Keywords

1 Introduction

Many people experience loneliness and depression in old age, either as a result of living alone or due to lack of close family ties and reduced connections with their culture of origin. A study carried out by the industrial psychiatry journal [1], proves a significant correlation between depression and loneliness. Especially as the intergenerational exchange in everyday life became very rare. A huge part of today’s human communication is based on digitalization. In particular the interaction between younger and older generations suffers from it and also leads to an extinction of cultural knowledge. In a study [2] conducted by the Nielsen and Norman Group and written by Kane, older people were surveyed about their perception of digital content. The researchers found that seniors often feel that websites and applications are not designed with consideration for their needs and interests. One senior participant said that he felt left out of the online world because it was created with someone very different in mind, another senior observed:

“You look at things that are on the internet and it’s skewed towards not my demographic. The younger people, this is their medium. People my age did not grow up with it. People my age are not in charge of it.” [2]

This view is certainly a bit radical, nevertheless older generations are often not sufficiently considered when creating digital applications. Literature on web design for the elders is heavily focused on readability and simple usability. In fact, a simple and ergonomically considered usability is especially relevant when developing for seniors, however other aspects of a qualitative user experience should not be ignored. The focus of this paper is Joy-of-Use; therefore, it will be investigated how Joy-of-Use can be achieved when older people use digital applications. Never-too-old is a web application, accompanying this work and providing the elderly a concept through which they can promote and offer workshops. This gives them the opportunity to connect with younger people and pass on their knowledge gained throughout their lives. In addition, there is a marketplace within the concept of the application, where older people can sell their own handcrafted products. Within this paper older people are referred to as the primary user group of the application Never-too-Old. The project should serve as a practical research reference for the paper, in chapter 4.2.2. the application is described in more depth. The present study aims to answer the following question:

Which criteria for achieving Joy-of-Use must be considered when developing digital applications for older people?

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. The next section identifies some work that is related to the research question proposed in this article. Following the thermology Joy-of-Use is being defined and usability guidelines for the development for the elders are being described. The following section describes the research and presets the results of the study. The final part of this paper presents the conclusions as well as some suggestions for future work.

2 Related Work

2.1 Joy-of-Use According to Jordan

According to Jordan [3], users are no longer happily surprised when a product is simple to use but are at most unpleasantly surprised when it is difficult to use. Jordan sees usability as more than a problem-solving discipline and favors a more holistic usability approach, a so-called pleasure-based approach, in which the products offer more than usability. This is intended to increase the market value of a product positively. Jordan describes that it is important to define all the essential factors, that need to be fulfilled before thinking about creating pleasure or Joy-of-Use.

Within his book “Designing Pleasurable Products” [3] Jordan describes that unlimited usability and utility is required for a Joy-of-Use. With his “Hierarchy of Consumer Needs”, the functionality, also known as utility, must first be fulfilled, followed by usability and finally “pleasure” can be achieved. To visualize that thought, Jordan developed a diagram, similar to Maslow’s pyramid of needs [4]. As with Maslow, the need for a higher level only arises when the underlying need is satisfied. This paper supports the idea of Jordan that especially with older people a certain quality of usability is necessary to create Joy-of-Use. Therefore, it is essential to describe the necessary usability actions to create a user-friendly application for the respective target group. However, before this term can be analyzed in more detail, the generally known criteria for achieving Joy-of-Use must be described.

2.2 Joy-of-Use Criteria

The criteria for Joy-of-Use described by the various literature [3, 5,6,7] for a Joy-of-Use product are often similar and the criteria partly merge. Individualization, challenging the user and enabling social interaction are particularly often described. The following criteria are especially relevant and will form the basis for the measurability of Joy-of-Use in the course of this paper:

  • individualization

  • reasonable challenges

  • arousal of curiosity

  • social interaction

  • identification with the product

  • stimulation of the intellect

  • control of the application as the basis for Joy-of-Use

Creating an experience for the user is of particular importance. It is emotions and positive experiences with the product, that makes the user experience Joy-of-Use. Usability as a basic requirement for Joy-of-Use is described by literature as indispensable. The user can only experience Joy-of-Use if the system is absolutely usable. If the user cannot do his job satisfactorily, it is unlikely that he will also have a Joy-of-Use experience that will encourage him to continue using it. If, for example, the links lead the user to a dead end or if the white writing on the yellow background is difficult to read, negative emotions are created before Joy-of-Use can be elicited. The user does not have to be aware of these sensations, but they do influence their impression about the interactive product and their willingness to use it again.

