Using academic work places to involve older people in the design of digital applications: presentation of a methodological framework to advance co-design in later life

Methods to involve users in design have long been used to create relevant content and increase the accuracy of product development. Demographic trends have raised the issue of the needs and demands of older people, especially with regard to digitization. In contrast to the high number of publications discussing the importance of involving people in the design of their daily life, very few publications suggest how to do it. While participatory design is used with older people, there is no common understanding about which methods are used for what purposes. This paper presents a framework methodology that further advances the opportunity to involve older people in the design process and increase understanding of old people’s subjective experience of getting their lives digitized and how to involve them in design. Given that digitalization, with its systemic complexity, requires an understanding of how technology is contextualized, the need to understand what it means to age in today’s digital society is part of successful design. One objective is to go beyond stereotypes that often characterize generalizations of older people. We are using the concept of co-design, which is well established but not specifically adapted to older users. The goal is a matrix of tested co-design methods to be used by citizens, researchers, businesses or anyone who is interested in increasing the impact of old people on the design of new technologies.