The problem

The problem-finding phase began with desk research, where we tried to gather all the information on the subject in order to find out what the main impediments and difficulties are that prevent the elderly from feeling that they belong effectively to the digital inclusion movement.

This stage showed that even though technology is a pain point for this audience:
"Some elderly people feel that people don't have the patience to teach them and don't understand their difficulties." (Universidade Federal de Santa Maria - UFSM, 2021).

It also showed that there were many gains from learning the technology:
"Some cognitive benefits have been observed with the brain stimulation of learning the technology, avoiding risks of diseases and memory and reasoning problems." (Clínica Mayo, 2016).

Hypotheses and field research

Through the data obtained by desk research, it was possible to raise certainties, assumptions and doubts in the CSD Matrix. With this, we defined the hypotheses within the main objectives:

Questionnaire

The questionnaire, created from a mind map, was structured with predominantly multiple choice and selection questions to optimize accessibility and speed of responses, reducing the possibility of respondents dropping out.
We obtained a total of 140 responses.

Interviews

From the responses to the form, a sample of elderly people was drawn to carry out individual interviews. A total of 8 people took part in an interview with us.

The definition of the questions was based on hypotheses raised in the questionnaire that needed to be explored in greater depth. During the interviews, it was possible to glean some of the insights that led to the development of
the project.
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Personas

Once we had identified the behaviors, pains and needs of the elderly, we built corresponding personas based on the information we had gathered from the surveys. In this way, we came up with 2 persona profiles:

Persona 1: Dianna, a 65-year-old woman, single and professionally active. She represents a group of elderly people who, due to the demands of the job market, have had to adapt to advances in technology and, from this contact, their pains arise.

Persona 2: Jeremias, an 80-year-old married retired man who, like many elderly people, has no in-depth knowledge of technology. In his day-to-day life, he uses devices mainly to connect with his family and friends.

Value proposition canvas

Once the personas had been created, the team returned to the proposed challenge, the product. Before starting the Ideation phase, we built the Value Proposition Canvas with the aim of solving the proposed problem of including the elderly in the digital world, bearing in mind their real needs and the sustainability of the product-solution.

Coming up with a solution

Prioritization is one of the main and crucial stages of the Ideation phase and, in order to optimize this process, we used some tools to develop our final solution.

The first of these was the effort vs. impact matrix. We segmented and defined the features and functionalities that should be included in our product, helping us to prioritize what we can do now (more impact and less effort) and what we leave for the future (less impact and more effort).

From this, the team concluded that we needed a solution that:

1. Enable the elderly to seek technological help themselves.
2. Provide a connection with other people.
3. Provide not only integration with technology, but also teach them at the same time.

Once the functionalities that should be part of the solution had been decided, the team went on to create the User Flow, where we tried to organize a flow experience that would be simple and accessible for our target audience and would enable them to navigate fluidly, without finding "dead ends" in the application.

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The answer we found to solve the problem of digital inclusion for the elderly was an app to teach them how to use digital devices.

We called the app Neto because initial research with the elderly showed that family and friends are the ones they turn to for learning about technology. And, to add meaning and reinforce our purpose as an app, Neto is also an acronym for: "Não Entendo Termos Online" (I Don't Understand Online Terms), as well the brazilian translation to Grandchild, where it reiterates that we are out to provide a space for uncomplicated learning in technology.

The platform, following the MVP (minimum viable product) concept, has 2 main functions:

Contains the main terms used in technological devices, such as: digital health devices, household appliances, smartphones, computers, etc. The dictionary explains, gives practical examples and media (images and video) of how that term is used and/or whether it represents any function/action.

The possibility of making a video call with a volunteer - our "Neto" - to explain the doubts of the elderly in a closer, more practical and dynamic way, as well as being a solution that addresses the pain of loneliness pointed out by many elderly people in surveys.

The Design

Visual Aspect

The Neto logo was designed with rounded shapes and corners, as well as a proprietary smiley face, which tied together the whole concept of closeness we wanted to have with the elderly. To finalize the choice of palette, we adopted sober but welcoming tones, which in the end made a high contrast on the screens.

Wireframes

The wireframing exercise was invaluable to the team. With them, we were able to refine the details of the screens, as well as hammer out the rounding of corners and the hierarchy of fonts, since we had pre-established content, thus avoiding inconsistencies in the design.

Prototype

It was designed entirely to meet the demands of our target audience, in which the use of accessibility guides is essential, such as: legible fonts larger than the market standard, clear information and simple design, in order to fulfill our objective of enabling the elderly to learn and include them in the technological universe.

Style Guide

The UIdoso style guide was designed to guarantee the consistency and scalability of the product. With material design as a starting point, some components were made from scratch, thus guaranteeing their accessibility according to the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standard.

Results

Before presenting the project to the judging panel, we conducted a final usability test with the interviewees at the beginning of the process.The test tasks included calling their grandchild and searching for online terms in our dictionary. We had a satisfactory response, with 80% of the users being able to use our product effectively.

At the end of this project, we went on with our careers with greater confidence in ourselves and our knowledge, as well as knowing that we had built a solution with impact and high applicability. We learned a lot from listening to elderly people and saw first-hand how design can change lives, giving more opportunity and quality of life to people with different perspectives and needs.

Increasing the quality of life of one group means improving the future prospects for all.