visitors? How do

they get help? How could the positive interactions be extended through the smart home?


The research instruments are in appendix F and the questions are self-explanatory. Many

of the questions were generated from problems and difficulties expressed by the seniors.

Data Collection

Questions were read by the researcher and recorded by the researcher on the interview

guide (appendix F).

55

Design of Q2

Referring again to the conceptual framework (page 27), research instruments are needed for

interviewing selected representatives from the smart home industry and for the document

analysis. E-mail provides a new medium for gathering data. Interview questions can be

customized and sent to each interviewee, the interviewee responds, and the researcher may

continue the dialogue with follow-up questions. This raises the issue, are e-mail communi-

cations an interview or questionnaire instrument? After reviewing several guides, this

researcher concludes that in this study, the e-mails are providing an interview instrument

because the dialogue is ongoing (similar to a telephone interview) and each question is

customized to the interviewee (similar to a face-to-face interview). For the sake of simplicity,

all respondents whether via telephone or e-mail will be under the interview umbrella.

Interviews

Who? After a search process, five people were invited to participate in the industry interviews.

1) A project leader for a to-be-released smart home system.

2) A smart home systems programmer.

3) A universal design centered researcher.

4) A smart home networks analyst.

5) A usability specialist for personal computers in the smart home environment.

1)Interviewee one, a senior principal member of the technical staff at GTE in

Waltham, MA. Interviewee one is the technical project lead for GTE’s “Connected

Family™” (http://www.gte.com/AboutGTE/gto/connected/) smart home concept

(Interviewee one 2000).

2) Interviewee two, a systems programmer for AMG in Pasadena, CA. AMG is the west

coast distributor for AMX systems (http://www.amx.com), a subsidiary of Panja. AMX

provides a totally integrated solution for home automation, incorporating high-end features

as hand held remote touch screens and broadband information and entertainment services

(Interviewee two 1999). At the time of the interview in October 1999, AMX was a separate

product. As of July 2000 AMX systems are rolled into the Panja product line thus discrepan-

cies may exist between the interview data and current products.

56

3) Interviewee three, at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access in the

School of Architecture and Planning at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY

(http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/~idea/). Interviewee three is not a representative of the smart

home industry. However, he has authored a technical report on the subject and is unique

because he has a universal design focus (Interviewee three 2000).

The last two people listed, 4) a networks analyst, and 5) a usability specialist, indicated

interest in participating but did not respond after the interviews were sent out.

Where? Interviews were sent out via e-mail, except for interviewee two at AMG who was

interviewed by telephone.

When? Some interviews were prior to the document analysis and others were after.

What? Again, the research questions:





Each industry contact has a unique perspective on the industry, thus a separate semistruc-

tured interview guide was constructed for each representative. The interview guides are self

explanatory and may be found in appendix G.

Data Collection

Data was collected by e-mail and phone response. Edward Steinfeld’s schedule did not allow

time for a detailed interview. However, he did provide reference to a technical report he

coauthored, Technical Report: Home Automation (Steinfeld and Levine 1996). This report

provided a historical perspective on smart homes and the incorporation of Universal Design

to this thesis research. The report is available from:

http://www.ap.buffalo.edu/~idea/publications/descriptions/pub_desc2.html#HomeA.

57

Document Analysis

Robson provides a six-step cookbook methodology for carrying out an analysis:

1. Start with a research question.

2. Decide on a sampling strategy. It is usually necessary to reduce your taskto manageable dimensions by sampling from the population of interest.

3. Define the recording unit. The unit most commonly used is probably theindividual word. It is also common to use themes, characters, paragraphs orwhole items as the recording unit.

4. Construct categories for analysis. As with structured observation systems,it is highly desirable that these categories are exhaustive and mutually exclu-sive. The former ensures that everything relevant to the study can be catego-rized … The categories also have to be operationalized: that is, an explicitspecification has to be made of what indicators one is looking for whenmaking each and any of the categorizations. Sorting out the categories is themost crucial aspect of the content analysis. As Berelson (1952) points out,“since the categories contain the substance of the investigation, a contentanalysis can be no better than its system of categories.”

5. Test the coding on samples of text and assess reliability.

6. Carry out the analysis. (Robson, 1993, 275)

Following is the application of the methodology.

1. Research Question.

In this case Q2 and Q2.1:




2. Sampling Strategy.

Electronic House magazine was sampled over time to get an overview of which user wants

and needs are being pursued. This publication is written for consumer and commercial resi-

dents, installers, dealers, architects, interior designers, manufacturers, and others related to

the smart home industry. The magazine provides a portal into interests, lifestyles, and inno-

vations. The publications from the last half of the year were analyzed. Electronic House is

published bimonthly (every two months), therefore the dates analyzed were: December

1999, volume 14, number 8; February 2000, volume 15, number 1; and April 2000,

volume 15, number 2 (also see http://www.electronichouse.com/).

58

The following content was analyzed (listed in sequential order): front cover, advertisements,

Editor’s note, Letters, Happenings (Trends in Technology), Hot stuff (Innovative Products), Click

On, Focus On Costs, Technology Questions, Feature Stories, Money Matters, Market Place, and

the back cover.

3. Recording Unit.

The recording unit could be the number of stories on a topic, column inches, size of head-

lines, number of stories on a page, position of stories in the document, and/or number of

pictures (Robson 1993, 144). Because the document is a magazine, and magazine pages are

divided into quarters for ad sizes, the recording unit is one content issue (or point) per

quarter of a page. A sample page is shown in appendix H. The page is divided into quarters,

then a key issue is pulled out of each quarter. The four points are shown in the sample.

To get a complete picture from the magazine, the articles, advertisements, editorials, and

letters to the editor were analyzed for meaning/subject matter including text, charts, graphs,

and pictures.

4. Construct Categories.

Category construction was generated by the subject matter. The categories must be exhaus-

tive and mutually exclusive. The categories were reworked several times, through pilot

testing, to be exclusive and exhaustive. Primary categories, secondary categories, and tritiary

categories are listed in appendix I.

5. Test the Coding.

This stage assesses the reliability of (validates) the categories. Reliability was achieved by

spot checking and pilot testing sections of each issue. Due to the nature of the magazine,

manifest content (visible surface content) was used for coding.

6. Data Collection, Carry Out the Analysis.

Data was tabulated in Microsoft Excel. Each page was coded and worth four points. The

data was summarized, analyzed, and then recategorized. Appendix I presents the final results.

59

4. DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Several components might comprise the discussion aboutthe plan for analyzing the data. The process of dataanalysis is eclectic; there is no ‘right way’... —John Creswell. (1994, 153)

The research process diagram (figure 4-01) presents the major points for data analysis. Data

continues to be categorized and organized. Next, interpretations and insights are docu-

mented. Then, interpretations are checked and cross-referenced with the categories. Again,

the process is more cyclic than linear.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ResearchQuestions

ConceptualFramework

RefineMethodology

PilotTest

CollectData



Verify & Check

ReportFindings

Figure 4-01


Analysis Process

The data analysis for the observations and interviews begin with a design-centered data

analysis process. The process commonly has four steps.

1) Organize activities and issues. Start with post-it notes and put into categories.

2) Develop major categories.

3) Systematically sort all of the ‘data bits’—the details.

4) Organize and interpret the data—the ultimate goal (Rothstein 2000).

This thesis roughly follows this outline with one exception. The primary categories were

preliminarily defined in the conceptual framework. Thus, instead of developing major cate-

gories, this thesis started the development of secondary categories in step two.

Q1.1, Q1.2, Q1.3 and Q1.4

Q1.1 through Q1.4 are answered by using the data analysis process as explained in the four steps.

1) Organize Activities and Issues.

The data sheets (observation sheets), photos, and support service interviews were reviewed.

Observations, facts, insights, and emerging interpretations were highlighted on each sheet,

photo or interview.

2) Develop Major Categories.

The initial categories were outlined in the conceptual framework. Those eight categories are

physical, mental processing, sensory input, individual, social, cultural, products, and

services. Each category created a column in a wall-sized, post-it note matrix shown in figure

4-02. The eight categories are the top row in the matrix. The y-axis goes from general (top)

to technological (bottom). Secondary categories, for example “physical requirements are

high,” were put into a special color coded post-it notes and placed under the appropriate

category heading.

61

3) Systematically Sort All of the “Data Bits.”

Each data sheet, photo, and interview was reviewed for highlighted items (the data bits)

from step one. Next, the data bits were transferred to post-it notes and added to the wall

matrix. Each time an issue arose again, a tally mark was added to the post-it notes, yielding

an approximate quantifier to the number of times the issue appeared in the data.

4) Organize and Interpret the Data.

Once all of the “data bits” were in the post-it note matrix, details were organized and

condensed down into the subcategories or issues. Figure 4-03 on the next page illustrates

the summarized matrix. Next, the data was interpreted and distilled by comparing each

subcategory with Q1.1, Q1.2, Q1.3, and Q1.4.

Figure 4-02

Sorting the data.

62

63

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

General Technological

• Ph

ysic

al

requ

irem

ents

are

high

• Th

e ki

tchen

is

frustr

atin

g

• He

alth

issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

ergo

nom

ics

are

need

ed

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is of

ten

a pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

m

ay re

duce

ph

ysic

al

requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

frustr

atin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

over

ly c

ompl

ex

• PC

's ar

e to

o co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

de

grad

atio

n iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

rela

ted

• Te

chno

logy

, re

mot

es, &

co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es u

sed

• Se

nior

righ

ts &

educ

atio

n

• Co

nnec

ting

peop

le &

se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

med

ical

issu

es

• Re

duce

fru

strat

ion

• Se

nior

life

is

full

of

adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

min

ded

seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

wan

t co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

seni

ors t

o ex

chan

ge

serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& so

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

base

in li

fe

• Le

arni

ng n

ew

techn

olog

y

• Se

nior

s wan

t a

voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

redu

ce

disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

supp

ort

relig

ion

Prim

ary

Cate

gorie

s

Seco

ndar

yCa

tego

ries

Figu

re 4

-03

Prim

ary

and

seco

ndar

y ca

tego

ries

.

Results

Traditional ethnography often presents the results as a story or narrative (Hammersley and

Atkinson 1997, 249). This thesis uses a simplified matrix format, but retains the character-

istics of a story by presenting the results directly from the observations with pictures. The

results follow in figures 4-04 through 4-24. Each row is a data sample from the observation

and interviews and provides answers to the questions. The top of each figure has a visual

indicator icon of the category, followed by the category name and then the secondary cate-

gory. Q1.1 through Q1.4 are answered under each heading. Then Q1 answers are in the

last column.

The data showed patterns of seniors trying to cope and adopt to the residential environment.

Physical and mental interactions with products often stressed the seniors past their point of

adaptability. Frustration occurred in using many products and services that do not accommo-

date the seniors visual, auditory, and tactile senses. Loneliness, lack of communication with

friends and family, lack of monetary resources, inadequate transportation options, constant

medical needs, and age discrimination compounded the frustrations.

64

65

Phys

ical

, H

igh

requ

irem

ents

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s •

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Phys

ical

req

uire

men

ts t

ous

e an

d op

erat

e pr

oduc

tspl

ace

too

muc

h de

man

don

the

phy

sica

l lim

ita-

tion

s of

the

sen

iors

.

Med

icat

ion

adm

inis

tra-

tion

req

uire

s m

uch

phys

ical

eff

ort.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geSt

rain

ing

to o

pen

vege

tabl

e bi

n in

re

frig

erat

or.

Usi

ng t

op r

ack

of d

ish-

was

her

for

stor

age.

Mus

t fin

d m

edic

atio

ns.

Neb

uliz

er d

iffic

ult

toop

en u

p.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sH

urts

bac

k, a

nd c

an’t

reac

h al

l are

as.

Can

’t re

ach

bott

om d

ish-

was

her

rack

.E

xper

ienc

e ex

ampl

es:

• C

ap is

har

d to

rem

ove.

• Se

nior

has

tre

mor

s,di

ffic

ult

to f

ill v

ial.

• C

an’t

see

“on”

sw

itch

.•

Pum

p vi

brat

es o

ff t

able

next

to

nigh

t st

and.

• St

icke

r co

ntai

ning

serv

ice

phon

e nu

mbe

r is

too

smal

l to

read

.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsN

eed

adju

stab

ility

inpr

oduc

ts, a

nd p

ossi

bly

have

item

s to

com

e to

seni

or.

Prod

ucts

and

sys

tem

sne

ed t

o be

des

igne

d fo

rse

nior

cap

abili

ties

.

Figu

re 4

-04

66

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

But

tons

are

too

sm

all.

Prev

enta

tive

med

icin

e is

impo

rtan

t, bu

t of

ten

igno

red.

Prod

ucts

cau

se p

ain

beca

use

they

are

too

diff

icul

t to

rea

ch, a

djus

t,an

d us

e.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geC

ell p

hone

(sa

fety

prod

uct)

has

but

tons

tha

tar

e ha

rd t

o pr

ess

and

are

too

clos

e to

geth

er.

Som

e se

nior

s us

e th

e“A

mst

el G

rid”

to

chec

kfo

r ea

rly

sign

s of

mac

ular

dege

nera

tion

.Se

nior

in w

heel

chai

r ca

n’t

see

or r

each

sw

itch

es o

nto

p of

the

rmos

tat.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

s

Oth

er s

enio

rs w

on’t

use

thes

e pr

even

tati

ve p

rod-

ucts

bec

ause

the

y ar

e“t

oo m

uch

trou

ble.