2.3 Usability Guidelines

In order to be able to create Joy-of-Use, it is essential to research the information required for a suitable usability for the respective user group. According to literature review, the following guidelines should be considered when developing for older people. Nevertheless, the perception of software or a product is very contextual or person dependent, why these guidelines should only be considered as an approach to better usability before testing with respective users.

Guidelines for Readability.

The term that occurs most frequently with regard to usability for older people is readability. Within the Nielsen & Norman research [2], one respondent describes that the internet is unfriendly to people with bad eyesight. This fact refers in particular to two factors, which will be examined in more detail in the following.

Font Type:

Within the development guidelines of Apple [8], it is described, that if the application doesn’t necessarily need a custom font such as for branding or to create an impressive user experience, it’s usually best to use the system fonts. If a custom font is used, it is important to make sure it is readable even at small sizes. Furthermore, it is described that italics and all capital letters for long text passages shall be avoided since it makes the text difficult to read.

Font Size:

One point not mentioned within Apple’s guidelines [8] is the minimum size for developing digital solutions for older people. Of course, this can vary depending on the device and especially the contrast of the colors used. Nevertheless, it is important to set a minimum font size for development. In a study by Kenji Kurakata [9], it was found that the minimum size for the legibility of text for seniors should be at least 12 points. Converted to digital pixels this means at least a font size of 16px.

Color Contrast:

Another point besides the appropriate font selection is the choice of the right colors and contrasts. The development Guidelines of Apple [8] suggest using strongly contrasting colors to improve readability. By increasing the color contrast of visual elements like text, glyphs and controls, the content used can be interpreted by more people. To find out if the developed UI meets minimum acceptable levels of contrast regarding readability, an online color calculator based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) should be used in the early development stages of the project.

Guidelines for Interaction.

Controls that are too small can be frustratingly difficult for elderly users to hit. This statement is also confirmed by the research of the Nielsen and Norman Group [2], in which the frustration of the target group is expressed. They describe that older users make more mistakes than younger users do. Their study participants often commented on errors, saying “I fat-fingered that one”. It’s a classic finding in usability research [2] that users blame themselves, although it should actually be the task of the designer and the developer to minimize these obstacles.

Interactive Elements:

To make the interaction as barrier-free as possible for the older user, the right size of the hit zones is therefore an important point. Hit zones describe the clickable area surrounding an interaction element. The development guidelines of Apple [8] suggest a minimum hit zone for all controls and interactive elements that measures at least 44pt × 44pt. To facilitate the interaction regarding the navigation through the application it is important to mark the buttons accordingly. Apple describes that it is important to have a consistent style hierarchy to communicate the relative importance of buttons. By using a consistent hierarchy of button styles, elderly people can grasp the importance of buttons based on their appearance.

3 Expert Interview Study

Within the following description of qualitative research, experts in the field of the ageing society industry have been interviewed. This phase should help to identify the relevant aspects of the application in terms of functionality, usability and branding. This phase can be seen as a preparation phase for the testing with the primary user group.

By using non-standardized interviews, selected experts on the topic were interviewed for this paper. The word expert is to be understood in the sense of people who have special knowledge in working together with elderly people. Expert interviews are especially relevant in the exploratory phase of a project. Talking to experts can serve to shorten time-consuming data gathering within the literature review of a research as well as in the development phase of a project. Besides the time-saving aspects of talking to experts, it can also be used to get insider knowledge, which would not be accessible otherwise. For this investigation, the interviews were partly carried out in person and partly by phone (skype). For the present work it was important to examine the topic from different perspectives. Therefore, a diverse group of experts has been interviewed, which are listed in the following:

Ana João Sepúlveda leads the 40+ Lab in Lisbon, Portugal. The consultancy is focusing to transform Portugal into an age-friendly country. Ana is an expert in the field of Ageing Society and understands the needs and benefits in working together with elderly people.

