Designing for Intergenerational Communication
OVERVIEW
The ultimate goal of this project is to understand how to better design communication systems for distance-separated grandparents and young grandchildren (6-12) that addresses the desires of families and challenges in this communication.
This work has been done as part of my PhD dissertation. However, the process is very similar to a full cycle of a product development which starts from discovering the problem, ideating and proposing a solution and finally evaluating the proposed solution. I took a design thinking approach and I completed this objective in three different phases:
Phase 1: Through an interview and diary study, I gained vast knowledge about my target users (children, parents, grandparents), their unmet needs, expectations and pain points of communicating over distance.
Phase 2: Using the insights and design implications from phase 1, I designed a prototype called G2G (Grandparents to Grandchildren) and I iterated the design though concept validation with the users.
Phase 3: Finally, I evaluated the prototype, the usage and the challenges and benefits of using it in a field study for over two months.
ROLE
HCI/User Research Lead
Design and conduct research for different phase of product development, design the prototype, collaborate with an engineer to develop the prototype, work with stakeholders (committee members) to understand their needs and goals in different stages.
METHODS
- Interview
- Diary
- Concept Validation
- Observation
- Field Visit
- Questionnaire
- Observation
Background
For many families who live apart it is very challenging to maintain a satisfying communication and strong emotional connection between grandparents and young grandchildren remotely. Available tools such as Skype or Facetime have rarely considered the complexity of this specific relationship such as children’s limited attention span, time zone difference, older adults’ fear of technology, family conflicts to name a few. The ultimate goal of this project is to understand how to better design communication systems for distance-separated grandparents and young grandchildren that addresses the desires of families and challenges in this communication.
Process
This work has been done as part of my PhD dissertation. Here, I will report on the results that can be applied to product development for designing a communication tool for this target demographic. For more scientific perspectives about this project you can read my dissertation here or the CHI papers here.
I took a design thinking approach and I completed this objective in three different phases:
1) understand the target users and the problem space
2) Ideate a solution and design a prototype called G2G (Grandparents to Grandchildren)
3) Evaluate the prototype in a field study for over two months with a few families.
Phase 1: Empathy and Define
This phase of the project focused on discovering the users’ requirements and design requirements of designing a communication tool for grandparents and their young children over distance to address some of the existing barriers that stop them from having an engaging experience remotely. In designing this platform I aimed to address the current challenges and unmet needs and to support the desired communication practices for children, grandparents and parents.
Phase 2: Ideate and Prototype
This phase of the project focused on ideation and designing a prototype for young grandchildren and grandparents based on the insights and recommendations from Phase 1. I proposed and brainstormed a few different design paths to my committee members, created a series of design guidelines, and designed a communication application based on these guidelines.
Phase 3: Test
This phase of the project is focused on the evaluation of the communication tool designed for distance-separated grandparents and grandchildren (G2G) in the field.
For this purpose I mainly focused on:
- User Experience: Understand how users use and adopt G2G as part of their communication.
- Challenges: Understand the pain points and challenges that grandparents, parents and children face when using G2G.
- Benefits: Understand how families can benefit from using G2G.