”N

eed

seco

nd p

erso

n to

adju

st t

herm

osta

t.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Eye

care

spe

cial

ist.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsC

usto

miz

ed, m

ulti

-m

odal

, eas

ier

to u

sebu

tton

s an

d in

terf

ace.

Edu

cate

sen

iors

on

the

impo

rtan

ce o

f pr

even

ta-

tive

too

ls, t

echn

ique

s,an

d pe

riod

ic e

xam

s.C

ontr

ols

that

acc

omm

o-da

tes

the

phys

ical

sen

ior

limit

atio

ns.

Phys

ical

, H

igh

requ

irem

ents

.

Figu

re 4

-05

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s •

67

Phys

ical

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s •

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Prod

ucts

are

not

ergo

nom

ic.

Find

ing

tran

spor

tati

on is

a co

nsta

nt s

trug

gle.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geSe

nior

pla

ced

CC

TV

on

cha

ir a

nd s

he s

its

on a

ste

p st

ool.

Take

s co

mm

unit

y bu

s fo

rsh

oppi

ng, a

ppoi

ntm

ents

,an

d ev

ents

.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sU

sing

pro

duct

cau

ses

low

er b

ack

pain

.

Life

rev

olve

s ar

ound

the

bus

sche

dule

.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Bus

dri

ver,

man

agem

ent

com

pany

, oth

er s

enio

rs.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsPr

oduc

ts t

o co

nsid

er u

ser

envi

ronm

ents

and

limit

ed r

esid

enti

al s

pace

s.

Syst

em t

hat

allo

ws

user

sto

pla

ce r

eque

st a

ndsc

hedu

le b

us a

roun

d th

ese

nior

s ne

eds.

And

, dat

a-ba

se t

o m

atch

car

dri

vers

wit

h pa

ssen

gers

.

Figu

re 4

-06

68

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

Mem

ory.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Diff

icul

ty r

emem

beri

ng,

“sen

ior

mom

ents

.”•

appo

intm

ents

• na

mes

• lo

cati

ons

Diff

icul

ty r

emem

beri

ng,

spec

ific

to m

edic

al is

sues

.•

show

up

for

appo

intm

ents

• sc

hedu

le f

utur

eap

poin

tmen

ts

Seni

or m

emor

izes

item

sto

com

pens

ate

for

low

visi

on.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geW

rite

rem

inde

rs o

n po

st-i

t no

tes.

Usa

ge o

f m

ulti

ple

cale

n-da

rs t

o re

mem

ber

appo

intm

ents

.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sSe

nior

s fo

rget

soc

ial

even

ts t

hey

have

sig

ned

up f

or.

Med

ical

per

sonn

el g

etan

gry

whe

n se

nior

forg

ets

appo

intm

ents

.

Mem

oriz

es lo

cati

on o

fit

ems

in s

tore

.M

emor

izes

all

phon

enu

mbe

rs a

nd a

ddre

sses

.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Act

ivit

y di

rect

or,

med

ical

sta

ff.

Rec

epti

onis

t, do

ctor

s,ph

arm

acy,

bus

dri

ver.

Gro

cery

sto

re, p

ost

offic

e, d

irec

tory

as

sist

ance

.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsM

emor

y as

sist

ants

,“f

rien

dly

rem

inde

rs.”

A w

ay t

o tr

ack

type

s of

appo

intm

ents

:•

exis

ting

• ne

eded

• re

min

ders

Incr

ease

d m

emor

y ca

pabi

lity

to c

ompe

nsat

efo

r ot

her

diff

icul

ties

.

Figu

re 4

-07

69

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

Med

icat

ions

and

saf

ety.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Mus

t re

mem

ber

to r

ead

med

icat

ion

dose

s.•

freq

uenc

y•

amou

nt•

orde

r•

appl

icat

ion

proc

ess

• si

de e

ffec

ts•

tim

e of

dos

e

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geO

xyge

n:•

at b

ed•

port

able

Neb

uliz

ers.

Sten

o pa

ds f

or t

rack

ing.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sT

ied

to d

evic

e.

Proc

ess

to t

ake

med

ica-

tion

is v

ery

com

plex

.

Mus

t re

mem

ber

tim

esan

d da

tes,

esp

ecia

llyw

hen

taki

ng m

ulti

ple

med

icat

ions

.U

sers

may

not

be

awar

eof

dru

g in

tera

ctio

ns

Mus

t re

mem

ber

dose

sre

mai

ning

and

wri

teth

em o

ut o

n a

pad.

Mus

t w

ake

up a

t sp

ecia

l tim

es t

o ta

ke m

edic

atio

ns.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Del

iver

y pe

rson

nel,

phar

-m

acis

t, bu

s dr

iver

.

Phar

mac

ist.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsPr

ovid

e ea

sy d

ispe

nsin

gof

med

icat

ions

reg

ardl

ess

of d

isab

iliti

es.

Sim

plify

the

pro

cess

.

Med

icat

ion

rem

inde

rsy

stem

.

A m

etho

d to

kee

p do

ctor

info

rmed

of

all o

ver-

the-

coun

ter

and

pres

crip

tion

med

icat

ions

.A

utom

atic

dos

age

coun

t do

wn

syst

em.

Syst

em t

o w

ake

upse

nior

, and

ver

ifym

edic

atio

n di

spen

sed.

Figu

re 4

-08

70

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

Tech

nolo

gy i

s fr

ustr

atin

g.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Prod

ucts

are

diff

icul

t to

prog

ram

.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

gePr

ogra

mm

ing

of:

• T

ime

on T

V•

Rec

ord

a sh

ow•

Num

ber

of r

ings

on

answ

erin

g m

achi

ne

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sR

esea

rche

r as

ked

seni

orto

set

tim

e on

TV,

her

e’sa

sum

mar

y w

ith

phot

os:

Use

r: “

Even

the

TV

has

am

enu

on it

... c

an’t

mes

sw

ith

it (

1)...

wha

t th

ehe

ll is

it s

earc

hing

for

?”(2

)U

ser

turn

ed T

V o

ff t

oca

ncel

SE

AR

CH

ING

.U

ser:

“Sa

me

wit

h th

eV

CR

, can

nev

er s

et t

heV

CR

...ca

n’t

figur

e ou

tth

at c

rap!

...”

Use

r un

able

to

set

tim

eaf

ter

7 m

inut

es o

f tr

ying

,tu

rned

TV

off

(3,

4).

Use

r”T

his

is s

o co

mpl

i-ca

ted

for

a pe

rson

my

age.

.. I

am n

ot g

oing

to

fool

wit

h it

... w

e’ve

grow

n up

wit

h au

tos.

..pr

ess

gas,

pre

ss b

reak

...no

w e

very

thin

g fla

shes

...

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Hel

pers

(fa

mily

, fri

ends

,an

d m

aint

enan

ce s

taff

) to

pro

gram

tec

hnol

ogy

for

seni

or.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsN

eeds

sim

plifi

ed p

rodu

ctin

tera

ctio

ns. F

orex

ampl

e, t

he p

rodu

cts

wou

ld lo

ok u

p th

e ti

me

and

set

it f

or t

he s

enio

r.

Figu

re 4

-09

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

71

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

Tech

nolo

gy i

s ov

erly

com

plex

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Syst

ems

that

app

ear

iden

tica

l are

act

ually

inco

nsis

tent

in o

pera

tion

.

Seni

ors

may

not

use

an

ATM

bec

ause

the

acc

ess

code

has

bee

n fo

rgot

ten.

Use

r w

ould

like

to

exer

-ci

se o

n tr

eadm

ill, b

ut t

hein

terf

ace

is t

oo c

ompl

exso

use

r w

alks

out

side

inst

ead.

“Why

are

sen

iors

afr

aid

of t

echn

olog

y?”

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

ge

Trea

dmill

s, e

xerc

ise

bike

s,ro

win

g m

achi

nes.

Ans

wer

s in

clud

e:

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sIn

the

sam

e liv

ing

com

plex

som

e 5

digi

tdo

or c

odes

beg

in w

ith

a[*

] w

hile

oth

ers

code

sbe

gin

wit

h a

[#].

U

ser

has

give

n up

on

usin

g th

is c

onve

nien

ce.

Trie

d tr

eadm

ill b

utco

uldn

’t st

art

it, t

hen

afte

r so

meo

ne s

tart

ed it

for

seni

or, s

he c

ould

n’t

see

the

stop

but

ton.

Too

diff

icul

t to

lear

n, t

ooco

mpl

ex.

Tech

nolo

gy is

new

and

diff

eren

t fr

om p

revi

ous

expe

rien

ces.

Seni

ors

may

be

afra

id o

fsc

ienc

e an

d m

ath.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Ban

k pe

rson

nel.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsPr

ovid

e co

nsis

tent

prod

uct

inte

rfac

es.

Wan

t to

use

AT

M a

ndot

her

serv

ices

wit

hout

need

ing

to r

emem

ber

acce

ss c

odes

.A

sim

plifi

ed, m

ulti

-m

odal

inte

rfac

e is

need

ed.

Sim

pler

hum

an

inte

rfac

es.

Wan

t te

chno

logy

to

be f

amili

ar t

o kn

own

proc

esse

s.A

void

the

nee

d fo

rab

stra

ct k

now

ledg

e.

Figu

re 4

-10

72

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

PC’s

are

too

com

plex

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Icon

s ar

e am

bigu

ous.

Soft

war

e is

unn

eces

sari

lyco

mpl

ex.

Nom

encl

atur

e is

too

spec

ializ

ed o

f th

e se

nior

.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geFa

x so

ftw

are.

Mos

t so

ftw

are.

Forw

ardi

ng e

mai

l.

Tuto

rial

s ar

e us

ed t

ole

arn

soft

war

e fe

atur

es.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sA

fter

fax

com

es in

, aut

oan

swer

mus

t be

tur

ned

off

to r

ecei

ve v

oice

cal

ls.

Nee

ded

rese

arch

er t

ocr

eate

ins

truc

tion

s.Se

nior

doe

sn’t

know

why

forw

ardi

ng a

blin

d co

pyem

ail w

ill “

send

it o

n to

othe

rs.”

Thi

s is

how

use

r le

arne

dto

use

“Q

uick

en 9

8”fin

anci

al s

oftw

are.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Fax

send

ers.

Exp

ert

user

s (t

he r

esea

rche

r).

E-m

ail u

sers

.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsLe

ss a

mbi

guou

s ic

ons

that

a la

y pe

rson

can

reco

gniz

e.

Inst

ant

help

or

inst

ruc-

tion

to

be p

rovi

ded.

Inte

rfac

e ap

prop

riat

e to

user

kno

wle

dge

leve

ls,

expe

rien

ces,

and

men

tal

mod

els.

Tuto

rial

-bas

ed

lear

ning

opt

ion.

Figu

re 4

-11

73

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Can

’t ge

t en

ough

su

ppor

t fo

r us

ing

pers

onal

com

pute

r.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geSe

nior

s us

e so

ftw

are

tohe

lp o

rgan

ize

thei

r st

uff.

Seni

ors

crea

te d

atab

ases

to f

it t

heir

spe

cific

nee

ds.

Seni

ors

cust

omiz

e da

taba

ses

to f

it t

heir

spec

ific

need

s.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

s

Use

r ha

s cr

eate

d a

data

-ba

se t

o st

ore

info

. on

VH

S ta

pe li

brar

y.

Use

r ad

ded

field

tit

led

“Jan

ne”

beca

use

her

frie

nd n

eeds

clo

sed-

capt

ione

d ta

pes.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Supp

ort

com

es f

rom

cal

lsto

com

pany

, fam

ily,

frie

nds,

and

in-p

erso

nvi

sits

by

tech

nolo

gy

savv

y u

sers

.Fr

iend

s th

at w

atch

V

HS

tape

s.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsIn

stan

t ac

cess

to

know

ledg

eabl

e pe

ople

or

hel

p se

rvic

es.

Dat

abas

es t

o as

sist

inor

gani

zing

info

rmat

ion.

Flex

ibili

ty a

nd

cust

omiz

able

.

Men

tal

proc

essi

ng,

PC’s

are

too

com

plex

.

Figu

re 4

-12

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

74

Sens

ory

inpu

t.

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Loss

of

visi

on (

ofte

nm

acul

ar d

egen

erat

ion)

mak

es t

asks

diff

icul

t.

Loss

of

hear

ing

mak

esta

sks

diff

icul

t.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geV

isua

l diff

icul

ties

…C

an’t

addr

ess

enve

lope

sC

an’t

see

butt

ons

onre

mot

e.C

an’t

see

groc

erie

s in

sto

re.

Har

d to

see

to

shav

e.C

an’t

read

glo

ssy

pape

r,to

o m

uch

refle

ctio

n.C

an’t

see

to a

pply

na

il po

lish.

Can

’t se

e m

enu

in

dini

ng h

all.

Can

’t re

ad e

lect

ric

bill.

Can

’t se

e na

mes

on

file

fold

ers.

Aud

itor

y di

ffic

ulti

es:

Hea

ring

aid

s di

stor

t so

und.

Can

hea

r vo

ice

in p

hone

,ca

n’t

dist

ingu

ish

wor

ds.

Can

’t he

ar a

larm

s.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

s

Use

s a

tem

plat

e.M

emor

ized

but

ton

loca

tion

s.M

emor

ized

isle

loca

tion

.

Use

s a

mag

nifie

r.