Elena Parras is the founder of 55mais. The start-up provides a platform where elderly people can offer their services in different areas. Elena Parras brings a lot of experience in building a digital business for older people. At the same time, she is in contact with a lot of organizations and individual seniors.

Klaudia Bachinger is the founder of Wisr, Wisr is a start-up company founded in Vienna, which mediates older people with companies. Klaudia Bachinger is an expert in building networks in the field of ageing society and has a lot of knowledge in building user friendly websites for the respective user group.

3.1 Results (Expert Interviews)

A suitable qualitative evaluation method must be selected to match the qualitative survey method of the non-standardized interviews. Since interviews with experts lead to intensive discussions, not all information is relevant to the underlying work. For this reason, the method of qualitative content analysis was chosen. Qualitative content analysis allows to reduce and structure the mass of information systematically to the relevant parts for the investigation. [10] The aim is to create a compact corpus that reflects the selected material, namely an abstract and linguistically simplified summary of the analytically relevant communication content. In this way the material is gradually generalized and the amount of material is reduced. [11] The data presented from the expert interviews has therefore been systematized for a better overview. The extracted data of the interviews was thus assigned to the following categories. Based on the findings, the following conclusions can be drawn for the research study:

  1. (1)

    The digital skills of older generations cannot be compared to that of generations as for example millennials. It is important to use as little complexity as possible. It is important to focus on relevant content and try to minimize the unnecessary.

  2. (2)

    A fully inclusive design is difficult to achieve. It is important to convince people in the target group with a good digital competence. They can then act as mentors for other people in the same age group.

  3. (3)

    One of the biggest challenges is the description of the target group. The terms “old” or “elderly” can be understood as discriminating.

  4. (4)

    Social interaction is a key motivational factor in using a digital tool for the respective target group.

Concluding, it can be said that the interviews with the experts confirmed the findings from the literature review concerning usability. In the following section, the survey of the primary target group will be discussed. The findings from the literature review as well as the qualitative pilot study will serve as a foundation for the research design applied.

4 Primary User Group Testing

Within the following testing with the primary user group, the main objective is to find out which criteria can contribute to an increase in Joy-of-Use for digital applications. First and foremost, it is important to create empirical data in order to provide recommendations for third parties.

4.1 Selection of Test Persons

The selection of suitable test persons should be representative of the later user group. However, with few test persons it can be difficult to consider all relevant groups. According to Sarodnick & Brau [12], actual later users should be selected if possible. After consultation with the experts, it has been decided to target primarily +60-year old persons with a certain level of digital skills. The expert interviews showed that digitally inexperienced persons could distort the test results. It was therefore recommended to start with digitally experienced persons first, as they usually act as mentors for digitally weaker persons in the same age group. According to Nielsen [13] already 5 persons are sufficient to uncover up to 75% of usability problems. However, since usability can be tested more specifically, five people are not sufficient for a valid result within this generative research. By looking at other generative testings, usually 10–20 test persons are cited for a valid result. In a study conducted by Thomas Tullis and Larry Wood [14] the minimum number of participants needed for a card-sorting study was assessed. They found out that from a number of 12 test users on, the correlation was already only at a value of about 0.85. Since the number of concept possibilities to be discussed in this thesis is limited to only 6, it is assumed that 12 users are sufficient for a valid test result. After evaluating the expert interviews, it became clear that there is a difference in behavior between older men and older women. In order to make the expected differences between the sexes visible, the same number of women and men was chosen for this study.

Due to the outbreak of the Corona Pandemic and the subsequent restrictions, the execution of the testing had to be reconsidered and adapted. After consultation with the test persons, it was decided to arrange the interviews via the digital services Zoom and Skype. Therefore, it had to be made sure in advance that each participant had a computer at home, which would allow a problem-free screen transmission.

