Participatory design with older adults

Researchers often use participatory design -- involving endusers in technology ideation -- as this is found to lead to more useful and relevant products. Researchers have sought to involve older adults in the design of emerging technologies like smartphones, with which older adults often have little experience. Therefore, their effectiveness as co-designers could be questioned. We examine whether older adults can create novel design ideas, and whether critiquing existing applications prior to ideation helps or hinders creativity. Panelists from industry and academia evaluated design ideas generated by focus groups of older adults. Out of five groups, the most creative design idea came from one with no smartphone experience or critique exposure. We found that while only some designs scored high on the novelty dimension of creativity, participants were enthusiastic about participating and adapted quickly. We found evidence that critiquing existing applications prior to ideation did more harm than good, potentially due to design fixation. We recommend continuing to involve older adults in the technology design ideation phase.