Kno

ws

bill

by lo

go.

Rui

ns t

he e

xper

ienc

e of

mus

ic.

Get

s fr

ustr

ated

.

End

ange

rs li

fe.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Get

s fr

iend

s to

add

ress

.

Req

uest

men

u be

rea

d by

oth

er p

erso

n.

Nee

ds a

noth

er p

erso

n to

file

pape

rs.

Cal

ler

is a

lso

frus

trat

ed,

may

thi

nk “

seni

or

is s

tupi

d.”

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

ds

Add

ress

/env

elop

e pr

inte

r.V

oice

con

trol

, lar

ger

rem

ote,

etc

.St

ore

to g

ive

seni

or

audi

tory

fee

dbac

k.M

agni

ficat

ion

in m

irro

r.R

educ

e ne

ed f

or p

aper

.

Env

iron

men

ts t

hat

help

user

wit

h ch

ores

.Ta

lkin

g m

enu.

Talk

ing

bills

.Ta

lkin

g fil

e fo

lder

s.

Tech

nolo

gies

to

redu

ce d

isto

rtio

n.

Voi

ce c

lari

fier,

text

conv

erte

r, et

c.

Mul

tim

odal

ala

rmsy

stem

s.

Figu

re 4

-13

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

75

Prod

ucts

, V

isua

l de

grad

atio

n is

sues

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Mag

nifie

rs a

re u

sed

tosh

op a

t st

ores

; mus

tre

mem

ber

to b

ring

.

Tool

s an

d te

mpl

ates

are

used

to

perf

orm

sta

ndar

dac

tivi

ties

.

Can

’t se

e bu

tton

s, w

arn-

ings

, and

sig

ns in

pub

licsp

aces

and

the

hom

e.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geM

agni

fiers

& le

nses

.

Ele

vato

r co

ntro

l pan

el.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sTr

ies

to m

emor

ize

the

aisl

es a

nd lo

cati

on o

fpr

oduc

ts.

Lett

er a

ddre

ssin

gte

mpl

ate

only

des

igne

dfo

r bu

sine

ss s

ized

enve

lope

s.

Pres

sed

the

wro

ngbu

tton

.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Has

to

ask

stor

e cl

erk

for

assi

stan

ce.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsM

ulti

mod

al f

eedb

ack

for

shop

ping

and

st

ore

cont

ents

.

Eas

ier

way

s to

per

form

and

auto

mat

e da

ily

acti

viti

es.

Prod

ucts

and

env

iron

-m

ents

to

com

pens

ate

for

visu

al lo

ss.

Figu

re 4

-14

76

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Hav

e to

buy

sev

eral

visu

al c

opin

g to

ols.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geSa

mpl

e fr

om 1

hom

e:

• ha

nd h

eld

mag

nifie

rs•

book

s on

tap

e (1

)•

mag

nify

ing

lam

ps•

larg

e fa

ce w

atch

es•

spec

ial g

lass

es (

2)

• C

lose

d C

ircu

it T

Vm

agni

fier

(3)

for

use

wit

h:-

read

ing

lett

ers

- pa

ying

bill

s-

do h

obbi

es, e

tc.

- ch

ecki

ng T

V g

uide

(4)

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sQ

1.4

Exte

rnal

Con

tact

sPe

rson

s to

fix

bro

ken

assi

stiv

e de

vice

s.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsA

ltern

ativ

e or

cus

tom

met

hods

of

info

rmat

ion

deliv

ery.

Prod

ucts

, V

isua

l de

grad

atio

n is

sues

.

Figu

re 4

-15

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

77

Prod

ucts

, K

itch

en r

elat

ed.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Frid

ge in

teri

or is

dir

ty,

too

hard

to

clea

n.D

islik

es p

lann

ed o

bso-

lesc

e an

d “m

ust

have

”fe

atur

es o

n ne

w m

odel

s.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

ge

Frid

ge is

use

d as

am

essa

ge b

oard

, cal

enda

rar

ea, a

rtw

ork

disp

lay,

coup

on s

tora

ge, l

ist

hold

er, a

nd m

agne

t ar

ea.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sC

ompl

ains

of

expe

nse

tohi

re a

cle

anin

g pe

rson

.Fr

idge

ten

ds t

o be

repl

aced

for

look

s, n

otbe

caus

e of

com

pres

sor.

Seni

ors

forg

et a

ppoi

nt-

men

ts a

nd t

o br

ing

shop

-pi

ng li

st t

o st

ore.

Sen

ior

orga

nize

s by

cat

egor

ies.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Seni

or h

ires

a p

erso

n to

clea

n an

d or

gani

ze.

Com

pani

on s

ervi

ces.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsSe

lf-cl

eani

ng, e

asie

r to

clea

n fr

idge

.U

pdat

able

com

pone

nts,

aest

heti

c pa

nels

, col

ors,

func

tion

s.B

ette

r ap

poin

tmen

tke

eper

and

sh

oppi

ng s

yste

m.

Figu

re 4

-16

78

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

But

tons

and

kno

bs a

reha

rd t

o re

ach,

act

ivat

e,se

e on

pro

duct

s an

dap

plia

nces

, oft

en

too

smal

l.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geU

sing

tou

ch t

o de

ter-

min

e st

atus

. Bum

psad

ded

to k

nobs

.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sO

nce

the

rese

arch

erfo

und

the

stov

e on

. Use

rco

uld

not

see

the

stov

e“o

n” in

dica

tor.

Esp

ecia

lly d

iffic

ult

if in

whe

elch

air,

usin

g a

supp

orti

ve d

evic

e, o

rha

ve a

rthr

itis

.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsPr

oduc

ts t

hat

are

easi

erto

act

uate

, con

trol

, and

rece

ive

feed

back

fro

m.

Big

ger,

brig

hter

in

dica

tors

and

m

ulti

mod

al f

eedb

ack

on a

pplia

nces

.

Use

r in

terf

aces

tha

t pr

acti

ce t

he p

rinc

iple

s of

uni

vers

al d

esig

n.

Prod

ucts

, K

itch

en r

elat

ed.

Figu

re 4

-17

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

79

Prod

ucts

, Te

chno

logy

.

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Too

man

y re

mot

eco

ntro

ls (

mul

tipl

ere

mot

es).

Rem

ote

cont

rols

are

too

com

plex

to

use

and

don’

t ha

ve t

he

need

ed f

unct

ions

.Te

chno

logy

con

flict

sw

ith

tech

nolo

gy.

Doe

sn’t

unde

rsta

ndno

men

clat

ure

and

soft

war

e er

rors

.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geLo

st r

emot

e in

car

,co

uldn

’t op

en g

ate

toco

mpl

ex.

Not

usi

ng r

emot

e.

Wea

ring

infr

a re

d he

ad-

phon

es t

o he

ar T

V.

Una

ble

to h

ear

(aud

itor

y)th

e “v

oice

mai

l wai

ting

”si

gnal

thr

ough

the

spea

ker

in c

ompu

ter.

Soft

war

e is

unn

eces

sari

lyco

nflic

ting

wit

h se

nior

acti

ons.

Use

r lik

es t

alki

ng a

lert

s,bu

t ca

n’t

alw

ays

deco

dem

essa

ge c

onte

xt.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sD

read

s ea

ch n

ew r

emot

e:he

arin

g ai

d, s

tere

o, T

V,V

CR

, CD

pla

yer,

car

alar

m, g

ate

open

er.

Can

’t sw

itch

fro

m r

adio

to C

D w

itho

ut g

etti

ngup

and

pus

hing

a b

utto

non

fro

nt o

f un

it.

Whe

n he

adph

ones

are

on, c

an’t

hear

the

pho

ne.

Wai

ting

voi

ce m

ail b

eep

conf

licts

wit

h m

odem

dial

ing

out,

seni

or t

hink

spr

oble

m w

ith

AO

L an

dch

ange

s se

ttin

gs.

AO

L ad

vert

isem

ent

appe

ared

, cau

sing

the

user

to

loos

e th

e ty

ping

of a

n em

ail a

ddre

ss.

Seni

or f

rust

rate

d,

does

n’t

unde

rsta

nd

erro

r m

essa

ges.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Som

eone

to

open

and

repl

ace

batt

erie

s.

Dau

ghte

r ca

lls, s

enio

rca

n’t

hear

pho

ne, t

hen

thin

ks d

augh

ter

neve

rca

lled

as p

rom

ised

.H

as t

o ca

ll fo

r te

chni

cal

supp

ort,

then

rea

lizes

the

voic

e m

ail i

s ca

usin

g th

eer

ror.

Cal

ls r

esea

rche

r to

fin

d ou

t w

hat

erro

rm

essa

ges

mea

n.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsC

ontr

ol o

f pr

oduc

ts t

obe

sim

pler

.

Inte

grat

ion

of c

ontr

ollin

gde

vice

s in

the

hom

e.

Red

uce

inte

rfer

ence

betw

een

tech

nolo

gies

.

Red

uce

tech

nica

l jar

gon,

sim

plify

mes

sage

s.

Figu

re 4

-18

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

80

Serv

ices

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Seni

ors

are

targ

ets

for

dece

ptiv

e m

arke

ting

,sc

ams,

and

insu

ranc

eco

vera

ge d

enia

l.M

oney

is t

ight

and

seni

ors

can’

t ke

ep u

pw

ith

prod

ucts

, fe

atur

es, t

echn

olog

ies,

and

serv

ices

.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geH

ome

deliv

ery

and

sale

sar

e po

pula

r w

ith

seni

ors.

Com

pani

on s

ervi

ce(e

rran

ds, c

lean

ing,

so

cial

izat

ion)

are

pop

ular

wit

h th

ose

who

can

affo

rd t

hem

.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sG

roce

ry d

eliv

ery,

pres

crip

tion

del

iver

y,ox

ygen

del

iver

y,ta

x pr

epar

atio

n,fin

anci

al o

verv

iew

,ca

bine

t in

stal

lers

.

Seni

ors

don’

t kn

ow o

run

ders

tand

the

ir r

ight

s,an

d in

sura

nce

cove

rage

isco

nfus

ing.

Wan

t to

buy

a n

ewpr

oduc

t, bu

t th

ere

are

too

man

y un

know

ns,

afra

id o

f pa

ying

too

muc

h, d

on’t

unde

rsta

ndse

rvic

e.

Oth

er s

enio

rs c

an’t

affo

rdth

is le

vel o

f se

rvic

e.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Cal

l tak

er,

phar

mac

ist

assi

stan

t,sc

hedu

ling

pers

on,

tax

advi

sor,

CPA

, wor

kers

.

Kno

wle

dge

expe

rts,

e.g

.,fo

r in

sura

nce

it m

ay b

eth

e bi

lling

per

son

in a

doct

or’s

offic

e.Sa

les

pers

ons,

ref

erra

lsfr

om f

rien

ds a

nd f

amily

.

Com

pani

on p

rovi

ders

.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsU

se t

echn

olog

y to

sche

dule

and

ext

end

the

serv

ices

tha

t co

me

to t

he h

ome.

Nee

d w

ays

to e

duca

tese

nior

s, p

rovi

de li

nks

tokn

owle

dge

data

base

s.

Wan

t a

pric

e co

mpa

riso

nse

rvic

e th

at p

rovi

des

trus

t(l

inke

d to

the

Bet

ter

Bus

ines

s B

urea

u),

desc

ribe

s fe

atur

es

(sim

ilar

to b

izra

te.c

om),

and/

or m

ay d

escr

ibe

avai

labl

e se

rvic

es.

Con

nect

peo

ple

tope

ople

to

exch

ange

tale

nts

and

serv

ices

.

Figu

re 4

-19

81

Serv

ices

, Sa

fety

and

med

ical

.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Seni

ors

deac

tiva

te

safe

ty e

quip

men

t.

Seni

ors

unaw

are

ofm

edic

atio

n in

tera

ctio

ns.

Har

d fo

r se

nior

s to

kee

pco

pies

of

thei

r m

edic

alre

cord

s.Pr

oble

ms

rem

embe

ring

to s

ched

ule

chec

k-up

s,es

peci

ally

vis

ion.

Sche

dulin

g do

ctor

appo

intm

ents

are

a

hass

le.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geE

ach

room

in a

ll ap

art-

men

ts h

ave

an e

mer

genc

yca

ll bo

x, a

ctiv

ated

by

apu

ll co

rd.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sIf

aft

er 5

:00

P.M.,

the

desk

sim

ply

calls

911

fo

r th

e re

side

nt.

Cor

ds a

ccid

enta

lly g

ettr

igge

red

so r

esid

ents

disa

ble

the

cord

s.

Goi

ng t

o 3

or 4

diff

eren

tdo

ctor

s, d

on’t

know

wha

tm

edic

atio

ns t

he o

ther

doct

ors

have

pre

scri

bed.

Ass

ists

in m

ovin

g,m

ulti

ple

doct

ors,

ca

regi

vers

.Se

nior

s m

ay n

ot w

ant

togo

to

the

doct

or, b

utth

ey n

eed

to g

o to

the

doct

or.

Hav

e to

coo

rdin

ate

appo

intm

ent

avai

labi

lity,

bus

sche

dule

, mea

l tim

es,

care

giv

ers.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Fron

t de

sk,

911

call

cent

er.

Doc

tors

, pha

rmac

ies,

an

d fa

mili

es.

Med

ical

pro

fess

iona

lsan

d re

lati

ves.

Doc

tors

, fam

ily.