4.2 Execution of the Testing

The interviews have been estimated to last in total between 30 and 45 min in total. Before starting the tests, the test persons were asked whether sound recording was permitted during the tests to be performed. Furthermore, the test persons have been assured that the results will be used anonymously and that they can stop the test at any time. Before the start of the test, a personal introduction round was carried out. This is important in order to create a pleasant atmosphere. The more harmoniously the atmosphere, the more valuable the generated data becomes. The execution of the test interviews was divided into the following two survey elements general questionnaire and concept validation.

Survey Element 1 - General Questionnaire.

The first part of the survey was based on a general questionnaire, which served to get a better understanding about the user group and their motivational factors behind general website usage. Within this questionnaire the demographic information about the person as well as the user behavior of digital services has been questioned. The focus was primarily on the validation of the importance regarding Joy-of-Use and usability factors identified in the previous chapters. As described above, 12 people took part in the survey. Of these, six were male and six females with an average age of 65.6 years. Nine of the 12 people described were already retired. Six of the respondents were British, three were Portuguese and three German. The professions of the test subjects involved three former teachers, three former business consultants, a former police dog handler, a former secretary, a former medical doctor, a former accountant, a former gardener and a former university professor. In total, the participants rated their digital competence with 6.83 out of 10 points. The most favorite tools among the participants are Google (9 mentions), Facebook (6 mentions), Zoom (6 mentions), Skype (5 mentions), WhatsApp (4 mentions) and Instagram (2 mentions). Additionally, applications in the area of news and banking were mentioned. The most relevant question regarding the importance of the analyzed Joy-of-Use criteria in the use of digital applications is visible in the following Fig. 1 represents “not important”, 2 represents “less important”, 3 represents “moderately important”, 4 represents “important” and 5 represents “very important”.

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Pyramid of pleasure according to Jordan

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Fig. 2.
figure 2

How important are the following criteria in using a website/software for you?

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The elderly answered that individualization and reasonable challenges are rated between less important to moderately important. The possibility of social interaction was rated between moderately important and important, with a stronger tendency towards important. Curiosity, identification with the project, and stimulation of the intellect were evaluated as important criteria when using a website. Having control over an application in the form of understandable usability for example was rated as very important within the target group. The complete questionnaire document can be found in the appendix of this paper.

Survey Element 2 – Concept Validation (SE2).

Concept validation is a method of showing design, concepts, screens or ideas to potential users to find out, whether the users feel a specific need or interest in the described object. (Slack, 2020) It is important to involve customers in the conceptual design phase to understand user needs, expectation, satisfaction and the motivation for using a specific application. The main part of this survey element was to find out which concept extensions could help to increase joy when using the application. A concept extension is understood within this thesis as an additional element, which extends the core functionality (in this case the presentation and booking of the workshops) by elements to potentially increase Joy-of-Use. The six concepts extensions were created with regard to the quality criteria developed in chapter 2.4.5. (Joy-of-Use Criteria). In the following, the six concepts and the included Joy-of-Use criteria will be explained briefly.

  1. (1)

    Reviews: Within this section, potential users have the opportunity to view comments and ratings on their offered workshops. Based on Joy-of-Use criteria “social interaction” and “curiosity”.

  2. (2)

    Trophies: This section offers users the opportunity to collect trophies by completing certain tasks. Based on Joy-of-Use criterion “challenge”.

  3. (3)

    Leaderboard: In this area users can see how they compete against others in terms of workshops held based on a point system. Based on Joy-of-Use criterion “challenge”.

  4. (4)

    Trends: Here users can view current trends in the form of a news feed created by younger generations. Based on Joy-of-Use criteria “stimulation of the intellect” and “curiosity”.

  5. (5)

    Personalization: This area offers the possibility to personalize the user’s profile by, for example, adding a profile picture. Based on Joy-of-Use criteria “identification with the product” and “individualization”.

  6. (6)

    Control Center: The control center offers users the possibility of transparency. Current statistics can be viewed as well as a calendar to determine when the next appointment will take place. Based on Joy-of-Use criteria “control over the application”.

5 Discussion and Open Issues

At the end of the concept validation, the test persons were asked to sort the six concepts by popularity in a sequence from 1 to 6 (1 - most important to 6 - least important) Later, the individual results were matched with points from 6 to 1. For example, if a concept was put on 1, 6 points were added to the concept. If a concept was put on 2, 5 points were added and so on. This system should contribute to the overall analysis. Table 1 shows the results after interviewing 12 people.