Bus

dri

ver,

rece

ptio

nist

, car

e gi

ver

or c

ompa

nion

.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsA

saf

ety

syst

em t

hat

resi

dent

s w

on’t

disa

ble

due

to p

oor

desi

gn.

A s

yste

m o

r ca

rd t

o tr

ack

and

cros

s-re

fere

nce

med

icat

ions

.

A d

atab

ase

wit

h pa

sttr

eatm

ents

, dru

gs, a

ller-

gies

, and

con

diti

ons.

A d

atab

ase

that

fac

ilita

tes

good

hea

lth b

yre

min

ding

sen

ior

ofpr

even

tati

ve c

heck

ups.

Glo

bal m

eeti

ng m

aker

type

sof

twar

e fo

r th

eho

me

wou

ld r

educ

e th

e ha

ssle

.

Figu

re 4

-20

82

Indi

vidu

al.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Spec

ial n

eeds

die

ts a

refr

ustr

atin

g.

Life

is f

ull o

f ad

apta

tion

s.

Ever

yone

is d

iffer

ent,

Two

cate

gori

es e

mer

ged:

Inde

pend

ent

seni

ors

and

Dep

ende

nt s

enio

rs.

Med

ical

per

sonn

el d

on’t

know

sen

ior’s

med

ical

hist

ory,

esp

ecia

lly in

an

emer

genc

y si

tuat

ion.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geLo

oks

for

hear

t sy

mbo

lon

men

us in

din

ing

hall.

Bou

ght

a w

aist

bag

fro

mw

aitr

ess

to h

old

pers

onal

belo

ngin

gs a

nd p

hone

.

Dep

ende

nt d

on’t

wan

t to

be in

form

ed b

y te

ch-

nolo

gy. I

ndep

ende

nts

wan

t te

chno

logy

to

assi

stan

d ed

ucat

e.M

edic

al a

lert

bra

cele

tsca

n on

ly c

onta

in li

mit

edin

form

atio

n.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sO

n so

dium

, cho

lest

erol

,fa

t, an

d on

ion

rest

rict

eddi

et.

Frus

trat

ed t

hat

whe

elch

air

has

no p

lace

to

stor

e st

uff.

Dep

ende

nt: “

Igno

ranc

eis

blis

s.”

Inde

pend

ent:

“Acu

riou

s m

ind.

”

Em

erge

ncy

Med

ical

Tech

nici

ans

may

not

know

abo

ut s

enio

rssp

ecia

l con

diti

ons.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Wai

t st

aff,

cook

, din

ing

hall

man

ager

.

Dep

ende

nt: “

don’

t w

ant

deta

ils f

rom

the

doc

tor,

my

daug

hter

kno

ws.

”In

depe

nden

t: w

ant

the

doct

or t

o in

form

the

m.

EM

T’s

(am

bula

nce

driv

ers)

, hos

pita

l sta

ff.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsW

ants

mor

e in

form

atio

nab

out

the

ingr

edie

nts

inth

e fo

od.

Wan

t pr

oduc

ts, s

yste

ms,

and

envi

ronm

ents

to

bead

apt

to in

divi

dual

sne

eds.

Wan

t te

chno

logy

to

unde

rsta

nd t

heir

cor

eva

lues

! (D

epen

dent

or

Inde

pend

ent

type

of

pers

onal

ity.

)Se

nior

s ne

ed m

edic

alin

fo. t

o be

tra

nsfe

rred

to

the

ambu

lanc

e pr

ior

toit’

s ar

riva

l at

a ho

me.

Figu

re 4

-21

83

Soci

al.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

Seni

ors

are

lone

ly, f

eel

usel

ess,

afr

aid

of b

eing

alon

e.

Qua

lity

of li

fe is

in

dec

line.

Seni

ors

in n

eed

of m

any

serv

ices

tha

t ot

her

seni

ors

coul

d pr

ovid

e.

Lack

of

tran

spor

tati

on is

one

of t

he b

igge

st p

rob-

lem

s in

the

Tuc

son,

AZ

.

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geC

an’t

driv

e ca

r an

ymor

e.

Can

’t dr

ive

a ca

r, sh

uttle

bus

has

boun

dari

es a

ndti

me

limit

s, n

o bu

sse

rvic

e ex

ist

in t

his

area

.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sSp

ouse

die

d, t

hen

surv

ivor

has

to

mov

e in

toas

sist

ed li

ving

, new

com

mun

ity,

new

hom

e,no

imm

edia

te f

rien

ds.

Seni

or s

aid

“she

wou

ldn’

tta

lk a

bout

the

‘old

tim

es’

whe

n sh

e go

t ol

d, b

utno

w t

hat’s

all

she

has.

”

Man

y re

side

nts

driv

ene

ighb

ors

to

appo

intm

ents

.

“My

who

le li

fe is

thi

s bu

sri

de t

o th

e gr

ocer

yst

ore.

..”, p

rovi

des

tran

s-po

rtat

ion

and

mor

eim

port

antly

soc

ializ

atio

n.

Q1.

4 Ex

tern

al C

onta

cts

Rel

ativ

es a

nd f

rien

dson

ly b

y ph

one.

Supp

ort

grou

ps a

re

bene

ficia

l.

Man

agem

ent

sees

thi

s as

a pr

ofit

loss

bec

ause

seni

ors

are

not

usin

g“c

ompa

nion

ser

vice

.”B

us d

rive

r co

ordi

nati

onan

d sc

hedu

ling.

Q1

Wan

ts &

Nee

dsB

ette

r w

ays

to c

omm

uni-

cate

wit

h ot

hers

inre

mot

e lo

cati

ons.

Way

s to

link

sen

iors

to

thos

e w

ith

sim

ilar

inte

rest

s, b

uild

loca

lsu

ppor

t gr

oups

for

com

mun

icat

ion.

Seni

ors

wan

t to

exc

hang

ese

rvic

es t

o sa

ve m

oney

.

Tran

spor

tati

on c

oord

ina-

tion

sys

tem

to

supp

ort:

• gr

ocer

y sh

oppi

ng•

chur

ch a

tten

danc

e•

gam

blin

g•

doct

ors

Figu

re 4

-22

84

Soci

al.

Phys

ical

Men

tal

Proc

essi

ngSe

nsor

yIn

put

Prod

ucts

Serv

ices

Indi

vidu

alSo

cial

Cultu

ral

• Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

Are

High

• Th

e Ki

tchen

is

Frus

tratin

g

• He

alth

Issu

es

• Ad

justa

bilit

y &

Ergo

nom

ics

Are

Nee

ded

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

is O

ften

a Pr

oble

m

• Te

chno

logy

M

ay R

educ

e Ph

ysic

al

Requ

irem

ents

• M

emor

y

• M

edic

atio

ns

&

Safe

ty

• Te

chno

logy

is

Frus

tratin

g

• Te

chno

logy

is

Ove

rly

Com

plex

• Co

mpu

ter

Inte

rface

s Are

To

o Co

mpl

ex

• Vi

sual

Co

mpe

nsat

ion

• Au

dito

ry

Com

ensa

tion

• Vi

sual

De

grad

atio

n Iss

ues

• Ki

tchen

Re

late

d

• Te

chno

logy

, Re

mot

es &

Co

nflic

ts

• Ph

one

Expe

rienc

es

• Se

rvic

es U

sed

• Se

nior

Rig

hts

& Ed

ucat

ion

• Co

nnec

ting

Peop

le &

Se

rvic

es

• Sa

fety

Co

ncer

ns

• Te

chno

logy

&

Med

ical

Issu

es

• Re

duce

Fr

ustra

tion

• Se

nior

Life

is

Full

of

Adap

tatio

ns

• De

pend

ent

vers

us

Inde

pend

ent

Min

ded

Seni

ors

• Lo

nely,

Wan

t Co

mpa

nion

ship

• M

atch

ing

Seni

ors t

o Ex

chan

ge

Serv

ices

• Tr

ansp

orta

tion

& So

cializ

atio

n

• $

Mon

ey, T

he

Base

in Li

fe

• Le

arni

ng N

ew

Tech

nolo

gy

• Se

nior

s Wan

t a

Voic

e

• Te

chno

logy

to

Redu

ce

Disc

rimin

atio

n

• Te

chno

logy

to

Supp

ort

Relig

ion

Cate

gorie

s

Sub–

Cate

gorie

s

•

Q1.1

Pro

blem

s & D

ifficu

lties

“Eve

ryth

ing

boils

do

wn

to m

oney

.”

Q1.

2 O

bjec

t Usa

geW

ealth

ier

seni

ors

can

affo

rd t

o hi

re p

erso

nal

need

s as

sist

ants

.

Seni

ors

are

awar

e of

the

bene

fits

of t

echn

olog

y.

Seni

or le

arns

fro

m

gran

dchi

ldre

n ho

w

to u

se p

rodu

cts.

Q1.3

Exp

erie

nces

& B

iase

sSo

me

seni

ors

hire

an

assi

stan

t fo

r 8

hour

s pe

rda

y, t

o pr

ovid

e so

cial

iza-

tion

, dri

ving

ser

vice

, etc

.O

ther

sen

iors

are

on

afix

ed in

com

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85

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re 4

-24

Q1 Summary

Results

Results came from the last column—Q1 Wants & Needs—in figures 4-04 through 4-24.

Following are insights and answers to Q1 in this case study.

Simplify Technology

• Reduce interference between products, technologies, and other products/technologies.

• Integrate devices and appliances, interproduct communication.

• Provide organizers and storage systems for information.

• Provide system wide user interface consistency, learn it once.

• Remove the reliance on pass codes.

• Avoid technical jargon and abstract icons.

• Provide tutorial-based learning.

• Reduce products that cause pain, both physical and cognitive.

• Software is too complex, self-diagnostics are needed.

Know the Senior User

• Smart home environments should identify the user.

• Technology should know seniors’ core values.

• Technology should know seniors’ capabilities.

• Technology should anticipate wants and needs.

Compensate (Make Life Easier)

• Compensate for degeneration of senses, other difficulties.

• Be multimodal, in operation and feedback (visual, auditory, tactile),

magnification of feedback: bigger and brighter.

• Systems could remove hard-to-perform manual tasks.

• Provide instant help and assistance.

• Memory assistants, reminders, preventative reminders are needed.

• Be adaptable, adjustable, and flexible to accommodate senior needs.

86

Assist in Medical Issues

• Be cognizant that daily life centers around medical issues, medication consumption.

• Assist in dispensing of medications.

• Automatic updates of medications to doctors.

• Database to store medical information, ambulances to know medical information

on way to senior’s home, dosage countdown.

• Information (databases) on food ingredients, to comply with special dietary needs.

• Friendly reminders for appointments and events.

Empower Seniors

• Seniors want a voice; seniors are often mistreated, reduce age discrimination.

• Provide comparison services and describe features for products and services.

• Educate and train seniors, give knowledge, assist in decision making.

Communication (Connect People and Services)

• Assist in transportation coordination.

• Technology should schedule and extend services that come to the home.

• Connect people to exchange talents and services.

• Increase socialization: reducing loneliness and help with decisions—companionship.

• Sharing of information and community resources.

• Communication everywhere the senior goes.

Safety (Security)

• Provide personal safety.

• Provide perimeter security.

Conserve Resources (Energy Management)

• Save money.

• Save energy.

The results provide the foundation for the conclusion. The conclusion takes the results and

shapes them into insights and guiding principles.

87

Q2.1

This question asked, what wants and needs are being pursued by selected representatives in

the smart home industry? Interviews and document analysis provide the answers.

Interview Results

Again, the design-centered data analysis method was used for industry representative inter-

views. Interview data was categorized, sorted and interpreted.

Interview 1

A senior principal member of technical staff, GTE Services Corp. (Interviewee one, 2000)

Interviewee one was asked which user wants and needs would prompt selection and

purchase of GTE’s product. He said consumers “are interested in entertainment services.

This is where the bulk of money is spent. Communication services are also promising. In

addition, there are regional differences in interest, e.g., southwestern interest in security.”

Interviewee one was asked to describe the vision of the industry in the future. He answered,

“the vision is to have everything connected, secured, and communicating. Software routing

rather than hardware routing to link sources with displays. Remote monitoring, by the

family as well as by trusted partners (e.g., repair). Look for a connected office and a

connected car, extending the network outside of the home. Interpersonal communications

will also be important, as people want to stay in touch.”

When asked about how the smart home will assist people with mobility problems and the

graying of America, he responded, “first, rather than control from a single place in the

home, I think control will be available from many places in the home. The goal is to push

control out to where people are, not to pull it to a single closet. A goal of the UI [user

interface] design is to make the computers disappear. The technology is supposed to be

hidden, so that anyone can use the features. GTE is also building accessibility into the UIs

wherever possible, which should help with the graying of America.” It is evident Interviewee

one does understand the wants and needs of seniors through his comment, “one area you

don't mention is remote monitoring. This could help the elderly remain independent

longer, by allowing a child to look in and assist in home management, for example.”

88

To summarize, interviewee one listed entertainment, communication, security, remote

monitoring, and interpersonal communication as areas of smart home development. Goals

are to push control out to where the user is, make computers disappear, and connected

environments (office and car). Seniors may enjoy more comfort, dignity, and independence

with interviewee one user-centered vision.

The GTE web site which discusses interviewee one’s project,

emphasized the application of the JINI™ technology to fulfill the

vision of linked people, appliances, homes, and communities.

Surprisingly, technologies already exist for people to identify

themselves to interconnected systems through microcomputers

worn on the body. For example, the “iButton” ring (figure 4-25)

can be configured to allow a user to simply touch their ring to a

door to “unlock” a home. This simple act can unlock the door,

turn on the lights, disarm the security system, and adjust the

temperature in the time it takes the user to open the door.

A discussion of the JINI™ technology is beyond the scope of this thesis. An overview of the

application of JINI™ technology in the home is available from: http://www.sun.com/jini/.

Details on the iButton are available from: http://www.ibutton.com/.

Interview 2

A solution creator and system programmer at AMG (Interviewee two 2000).

Interviewee two has a unique industry perspective because she creates and programs the

code to make existing smart homes a reality. She relayed this story of an owner in the

Phoenix, Arizona area when asked about people using her company’s (high-end) systems.

She said the “owner of a 4,200 square foot house, installs a system, 70,000 lines of code …

House is up and running, then owner buys DVD player, can’t plug it in … Well, he didn’t

say he wanted a DVD player when the specifications were drawn up … No code to support

DVD. Already 100 devices in system for Global Off command …” It became quickly

evident her perspective is technology centered. Interviewee two was asked what problems

and difficulties users have with systems, she replied, “people want unrealistic parameters …

89

Figure 4-25

iButton ring.

(Nielsen 1998)Copyright © 1998 by Jakob Nielsen.

for example, heating and climate, now capable from 32 degrees to 105 degrees … Have to

go into DOS and add a link to AMX … they don’t understand the systems and how they

work, how hard it is to change … Protocols and formats …” Interviewee two hit the nail

on the head, people don’t understand the systems and how they work. Thus the industry

must design within this parameter. She added, “People wanted speech control … but have

slurred speech—can’t control the house with slurred speech.” Here is an example where the

smart home provider knows the user wants and needs but says technology can’t satisfy those

wants and needs. This is particularly frustrating because a senior stroke victim with slurred

speech may have the most need for automatic assistance from the smart home.

In summary, interviewee two considers technology the focus of the smart home industry.

She discussed controllers, wiring, hardware protocols, and limitations of technology.

Interview 3

At the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (Interviewee three 2000).

Interviewee three did not have time for a full interview. However, he did have a hunch on

which wants and needs are being pursued by the smart home industry, he wrote “…my

hunch would be personal safety, security, and entertainment in that order.” Interviewee

three has coauthored a technical report on home automation and universal design. The

report noted two interesting case studies where companies addressed some of the universal

design goals with success. The first case is Honeywell. “Honeywell was one of the first

major companies to embrace the universal design concept. Their first product with

universal design features was a thermostat with large raised numbers. The attention this

product received spurred them to integrate universal design into their home automation

products.” The second success is Leviton. “Leviton has searched for common themes for the

benefits of universal design. These are characteristics of products that are attractive to

anyone. They include safety, comfort, energy savings, security, and convenience. The

company produced a universal design brochure that showcases the universal design charac-

teristics of their products … The company has decided that universal design can be used to

enhance general marketing efforts and that a special emphasis on universal design features

in their promotional materials will attract buyers who are interested in a high level of conve-

nience” (Steinfeld and Levine 1996).

90

Document Analysis

The document analysis was completed as outlined in the previous chapter.

Summarized data for the analysis may be found in Appendix I. Prior to compilation of the

summary, the primary categories shown in the appendix fell into one of three groups:

consumers, advertisements, and articles. The consumer group included letters to the editor

and questions. The advertisement group contained all types of advertising. The articles

group included editorials, feature stories, and products. Figure 4-26 charts the percentage of

content from three groupings. Advertisements comprise 39% of the content, and industry

articles are 57%. Because the ads make up 39% of the content, the magazine is indeed a

good barometer of wants and needs being pursued by the industry.

91

Articles57%

Consumers4%

Advertisements39%

Figure 4-26

Content summary.

The categories that manifested during the content analysis are shown in figure 4-27. The

percentages are from totals in appendix I. Entertainment is the largest category at 29%.

Information on controllers totaled 19%. Reference material is 13% of the content. The

remaining content is summarized in the figure.

92

Chores4%

Furniture4%

Security and Safety5%

Stories6%

Communication and Networking 8%

Reference13%

Controllers19%

Entertainment29%

Miscellaneous5%

Install and Creation of Systems

7%

Figure 4-27

Document analysis results.

Q2 Summary

Q2 asked, which user wants and needs does the smart home industry consider viable? As

expected, viability equals profitability. In each case, the smart home industry indicates that

profitability is found in the enthusiast market, the wealthy person who wants “bleeding-

edge” technology. This is confirmed through the content of the literature review and

explained by interviewee one in the next section.

Results

Interviewee 1

Interviewee one was asked why potential customers are not buying smart home technolo-

gies. He answered, “currently they are for the enthusiast market. Technically very chal-

lenging. We are trying to lower this barrier to entry by hiding the complexity and hopefully

making the technology accessible to more people.” He confirmed the technologies are not

affordable, “…cost of the technology also matters. We need affordable solutions to the

problems, and this is often the limiting factor. Many millionaires (or billionaires these days)

have future homes with very interesting controls that cost fantastic amounts. This isn't a

solution for everyone.”

This researcher forwarded a list of about ten preliminary senior wants and needs that had

emerged from the preliminary data, with the interview questions, and asked if some needs

were too difficult to solve. Interviewee one replied, “some user needs can't be solved at this

time, economically. The trick is figuring out which needs these are.” (Interviewee one 2000)

His answer implies that needs could be solved, but they are currently not viable.

Interviewee 2

Interviewee two didn’t answer Q2 directly, but she did provide deep insight into the prof-

itability of the high-end AMX smart home system. She explained that most of their systems

go into new homes, typically 3,000 square feet and up. After the system is up and running,

people often want to update the system, add new components, and make changes.

However, to make changes the company must write new code. She noted, “each change

requires a technician to make the code changes …” The owner of the system doesn’t have

93

the technical prowess to modify the system. After this hour long conversation interviewee

two admitted, “the company makes money through the system updates …” (Interviewee

two 2000) It became evident the system updates are a cash-cow to this company. This type

of profitability model exists only in a technology-centered viewpoint.

Interview 3

Interviewee three thought “a low cost wireless system to which you could add options

easily” would be a viable solution (Interviewee three 2000).

Summary

The interviews continued on to reveal a high level of agreement amongst the individuals.

Interviews indicated that the areas of viability in the smart home industry are:

1) Entertainment (audio, video, and services).

2) Communication services (including phone, e-mail, and interactivity).

3) Security.

4) Information services.

5) Energy management.

Corporate Strategies

The case study interviews also revealed three approaches to selling smart home technologies.

The three viability strategies come from 1) the GTE strategy, 2) the AMX strategy, and 3)

the Honeywell/Leviton strategy.

1) GTE strategy

The GTE strategy is to create a technology abundant system, based on open standards, that

will meet some of the seniors wants and needs and universal design goals. The GTE

product is not on the market yet, but profit will probably come from volume sales of a

system that will have broad appeal.

94

2) AMX strategy

The interview indicated the AMX strategy created a smart home system that is technology

focused, with proprietary technology, low integration with other systems, and gives little

consideration of universal design or the senior population. Sales are based on an expensive

system with additional profit generated from service calls anytime the system needs modifi-

cation.

3) Honeywell/Leviton strategy

The technical report provided corporate strategies for Honeywell and Leviton. These two

companies have technology abundant systems that also consider universal design principles.

Profit probably comes from volume sales of systems with broad appeal. Specifically,

universal design is embraced and used as a selling point in these modular systems.

Viability related to corporate strategies is multi-faceted. Viability is a range with many solu-

tions from a complete lack of consideration of universal design to the incorporation of

universal design as a selling tool.

95

Overall Results

In an attempt for closure, this summary will present the findings from Q1 and Q2 series

questions. The answers from this chapter are extracted and summarized in figure 4-28.

The first column, Q1 - Seniors, summarizes the results of Q1. The second column,

Q2 - Industry Interviews, summarizes the results of Q2 and Q2.1. The last column,

Q2 - Doc. Analysis, adds the results from figure 4-27.

Q1 - Seniors Q2 - Industry Interviews Q2 - Doc. Analysis

Simplify Technology

Know the Senior User

Compensate (Make Life Easier) Chores, Stories

Assist in Medical Issues

Empower Seniors Info. Services

Communication Communication Communication

Safety and Security Security Security and Safety

Conserve Resources Energy management

Entertainment Entertainment

Controllers Controllers

Reference

Install

Furniture

Goal driven. Tool driven. Technology driven.

96

Figure 4-28

Results.

Viability was discussed in figure 1-08 in the introduction. The section stated if there is a

market it can be sold. Figure 4-28 reveals a market with the seniors in the areas of overlap and

commonality between the circles. Thus, marketing to seniors is viable in the areas of overlap.

97

Q1Senior

Wants & Needs

Q2IndustryInterview

Q2DocumentAnalysis

•Simplify Interface Technology

Viable wantsand needs

Most viable wants and needs

Wants and needs of low

priority to casestudy seniors

Viable wantsand needs

•Know the Senior

•Assist in Medical

•Empower/ Info. Services

•Conserve/ Energy Mgmt.

•Entertainment

•Controllers

•Reference

•Install

•Furntiture

•Communication

•Safety & Security

•Compensate/ Chores & Stories

Wants and needs notconsidered by the industry

Figure 4-29

Viable wants and needs.

The most viable wants and needs are communication, and safety and security because it

solves seniors’ wants and needs and provides expanded opportunities for the industry, which

is already developing products in this area. Other viable areas are empowering seniors and

providing information services, and conserving resources and managing energy. These senior

wants and needs also arose as areas of development through the industry interviews, but not

in the document analysis. Compensation—make life easier and assist in chores are also

currently viable because the document analysis revealed product development in this area.

Entertainment and controllers are currently important in the enthusiast market, but are of

low priority to the seniors in this case study. Most important are the three unfulfilled senior

wants and needs—simplification of technology, knowing the senior user, and assistance in

medical issue. While not currently considered viable to the industry, these three wants and

needs provide a great new market opportunity. This opportunity will be discussed as Q3 is

answered. The document analysis revealed reference, installation information, and furniture

is part of the smart home enthusiast wants and needs, but not the case study seniors.

Figure 4-28 revealed an important discovery as

shown in the last row. The case study seniors are

goal driven. They don’t care about the tools or

technology. The seniors simply want to achieve a

goal, emphasizing the fact that they are not part of

the enthusiast market. For example, under

“conserve resources” seniors want to save money

and be comfortable, they aren’t interested in the

tool (the thermostat) or the technology (tempera-

ture control technologies). The industry interviews

yielded tool driven ideas. The document analysis

yielded a technology driven focus. For example,

the advertisement in figure 4-30 doesn’t indicate

any user functionality, but conveys the technology

and protocol interfaces, “X-10 Bi-Directional, RS

232/485, CEBus, and Echelon LonWorks™”.

98

Figure 4-30

Thermostat ad.

Copyright © 2000 ElectronicHouse.

Viability raises the chicken and egg problem. Would sales to the seniors and the general

population increase if products were more usable? If products were more usable demand

would be created and sales would increase, similar to how a microwave is now a standard in

the home environment.

Related to the discussion are the three corporate strategies that arose from the interview. It

seems the strategy for GTE, Honeywell and Leviton is to sell the products in volume and

increase user adoption via easier to use products and user centered design. Where in stark

contrast, it is evident AMX has built a product on complex interfaces where any change

requires a service technician to visit the home and change a hefty service fee.

99

5. CONCLUSIONS

This chapter answers Q3 and Q3.1. The conclusion process will examine the influences of

Q1, Q2, technology, and universal design. Findings are presented and narrated through

scenarios and products. Finally, guiding principles are created, recommendations are

presented, and final thoughts documented. As part of the research process in figure 5-01,

this chapter provides the conclusive reporting of the findings.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

ResearchQuestions

ConceptualFramework

RefineMethodology

PilotTest

CollectData



Verify & Check

ReportFindings

Figure 5-01


Conclusion Influences

Answers to Q3 and Q3.1 are generated by understanding the relationships between data sets

shown in figure 5-02. The data sets come from three areas of influence: 1) answers to Q1

and Q2, 2) technology and universal design influences, and 3) insights from the researcher.

A discussion follows.

101

Q1Senior

Wants & Needs Q2Industry

Interviews

Q2DocumentAnalysis

•Simplify Technology

•Know the Senior

•Assist in Medical

•Empower/ Info. Services

•Conserve/ Energy Mgmt.

•Entertainment

•Controllers

•Reference•Install•Furntiture

•Communication

•Safety & Security

•Compensate/ Chores & Stories

Technology,User Interface

Literature ReviewQ1 and Q2

Insights

Q3 and Q3.1ConclusionInfluences

•Reduce The Mental Load•Reduce The Interface Complexity•Provide Adaptability•Minimize Reliance On Keyboards•Reduce The Number Of Features•Provide Skill Transference•Reduce & Combine Interfaces

UniversalDesign

•Provide Equitable Use•Provide Flexibility In Use•Make It Simple And Intuitive•Information Should Be Perceptible•Provide Tolerance For Error•Minimize Physical Effort•Provide Appropriate Size and Space

Figure 5-02

Answering Q3 and Q3.1.

Review of Q1 and Q2

Chapter four revealed many of the senior wants and needs may be met by

evolving smart home technologies including:

• Communication services, connecting people and services.

• Safety and security.