Table 1. Results concept validation
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According to the data, the concepts trophies and leaderboard have been rated as being of least relevance. Of particular interest is the clarity of the results. Trophies were ranked last or second to last by 10 of the 12 respondents. For Leaderboard this applies to 9 of the 12 answers. The Control Center was perceived by the test persons as much more popular then Leaderboard and Trophies, but on average it was ranked only on fourth position. The concept Trends and Personalization have been rated as popular on average. While personalization was taken for granted by many test persons, many test persons found the trends especially exciting. In total, the reviews were rated as the most popular concept extension. In general, there were no significant differences between the sexes.

5.1 Recommendations for Actions Regarding Joy-of-Use

This section aims to translate the findings of the study into recommendations for designers that develop for the respective target group. The question to be answered within this paper is:

Which criteria for achieving Joy-of-Use must be considered when developing digital applications for older people?

  1. (1)

    The usability is indeed the foundation for a successful increase of Joy-of-Use. Designers should orientate themselves on existing literature.

  2. (2)

    The results show that especially the criteria stimulation of the intellect, identification with the product and arousal of curiosity play an important role within the analyzed target group. Since these three criteria are particularly relevant for generating Joy-of-Use in the respective user group, it is important to take them into account in the creation of the content strategy.

  3. (3)

    Another important finding that designers should consider is the importance of the terminology used when communicating with older target groups. An incorrect use of terms can lead to frustration within the target group which can have a significant negative impact on the identification with the product. It is advisable for the communication strategy to work closely with the target group and focus on user-centered development.

  4. (4)

    The integration of challenges should be verified carefully with the target group, as the results of the study indicate that this criterion seems to be of less necessity.

  5. (5)

    Furthermore, it became apparent that stimulating elements such as trends or news adapted to the target group were considered particularly important. Especially the integration of social components as well as the integration of elements that stimulate the intellect can serve as a mediator for increasing curiosity within aged generation. The outcomes are particularly interesting for designers who develop for the senior population, the implications can help to increase user satisfaction and further motivational user experience.

5.2 Open Issues

This work also identified related open issues which will be discussed below and create space for further research. One limitation was the fact that the studies had to be conducted via digital channels due to the corona pandemic. Therefore, the observation possibilities of the researcher via Skype and Zoom were limited. As the topic of Joy-of-Use is a very emotional one, the direct analysis of emotions by testing in the same room would have been more complete. Another limitation is the fact that the average age of 65 is relatively young for a general picture of the “older generation”. Within the conversations with the 12 test persons, some of them perceived major differences in digital competence and interests. Also, regarding the level of education, not all relevant groups within the study could be considered. Therefore, the results of this study can only be considered as a tendency. A deeper insight can only be achieved by enlarging the test group.

Another constraint is the fact that the application was tested at a very early stage of development. A complete validation of a functioning usability can therefore not be made at this stage. Nevertheless, the results serve as a first assessment for the successful further development of an application.

6 Conclusion

Comparing the statement of the questionnaire (Fig. 2) and the results of the sorting (Table 1) it becomes apparent that those statements are confirmed by the concept validation. The results of this paper show that not all of the quality criteria for Joy-of-Use found in the literature research are of high relevance for the respective target group. Above all, it can be stated that the quality criterion challenge is of minor relevance. This became apparent not only from the general questionnaire but also from the concept validation research. The criterion identification with the product could be analyzed as an important aspect in developing for the respective user group. Another important criterion is the identification with the product or a website. Stimulation of the intellect can be evaluated as the most important criterion after a functioning usability.

Regarding usability, it is important to follow existing research. Especially the readability of the content and the interaction with this application are essential elements, that need to be considered, in the development. The readability can be achieved by the correct choice of font, the size of the font and a contrast check regarding the color values. At the same time, it is important to ensure that as little content as possible is presented per screen view. In order to guarantee the best possible interaction, it is important to keep a minimum size of buttons and to design the hit zones for interaction with those buttons accordingly large.