• Compensation and chores assistance.

• Empowerment and information services.

• Conservation of resources and transparent energy management.

Chapter four emphasized the seniors in this case study have three unmet

wants and needs:

• Simplification of technology and interfaces.

• Knowing the senior user, their values and capabilities.

• Assisting with medical issues.

The interviews revealed three corporate strategies for selling smart home technologies

range from complete lack of consideration of universal design to the incorporation of

universal design as a selling tool.

102

Review of Technology and Universal Design

Technology

The literature review of technology in chapter two indicated problems with smart home

products including:

• Increased mental loads.

• Overly complex interfaces.

• Lack of adaptability.

• Reliance on keyboards and keypads

• Feature overload.

• No skill transfer.

• Too many interfaces.

In the past, a discussion of the smart home centered around control panels and connecting

systems together. To be viable in the future, smart home technology must consider the user

and senior capabilities.

Universal Design

Chapter two defined universal design as having seven guidelines:

• Equitable use.

• Flexibility in use.

• Simple and intuitive use.

• Perceptible information.

• Tolerance for error.

• Low physical effort.

• Size and space for approach and use.

Smart home products should try to achieve compliance with these goals, thus providing

high levels of usability for seniors with different abilities.

103

Insights

1. A smart home must respond to individual user capabilities.

For example a senior in a wheel chair with macular degeneration, shown in row three of

figure 4-05, needs to control the climate. That seniors capabilities are very different from

the capabilities of a college-aged freshman.

2. A smart home must consider the user’s core values and cognitive models.

For example, row three of figure 4-21 documented two categories of seniors, independent

and dependent. An independent senior may have “a curious mind” and want a smart home

to give them more information about their medications. In contrast, a dependent senior

may believe “ignorance is bliss” and doesn’t want any details about their medications from

the smart home. Recall in chapter one Dr. Jacques Giard reminded us that a user’s “core

values don’t change”. The “technology changes but core values endure” (2000). The tech-

nology must respect the user and their values.

3. A smart home must learn from interactions with the user to improve the response to

statements 1 and 2.

For example, in row one of figure 4-17, a smart home would learn from repeated interactions

with the senior that she leaves the stove on accidentally because she can not see the “on”

indicator. A smart home would learn how and when to respond to this type of safety threat.

104

Q3.1

Question 3.1 asks, how does the research translate into product improvements for seniors

and new market opportunities? Figure 5-03 shows current smart home components and

individual protocols. As discussed in the technology literature review, each technology has

it’s own user interface creating a plethora of problems for the senior.

Figure 5-04 on the next page illustrates product and system improvements envisioned by this

researcher. In this model the system functions according to the user–senior–wants and needs.

The senior’s capabilities (bubble 1) and core values (bubble 2) are stored in a wants and needs

profile (graphic 3). Smart home interfaces (box 4), content, and presentation are presented to

match the seniors wants and needs profile. Access to the system is determined by the senior

(box 5). All of this is controlled by JINI™ technology (box 6). A key here is integration

between systems and products (lines, 7). This integration simply isn’t present in today’s

systems. However, current JINI™ standards provide the base for this future integration,

similar to how the Internet connects our world of today.

105

Security

Security & MonitoringEntertainment

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Figure 5-03

Current smart home components.

106

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The future is evident. A smart home isn’t just the physical residence. A smart home is

communication between the home, family, products, and services. For example, some

companies offer parents live video feeds of their child from a day care facility. This tech-

nology could easily allow an adult to keep in contact with their senior parent through the

day. How does figure 5-04 translate into product improvements?

The generation of ideas could easily take another thesis project, thus only a few examples

are given. Systems and appliances should anticipate user needs. For example, a senior gets

up each day at 5:00 A.M., turns on light, turns on TV, and takes medication using nebulizer.

A smart home ‘learns’ this medical requirement and asks the senior if she would like the

light, TV, and nebulizer to be activated each day at 5:00 A.M. The senior say yes. If she

doesn’t turn on the nebulizer by 5:10 A.M. another wake up alarm is sounded. If she doesn’t

turn on the nebulizer by 5:20 A.M. an emergency signal is sent to 911 (refer to figure 4-08,

bottom row).

System integration is key. When the stove is left on for two hours it sends a message to the

TV the user is watching, requesting attention. Or the system turns off the burner automati-

cally if no one is in house (refer to figure 4-17, row one).

A smart home would provide a method to rate a business and share experiences. This is

similar to Amazon.com’s (http://www.amazon.com) area where customers can rate books. A

senior could check out a business, prior to going there for services to determine how they

have treated other seniors in the past (refer to figure 4-24, row one).

Multiple interactive communication channels can be used to improve the quality of life.

These channels can extend the communication—sound, pictures, video, and data—to

medical services, family and friends (figure 4-22). A smart home would notify a doctor of

possible drug interactions and provide instant help and safety services (refer to figure 4-08,

row three). These channels will allow companions and helper services to negotiate for an

exchange of goods or services (refer to figure 4-19, row four).

107

Scenarios and Products

Technology is moving towards open standards that will generate product improvements and

new opportunities. In five years, technology will provide a partial integration of appliances

and systems. In ten years, seniors wants and needs will be supported through an integration

of the entire home. In fifteen years, this support will be extended outside of the home to

the community. These visions are illustrated on the next page in three future scenarios

(figure 5-05). The figure presents scenarios based on situations of the case studies seniors.

108

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Five Year Scenario, Connected Kitchens

This scenario applies the want and need “assist in medical” to an emerging industry concept:

Mark takes 15 doses of medication per day, throughout the day. It is very difficult for Mark

to remember the times and doses he has taken and needs to take. The JINI™ technology

allows Mark to be reminded to take his medication, where ever he is, via one of many types

of interfaces.

Mark just got out of bed. He moves to the fridge touchscreen to press the button labeled "I

am well". (If Mark doesn't tap the button by 9:00 A.M. a nurse will contact him to make sure

he is okay.) Next, a prerecorded video is waiting to play. The video was sent last night by

Mark's primary care physician after Mark went to bed. He taps "play" and the video starts ...

"Hello, this is Dr. Matson. After you picked

up your prescription last night I received an

automated alert from the pharmacy. The

system notified me that your specialist, Dr.

Tobias, added two new medications. I have

reviewed your records and I think you are

being overdosed. I am taking you off one

medication I had previously prescribed. I

have attached your new medicine regiment.

Please review and contact me if you have

any questions. Oh, just so you know, a copy

of the update has automatically been sent to

your insurance company for a credit."

Mark knows his daughter wants to stay

informed on medical issues so he forwards a

copy to her.

110

New Dosages

Starting Today:

1 pharcophol

2 zantab

1 celfane

1 phenotol

• more...

Figure 5-06

Kitchen connection JINI™ interactive fridge.

The fridge acts as an interface for the smarthome and provides better accessibility viarotating shelves

Ten Year Scenario, Interactive Homes

This product concept is not a new idea in fulfilling the “communication” want and need.

But this is a scenario of how user capabilities, instead of technology, shape the design of the

interactive smart home gestural interface:

Sarah is planning a trip to the university theater to see Death of a Salesman. Sarah likes to

have a picnic on the benches outside the theater prior to the performance. She sends out an

electronic invite to several of her friends. The invite includes information on the perfor-

mance, dates, and a list of items to bring for the picnic. The items get checked off as people

sign up to attend. However, none of Sarah's friends are able to drive so Sarah broadcasts her

invite on a drama bulletin board. A college student inquires because he is required to see

the performance for his class. He offers to drive, but can’t afford the front row seats that

Sarah likes. Sarah and the others pitch in to buy the student a ticket. They all go to the

performance together and make new friendships.

111

Figure 5-07

JINI™ connected gestural interface.

Interface is projected on wall or white cabinets. System accepts selection by tracking finger actions.

Fifteen Year Scenario, Interactive Communities

JINI™ and JAVA™ micro communicators already exist, there are over twenty million of

them blanketing the world (Nielsen 1998). The goal of this scenarios is to use this existing

technology to build interactive communities and environments that “know the senior” and

respond to wants and needs:

Doris lives in an independent living community that has a dining hall. She is hungry so she

walks over to the dining hall and steps into the elevator. Doris has macular degeneration

and can’t see the numbers on the buttons but that doesn’t matter because her personal iden-

tifier (in the shape of a ring) sends a signal to the elevator telling it to go to the second

floor. Her personal identifier monitors and anticipates her actions based on past events.

Doris moves to the serving line. Upon reaching the entré station, she picks up the tongs

and grabs a piece of chicken. The tongs communicate with the nutrition information tag on

the fried chicken tray and relay the information (through her personal identifier) to Doris’

medical profile in her smart home. Her physician has placed her on a sodium restricted

diet. The tongs give her a gentle notification of the high sodium content by vibrating

inconspicuously. She drops the chicken and goes for a piece of baked halibut. Doris finishes

selecting her lunch and sits at a table with a screen.

Within a few minutes, Doris’ daughter calls her apartment. The smart home system locates

Doris by her personal identifier and reroutes the video call to her table. Doris and her

daughter have lunch together as they do most everyday.

112

ring watch wallet

Figure 5-08

JINI™ (and JAVA™) personal identifiers.

Future generations of these existing products will allow foridentification of people in interactive communities.

Q3 Summary

Q3 asks what product considerations may benefit the smart home industry and senior

users? Answers to this question are meant to be guiding principles for producers of smart

home technologies.

Seven Guiding Principles

1. Seniors live, science studies, and technology should conform.

The motto of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair was “Science finds, Industry applies, Man

conforms.” (Norman 1993, 9) Donald Norman points out this machine centered viewpoint

is still prevalent. “Today much of science and engineering takes a machine-centered view of

the design of machines and, for that matter, the understanding of people. As a result, the

technology that is intended to aid human cognition and enjoyment more often interferes

and confuses than aids and clarifies.” (1993, 9)

Chapter four documented a need for simplification of technology. This principle responds

to the seniors want and need of “simplify interface technology”. The new principle means

seniors should be able to go about their lives and not be frustrated by technology. It is the

responsibility of human factors experts, designers, and product development teams to study

the senior to understand their wants and needs and build technology capable of accommo-

dating the senior, instead of the other way around.

2. Products must evolve from assuming needs, to addressing needs, to anticipating needs.

This principle describes the optimum evolution of the smart home industry. Technology

from the 1990’s doesn’t address that different users have different wants and needs. Current

technology must start to address individual wants and needs. For example, research has

been done in the telecommunications industry on personal agents. People who act as

personal agents—butlers, corporate concierge, and personal assistants—were interviewed to

draw parallels on how technology could anticipate the needs of users (Darville and Hignett

1996). Smart homes of the future will “know the senior” and anticipate the seniors wants

and needs.

113

3. “It’s the hole, not the drill, that’s important” (Doblin Group 2000).

This principle emphasizes the end goal is the important issue, not how it gets done. Recall,

“assist in medical” is a senior want and need. When applied to this principle, it means a

senior’s goal is not to remember medications, but simply to stay alive.

4. Home isn’t a physical place, and communication isn’t a phone call.

The smart home will be a networked “communication” universe. The home will tell other

environments of the senior’s wants and needs. Communication with other people, places,

and devices will be real time and anticipate the user’s wants and needs, using the wants and

need profile from figure 5-04.

5. Technology should empower people.

The catch phrase of the last decade is about to take on a revolutionary new meaning. This

principle builds on a philosophy practiced by the Administration on Aging—AoA. The AoA

is making an effort to educate seniors and baby boomers about their financial responsibilities

in preparing for retirement. The goal is to empower seniors, “so they can play full, active

roles in society”. (Carlson and Lewis 1998) Knowledge will be more accessible. Seniors will

“empower” themselves to reduce age discrimination in dealing with products, individuals

and services.

6. Don’t let the trees obstruct the view of the forest.

Cooperstock, a researcher at Sony’s computer science laboratory, noted smart home systems

overload the user with complex interfaces (Cooperstock 1997). The interface should

become invisible to the senior. We don’t remember pressing numbers on our phone, we

only remember making the appointment. Seniors want to “conserve resources” and have

“safety and security”. Those services shouldn’t be obstructed by complex interfaces.

114

7. Keep “no pain, no gain” in the gym.

Interaction with a smart house shouldn’t be painful either physically or mentally according

to the principles of universal design (Story 1997, 30). A smart home should “compensate”

for the senior, increasing comfort, dignity, and independence. While the ideals of universal

design may not be completely attainable, a smart home may work behind the scenes,

compensating for the senior, giving the illusion of zero decline in physical and mental

capabilities.

Recommendations

The researcher section presented three insights and the Q3 summary presented seven

guiding principles that may benefit the smart home industry and senior users. However, the

smart home industry must change course to reach those principles. Current smart home

systems require a high level of technical knowledge and have low universal design compli-

ance. The course must be changed to reduce the technical knowledge required and maxi-

mize adherence to universal design principles. Surprisingly, this researcher doesn’t see this

change of course coming from the traditional smart home technology companies.

Innovation appears to be coming from networking and communication companies

(GTE for example).

Due to the complexity of the problems documented in this study, companies developing

smart home systems should form cross-disciplinary teams to understand user wants and

needs. These teams could include architects, human factors engineers, industrial designers,

cognitive psychologist and end user representatives.

115

Final Thoughts

Critics may say the vision presented in figure 5-04 and the three scenarios are fantasy based

or the researcher has been watching too much StarTrek, The Next Generation. The defense

would be presented with the photograph in figure 5-09. Ten years ago, no one would

believe the chief of the Huli tribe in Papua New Guinea would have an international

communication channel to promote tourism. Yet, here is Willy Eiya at the International

Tourism Fair in Berlin, using technology to show off his new web site, designed to draw

tourists to his region (Associated Press 2000, B-5). This type of intensive infiltration of

technology will be in the home—very soon.

116

Figure 5-09

Huli chief.

Chief is showing his web site designed to promote tourism.Copyright © 2000 Associated Press.

The smart home industry will provide solutions for connected homes and connected

communities. This researcher is optimistic about the potential of the smart home.

Hopefully this research will influence those solutions to provide comfort, dignity, and inde-

pendence for seniors. Interestingly, this researchers greatest discovery happened internally. In

retrospect, this thesis was partially about sensitizing the researcher to the wants and needs of

a population very different from the researcher. This study created greater compassion and

understanding in the researcher. This compassion and understanding arose from empathic

interaction with the case study seniors, being with them as they struggled to use poorly

designed products and services in their homes. It may sound cliche but, hopefully this thesis

and this researcher can make a difference with this new understanding and knowledge!

117

UNTITLED

What could be finerthan a day in the recliner

complicating your cuticles.

The future is here right nowso take it with a bow

because the rest will be all pharmaceuticals.

—L. M., research participant, age 87

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Schaefer, Marcelle. 2000. Interview with author. Tucson, AZ., March 28.

Shalit, Anita. 1987. Alerting business to the needs of older americans: A look at federal

initiatives. Innovation 6 (3):12–14.

Sheff, David, and Paul Kunkel. 1999. Sony's plan for world recreation. Wired,

November, 263–275.

Shneiderman, Ben. 1998. Designing the user interface, Strategies for effective human-computer

interaction. 3rd ed. Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Smarthome.com. 1999. A Home Automation Systems Company. Smarthome.com, 144.

Available from http://www.smarthome.com.

Smith, David B. D. 1990. Human factors and aging, An overview of research needs and

application opportunities. Human factors 32 (5):509–526.

Smith, Ralph Lee. 1988. Smart house, The coming revolution in housing. Columbia, MD:

GP Publishing, Inc.

Stein, Jay. 1989. An automated home system. Fine homebuilding, 72–76.

Steinfeld, Edward. 1997. How does an idea spread & grow? Innovation theory.


123

Steinfeld, Edward, and Danise Levine. 1996. Technical report: Home automation.

Buffalo, NY: Center for inclusive design and environmental access,

School of architecture and planning - University at Buffalo.

Sue. 2000. Interview with author. Tucson, AZ., March 27.

Sun. 2000. JAVA™ Technology [Web]. Sun Microsystems, 2000a

[cited July 3 2000]. Available from http://www.sun.com/java/.

Sun. 2000. JINI™ Connection Technology [Web]. Sun Microsystems, 2000b

[cited July 3 2000]. Available from http://www.sun.com/jini/.

Story, Molly Follette. 1997. Is it universal? 7 defining criteria. Innovation 16 (1):29-32.

Viola, Frank. 2000. Interview with author. Tucson, AZ., March 19.

Walker, Steven L. 1993. The southwest, A pictorial history of the land and its people.

Bellemont, AZ: Canyonlands Publications.

Weiser, Mark. 1991. The computer for the 21st century. Scientific american

(September):94–10.

Wickens, Christopher D., Sallie E. Gordon, and Yili Liu. 1998. An Introduction to

Human Factors Engineering. New York, NY: Longman.

124

APPENDIX A

CURRENT PRODUCTS AND INTERFACES

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APPENDIX B

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD

APPROVAL

APPENDIX C

INFORMATION AND CONSENT, SENIOR

Dear Potential Participant,

Hello. My name is Brenton Elmore. I am a graduate student at Arizona StateUniversity, in the School of Design, located in Tempe, AZ. I work under thedirection of Professor Hilarie Nickerson, my research chairperson. I amconducting research to determine how future technologies can assist andimprove people’s lives. My focus is determining the needs of senior Americansin their residences.

Overview

The type of research I am doing is called “observation,” it is similar to “peoplewatching.” Observation simply means that I observe you to better understandhow you use items in your residence, and what your needs are. I will use ques-tions, similar to an informal interview, to find out your ideas and thoughts.

The cordless telephone is an example of a technological idea that may haveresulted from similar research. A researcher may have noticed that while usingthe phone, people were getting tangled up in the cord. Then the researchergained the insight that there was a need for phones without cords. I hope togain similar insights.

Outline of the observation process

• I will come over to your residence at agreed upon times.• Your goal is to go on with your daily activities as you normally would. • I will try to understand your complete daily experiences, and

document them as accurately as possible.• I will always respect your privacy.

131

Initials __________

Details of the observation process

You can think of me as a “fly on the wall.” For example, if you normally go tothe grocery store on this day, I would like to go with you. Your privacy andsafety are the number one concern; you are always in control. If at anytime youare uncomfortable please let me know. The observation and interview can bepaused, changed or terminated at any time. For example, when you needprivacy to use the rest room or make a personal phone call, I will exit the resi-dence and wait outside.

To document what is happening I will make notes and take pictures. Forexample, if you had problems pushing buttons on a phone because they are toosmall I would note that and photograph the difficulty. The outcome in thisexample, is that an easier-to-operate phone is needed. A small tape recorder maybe used to record our conversations and questions we discuss throughout theday. However, I will only ask these questions during idle times, so not to inter-fere with your daily routine.

To thoroughly understand your needs, I would like to spend blocks of timewith you over a period of several days. For example, I would like to come overimmediately after you are dressed. The idea is to understand your morningroutine. I want to understand your activities at night too. For example if youwatch TV, I want watch it with you. Finally, to make the research as accurate aspossible, you are asked to not do anything special in preparation for my visit,because I am a researcher not a guest. This gives me a snapshots during an“average day” in your life.

132

Initials __________

Summary

• I will observe the day using a notepad, camera and tape recorder.• Questions will be asked about things you do, your ideas, and your opinions.• Your participation is voluntary.• You are not being tested in any way.• You may choose to pause, change, or terminate the observation at any time

with no penalty.• The results of the research may be published, but your name will never

be used.• The notes, photos, and voice recordings may be used during my presentations.• This research process has been reviewed by the Human Subjects Institutional

Review Board at Arizona State University, and approved by my committeechairperson, Hilarie Nickerson.

Questions?

If you have any questions you can contact me (Brenton Elmore) at:

Phone 661-7902 E-mail [email protected]

Postal Arizona State UniversityCollege of Architecture and Environmental DesignP.O. Box 85287-2105Attn: Brenton Elmore, DesignTempe, Arizona 85287-2105

Thank you for your time!

Brenton ElmoreMarch 6, 2000

133

Initials __________

134Consent Form

I have read and received a copy of the participant information letter. I give myconsent to participate in this study and understand that the data are not confi-dential. My consent includes photographing and tape recording my activitiesduring the observation. The photographs and recordings will be saved indefi-nitely for use during presentations of the results.

Printed Name ___________________________

Signature ___________________________ Date _________ , 2000

If you have any questions about your rights as a participant in this research, orif you feel you have been placed at risk, you can contact the Chair of theHuman Subjects Institutional Review Board in the Office of Human ResearchAdministration at Arizona State University, phone 480-965-6788.

Participant Demographics

This information will be used to summarize the demographics of the subjectsinvolved in the research. The data recorded during the observation will usesubject codes and not real names. Results will be published in an unidentifiableformat.

Name _______________________________________

Phone _______________________________________

E-mail ? _______________________________________

Street _______________________________________

City, State, Zip______________________________________

Years in residence _______

Type of residence __________________________________

Circle the appropriate answers below:

Gender Female Male

Age range 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85-89

135

Initials __________

APPENDIX D

OBSERVATION INSTRUMENT

137

Figure D-01.

Observation instrument with data.

138

Le Apt.Le, Brenton E.

03/23/0011:45 A.M.11

To read (see) information, Le needs:-pure white paper-large print-non-glossy paper

Monocular glasses are $264.See Photo 03/23/00 page 4, no.1glasses have limited field of vision

-one side has a lens, produces a round field of view, other is a blank

The volume control push tab on headphones is too small! Cordless IR headphones are $300

See Photo 03/23/00 page5, no. 1-6“Talking folders” would be beneficial

-can’t see file folders-can’t organize them, asked researcher-see Photo 03/23/00 page 1, no. 3

Got a back ache from using CCTV

-see Photo 03/23/00 page 1, no. 1-Le is sitting on a step stool

Can’t see flashing “ring indicator” on phone-see Photo 03/23/00 page 4, no. 3 & 4-LED shines up toward ceiling, not out

towards userChecked outside thermometer for appro-priate clothing to wear to lunch.

A communication need

Le stated over and overagain “non-glossy” isneeded for -books

-magazines

Adaptive device, notUniversal design!

User can’t see and can’t feelvolume adjust, pluscan’t hear telephone whenheadphones are on—beingworn.

A Technology Conflict

Need auditory output forfolders

Poor ergonomics of devicecauses pain by usage

* Need multi-modalintegrated system todisplay phone ringing onto TV screen

See Photo 03/23/00 p.6, 2

Figure D-02.

Instrument with translated data.

APPENDIX E

INTERVIEW GUIDE, SENIOR

The following questions will be asked throughout the observation with the subjects. The

questions will be asked in a conversational interview style, and answers will be recorded by

the researcher.

Statement to be read to subject:

Please remember,

• Questions will be asked about things you do, your ideas, and your opinions.

• You are not being tested in any way, I am only gathering information.

• If you choose to pause, change, or terminate the questions at any time there is no penalty.

140

Physical Attributes (1)

In Transgenerational Design Pirkl list the six basic Activities of Daily Living:

• bathing

• dressing

• toileting

• transferring

• continence

• feeding

Additional ADLs are:

• communication

• grooming

• visual capability

• walking

• using upper extremities

(probe user related to these issues)

Do you have any difficulties in gripping controls, remotes, etc. ?

Have you ever fallen down or slipped in the bathtub or shower?

How did you get help?

Do you ever need to take frequent breaks when doing chores?

Like cooking, etc?

141

Mental Processing (2)

What tasks must you remember each day?

e.g. take medication, feed pets

Are there any tasks that seem simple but often result in the wrong action?

Sensory Inputs (3)

Describe problems or adaptations you have made to perform the following tasks:

-Seeing stuff (vision)?

e.g. reading newspaper

e.g. buttons or knobs on the stove

any problems with color perception, especially blue?

any problems with too much light or glare?

-Hearing noises or alerts (audition)?

e.g. door bell

telephone

television

conversations

-Feeling with hands (haptic & tactile)?

e.g. dark hallways, hot stove

-Knowing where you are in an environment (kinesthetic & proprioception)?

e.g. bumping into stuff

-Tasting (gustatory)?

-Smelling (olfactory)?

142

Services (4)

What places to you visit regularly?

Your doctor(s)

Grocery store

Home supplies

___________________

What method of transportation do you use for the above?

What safety services do you use?

Cell phone

Medical alerts

Residence security

___________________

Any special problems or difficulties that come to mind?

What forms of entertainment do you enjoy?

Television

Social Outings

Nature Outings

Visitors

Meeting w/ friends

___________________

143

Products (5)

Do you buy groceries & supplies or does someone do that for you?

Would you like groceries to be delivered to your house?

Some items? All items?

Or do you like to go to the store to get out and see people?

Technology now exist where your refrigerator could reorder items that you need.

Discuss the scenario...

Shop on an interactive TV?

Are meals sometimes prepared for you?

By whom?

Dining hall, family members, eating out?

User Interfaces & Technologies - Inventory

I would like to do an inventory on the technology products in your residence. Do you

Have, Plan to buy, Want to buy, Borrow or don’t use the because of Difficulties, the

following?

Key: H = Have

P = Plan to buy

W = Want but don’t plan to buy

B = Borrow

D = Difficult to use

L: Location

144

(Researcher will probe for details as appropriate)

Entertainment

_ VCR H P W B D L:

– CD Player H P W B D L:

_ Radio, standing H P W B D L:

_ Radio, stereo H P W B D L:

_ Radio, boom boxH P W B D L:

_ TV H P W B D L:

– TV services

satellite H P W B D L:

cable H P W B D L:

_Camera H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

Communications

_ Cell Phone H P W B D L:

_ Wireless Phone H P W B D L:

_ Palm Pilot H P W B D L:

_Copiers H P W B D L:

_ Faxes H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

145

Tools

_ Microwave H P W B D L:

_ Calculators H P W B D L:

– Sewing Machine H P W B D L:

_ Shop tools H P W B D L:

_ Air purifiers H P W B D L:

_ Appliances H P W B D L:

_ Vacuum H P W B D L:

– Watches H P W B D L:

time piece H P W B D L:

– Smoke detectors H P W B D L:

_ CO2 detectors H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

Computer related

_ Computer H P W B D L:

_ Periperials H P W B D L:

_ Software H P W B D L:

_ Services

E-mail H P W B D L:

146

Web H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

Services

_ Cleaning H P W B D L:

_ Helpers H P W B D L:

_ ADL stuff H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

Medical & Health

_ Glucose H P W B D L:

_ Blood pressure H P W B D L:

_ Hearing aids H P W B D L:

_ Med. reminders H P W B D L:

– Eye drops H P W B D L:

_ Infusion pump H P W B D L:

_ Exercise device H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

147

Assistive Devices

_ Bathroom H P W B D L:

_ Showering H P W B D L:

_ Walkers H P W B D L:

_ Canes H P W B D L:

_ Magnifiers H P W B D L:

_ Large print H P W B D L:

_ Talking books H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

_ ____________ H P W B D L:

Questions

Which devices do you find too confusing or frustrating to operate?

e.g. VCR

(probe for why)

Which device’s operations are easy to figure out?

e.g. phone

(probe for why)

Do you ever misplace remote controls?

How do you find them?

Do you have any worries about having technology in the home?

e.g. afraid of breaking it

Can you think of reasons why you feel this way?

What would lessen those concerns?

148

e.g. more robustness, easier to operate

Imagine you could ask a “magic librarian” questions with your voice and get a response.

What are some ways you might use this?

(e.g. I want to know more about a health problem I have)

Individual (6)

Please explain how do you use the rooms in your residence?

Special task rooms?

-e.g. sewing, collections, office, computer

Do you perform you own cleaning, have help, or a combination of both?

Do any cleaning chores cause discomfort for you?

How much time do you estimate you spend cleaning? (prompt for a break down)

Pretend you can have “magical assistants,” either service people or machines.

How would they help you out?

e.g. carry in groceries

Social (7)

What ways do you communicate with family & friends?

e.g. phone, Internet, letters

How often do you see family and friends?

Do you take any preparations for visitors?

e.g. family, grandchildren, etc.

What distractions do you find annoying?

e.g. telemarketers

Do you vote? Would you vote from home if you could?

149

APPENDIX F

INTERVIEW GUIDE, SUPPORT PERSONNEL

1)Interview Guide, Driver for a Senior Bus

Interviewee

Name: Frank V.

Anticipated interview duration: 60 minutes

Anticipated Setting: C.R. office (or residence) in Oro Valley

Relationship to case study: Not direct, provides a community-wide service

Description of job:Drives a bus, part-time, that serves seniors and those with disabilities

who can’t drive.

Introduction, 5 minutes

1.❑ Explain case study.

2.❑ Explain why this information is valuable.

3.❑ Discuss confidentiality.

Warm-up, 5 minutes

4.❑ Please tell me about your position with C.R.

Primary Questions, 40 minutes

5.❑ What is the cost for the individual to use the service?

6.❑ How does the person make an appointment to be picked up?

7.❑ What is the process of pick-up, transport, and return work?

8.❑ Please describe the types of clientele...

9.❑ BE to discuss the social trends observed in the case study...

Frank, any similar stories or observations?

10.❑ What are the needs are you serving?

11.❑ BE to discuss the companion services available...

How do these differ from the bus service?

151

12.❑ Discuss ideas of how technology could assist problems (arose during inter-

view)...

Cool-down, 5 minutes

13.❑ Review some of the insights.

14.❑ Discuss how technology could apply to these insights.

Closure, 5 minutes

15.❑ Thank participant for time.

152

2) Interview Guide, Receptionist/Manager in Doctor’s Office

Interviewee

Name: Sue

Anticipated interview duration: 15 minutes

Anticipated Setting: Reception in a medical office including:

chiropractic doctor & myotherapy practitioners

Relationship to case study: not direct, typical medical office environment in Tucson

Description of job: Receptionist, billing, and office manager

Introduction, 3 minutes

1.❑ Explain case study.

2.❑ Explain why this information is valuable.


Warm-up, no time


4.❑ Do seniors ever have difficulty in scheduling doctor appointments?

5.❑ Any difficulties remembering appointments?

6.❑ Any transportation issues we should discuss?

7.❑ Does your office provide emergency services? Explain...

8.❑ How do senior patients make appointments?

-phone calls

-e-mails

-care providers / family

-other

9.❑ What assistive products and technologies do your patients use?

153

-walkers, canes, bottled O2

10.❑ How might technology could make YOUR interaction with seniors easier?

11.❑ How might technology could make THE PATIENTS appointments easier?

Cool-down, no time

Closure, 2 minutes


154

3) Interview Guide, Community Activity Director

Interviewee

Name: Marcelle S.

Anticipated interview duration: 45 minutes.

Anticipated Setting: Activity center at S.C.V.

Relationship to case study: Activity director for residents of S.C.V.

Introduction, none, occurred during the request for an appointment

1. Explained case study, Discuss participants, Explain why this info. is valuable

Warm-up, 5 minutes

2.❑ Please tell me about your position & responsibilities as Activities Director at S.C.V.


3.❑ What is your involvement with:

Producing the Gazette...

Exercise programs...

Socialization programs & Outings...

Creativity & Crafts...

Library Services...

Other...

4.❑ What is the estimated number of participants in the programs discussed.

5.❑ How could residents increase their participation in community of Tucson?

-e.g. volunteer

6.❑ What ways could more family involvement be achieved?

-e.g. resident is mad because their daughter didn’t call

155

7.❑ Residents complain that companion services are not always available,

or too expensive: How could we link people to server each others needs?

e.g. Jim provides the loan closet...

8.❑ How could residents lives be more independent and happy?

9.❑ How might TECHNOLOGY achieve these ideas?

Cool-down, 5 minutes


Closure, 5 minutes


156

APPENDIX G

INTERVIEW GUIDE, SMART HOME INDUSTRY

1) E-mail Interview Guide

Name: (Removed for confidentially)

Position: Senior principal member of technical staff, a technical project lead.

Company: GTE Services Corp.

Thank you for your response! I won’t restate my purpose as you have read it from the first

two UTEST e-mails. You brought up a good point, the nomenclature of the “smart home”

and “home automation” is tricky... the “Connected Family(sm)” title works well. In addi-

tion, the Connected Family(sm) Profile from the GTE web site is excellent. I think

scenarios and story telling are very powerful tools to explain new technologies and concepts.

This e-mail is structured as an interview, and thus the questions are open-ended so you may

write your answers as you feel appropriate. I am asking these questions to better understand

the smart home industry and to understand the user wants and needs GTE is pursuing.

This is educating me in a way that will allow my research to be shaped into solutions that

are usable and appropriate to the industry.

* * * E-mail interview * * *

*** Question 1 ***

May I ask your job title or position at GTE labs?

*** Q2 ***

In your opinion, what are the user wants that will prompt selection and purchase of the

Connected Family(sm) product. For example, what features are consumers most interested

in?

*** Q3 ***

A press release stated field trials would be conducted in summer of 2000. If I may ask,

when will Connected Family be available to consumers?

*** Q4 ***

Will the Connected Family be distributed via direct channels (retail), indirect channels

(builders), or both?

158

159*** Q5 ***

Why are potential customers not buying into home automation technologies?

*** Q6 ***

What do you see as the future trends in home automation... what’s the vision of the

industry in the next 5 and then 10 years?

*** Q7 ***

Anita Shalit at the Administration on Aging has written the Smart Home will centralize

control of appliances and systems from a single location in the home, resulting in a signifi-

cant boon to people with mobility problems. How is GTE responding to the ‘graying’ of

America and the needs of seniors in products and interfaces?

*** Q8, My Research ***

Following are some of the initial findings in my research (I am still in the data analysis

phase). The literature review indicates user interface problems in smart homes include:

-increased mental load (each product has it’s own interface)

-poor design (such as poor logical mapping)

-low skill transfer (have to relearn each product)

-overly complex interfaces (remote controls now litter the home)

-lack of adaptability (very diverse populations require adaptable interfaces)

-feature overload (users shouldn’t even notice the ‘features’)

My research field work consists of qualitative, in-home observation and semistructured

interviews. Emerging user wants and needs from the field work include:

-more system integration (e.g. reducing mental load)

-adaptable & adjustable systems (e.g. user in wheel chair)

-multimodal systems (redundant visual, auditory, tactile feedback)

-reduce technology conflicting with technology (e.g. can’t hear phone because of TV)

-medical issues (user takes 15 medications in one day at different times!)

-safety issues (the stove was left on, display warning on TV)

-P.C. software is too complex & inconsistent (can’t work fax software without my help)

-connecting people (services, companionship, family)

You can see the Connected Family product addresses many of these issues. Are some of

the user needs just too difficult to be solved with technology at this time?

*** Q9 ***

How might this research be disseminated and applied?

* * * End of interview * * *

160

2) Phone Interview - Interviewee two, AMX

Name: (Removed for confidentially)

Position: Solution creator and system programmer

Company: AMX (part of Panja) distributor. “AMG” in CA, 800-264-7523.

Expertise: creating the code for smart home systems

Introduction

I am writing a thesis on future opportunities in home automation and how smart homes

can fulfill future wants and needs of senior adults...

I am asking these questions to better understand the smart home industry...

Phone Interview Questions

1.❑ Please explain your position as a system programmer?

2.❑ What is the AMX, Phast, Panja relationship?

3.❑ What is the process to buy and install the system? How is the product distributed

to the customer?

-direct channels—the customer

-indirect channels—house builders and architects

4.❑ Do you have any interesting stories about people using the system?

5.❑ What are features are consumers most interested in? How do people

update and expand the system?

6.❑ What are problems and difficulties users have with the system?

8.❑ How can I get a demo unit? Who are local contacts in Arizona?


161

3) Interview Request: Interviewee three

Subject: Request for interview

I would like to interview you, an industry expert...

Q1. What are wants and needs of senior users in home automation? (to be focused)

Q2. What user wants and needs are selected representatives in the home automation

industry pursuing?

Q3. What new product opportunities may benefit the home automation industry and

senior users?

162

APPENDIX H

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS SAMPLE

164

Consumers,

user preferences/surveys

Reference,

recycle computers

Reference,

emerging technologies

Surveillance & monitoring,

problem detection

APPENDIX I

DOCUMENT ANALYSIS RESULTS

166Point

SummariesLine%

Category%

Primary Categories* (*Advertising, Content, and Consumers)

Secondary Categories trietary Categories

EntertainmentAudio amplifier 4 0.5%Audio DVD players 12 1.6%Audio music systems 48 6.5%Audio speakers 33 4.4%Controllers audio 22 3.0%Products home theater accessories 13 1.8%Technology Questions audio technologies 7 0.9%Technology Questions DDS, cable / data, computers 5 0.7%Video DDS, dish, set-top-box technologies 9 1.2%Video TV, HDTV, projectors 39 5.3%Wiring Networks DDS, cable / data, computers 19 2.6%

29%Controllers

Controllers hand held universal remotes 4 0.5%Controllers hands free 6 0.8%Controllers HVAC 10 1.3%Controllers lighting 11 1.5%Controllers multi-function systems 60 8.1%Controllers pools/spas 2 0.3%Controllers touch screen 2 0.3%How to control temperature 16 2.2%Systems appliance control 2 0.3%Systems integration solutions 15 2.0%Systems pool / spa control 2 0.3%Wiring Networks automation control & systems 6 0.8%

19%Reference

Companies equipment list & features 28 3.8%Consumers user preferences/surveys 5 0.7%Product Info. Request contacts for architects/builders 1 0.1%Reference industry standards 8 1.1%Reference recycle computers 1 0.1%Reference trade shows, companies & networking tech. 2 0.3%References catalog 15 2.0%References home automation groups 4 0.5%References web site for related products 21 2.8%Reference emerging technologies 12 1.6%Technology Questions definition of terms 3 0.4%

13%Communication and Networking

Cost consideration networking 3 0.4%How to send electronic greeting cards 8 1.1%Product Info. Request networking resources 1 0.1%Products telephony (phones, cordless, multi-line) 11 1.5%Reference web sites & resources for related products 13 1.8%Systems networking 1 0.1%Wiring Networks phone 2 0.3%Wiring Networks quality, speed, functionality 5 0.7%Wiring Networks systems for wiring 17 2.3%

8%

167Point

SummariesLine%

Category%

Primary Categories* (*Advertising, Content, and Consumers)

Secondary Categories trietary CategoriesInstall and Creation of Systems

How to build / create a smart home (the process) 27 3.6%How to build / create an exercise / pool area 7 0.9%Systems how to prepare for future 1 0.1%Systems installation kits 7 0.9%Systems installer 1 0.1%Wiring Networks advantages/disadvantages 5 0.7%Wiring Networks installation 5 0.7%

7%Stories

Consumers stories on how people use HA technology 46 6.2%6%

Security and SafetySurveillance & Monitorinproblem detection 2 0.3%Surveillance & Monitorinsensors 5 0.7%Surveillance & Monitorinsystems & integration 15 2.0%Surveillance & Monitorinvideo cameras 3 0.4%Surveillance & Monitorinweather monitoring 3 0.4%Systems remote medical services 4 0.5%Systems security 5 0.7%Technology Questions security 1 0.1%

5%Chores

Consumers easy to use / makes life easier 24 3.2%Products robotics (vacuum, pets) 3 0.4%Systems vacuuming 1 0.1%Systems yard maintenance 2 0.3%

4%Furniture

Product Info. Request furniture & seating 1 0.1%Products furniture & seating 10 1.3%Products future products & services 16 2.2%

4%Miscellaneous

Companies innovations & development 4 0.5%Content Feedback correction on product information 1 0.1%Content Feedback request to cover less expensive tech. & homes 1 0.1%Cost consideration budgeting for HA technology 9 1.2%Product Info. Request request additional information 8 1.1%Products games 4 0.5%Systems garage components 4 0.5%Systems lighting 9 1.2%

5%

Grand Totals 742 100.0% 100.0%Points

discovering opportunities to fulfill senior adult wants and ... - CiteSeerX

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