OMA
Motion Promoting Product and Service for older adults
Researcher and designer
Somayyeh Shahhoseiny
What we have today is,
increasing population of old adults
With less physical activities
More social isolation
Long sitting time
High healthcare costs
Serious health problems
Less social interactions
What OMA do is,
helping them to help themselves
Process
Defining
- Problem
- User's pain and gain points
- Economic issues
- Persona and target group
Ideation
- Brainstorming
- Wireframing
- Sketching
- Dirty prototyping
Usability Testing
- Expert evaluation
- Usability testing
- Post-test interviewing
- Analyzing the test results
- Preparing the report
Learning
Based on questionnaires, older adults daily life observation, interviews, general studying
Benchmarking
Encouraging products and services for different positions,
standing, sitting and walking
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Prototyping
-Mockup and Prototype for physical objects
- Lo-Fi prototype for the app
-Hi-Fi prototype for the app
Revision
- Enhancing the product and app features
- Documentation
- Continuing the progress
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Background Research
The economic impact
Year
Million $
Health problems due to inactivity
Inactivity percentage
Inactivity percentage
Age groups
The economic impact caused by lack of physical inactivity and sedentary behavior
Based on data from 142 countries, representing 93.2 percent of the world’s population, in 2013 the effect of physical inactivity on sedentary diseases cost the world economy more than $67.5 billion. Looking ahead, this economic cost burden is set to rise. Researchers conservatively estimate that 2030 could see annual costs of over €125 billion
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Health problems due to inactivity
According to data from World Population Prospects: the 2015 Revision (United Nations, 2015), the number of older persons—those aged 60 years or over—has increased substantially in recent years in most countries and regions, and that growth is projected to accelerate in the coming decades.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of global mortality, and many of the leading causes of ill health in today’s society, such as coronary heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, could be prevented if more inactive people were to become active.
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Physical inactivity by age
lack of motivation, depression, social isolation and loneliness and also because of the natural aging issues and body weakness, day by day the number of routine activities will decrease.
Immobility is a common pathway by which a host of diseases and problems in older individuals produce further disability. Many physical, psychological, and environmental factors can cause immobility in older persons. The most common causes are musculoskeletal, neurological, and cardiovascular disorders. Pain is a common pathway by which these disorders result in immobility
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Health problems due to inactivity
According to data from World Population Prospects: the 2015 Revision (United Nations, 2015), the number of older persons—those aged 60 years or over—has increased substantially in recent years in most countries and regions, and that growth is projected to accelerate in the coming decades.
Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of global mortality, and many of the leading causes of ill health in today’s society, such as coronary heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, could be prevented if more inactive people were to become active.
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72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
72%
of participants were able to successfully complete all tasks.
54%
of participants enjoyed this specific experience.
68%
of participants had difficulty using this specific aspect of the product.
​
Summary of Research Plan
Target group
The number of target group:
40 older adults
Situation:
Inhabitants of a senior residence.
Location:
Kassel, Germany
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70-95 years old.
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Women & men
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single and married
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without or with a special health condition
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In the single room or double room apartments
Methodology
We start to talk in the group. We used a simple language and informed the older adults about the goal of the project beforehand.
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Interview with 10 older adults at a senior center.
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Contextual inquiry sessions where we observed seniors using their laptops and mobile devices at a senior center.
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Active listening and focus on this group for learning about seniors’ attitudes and preferences
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Questionary about their health statistics reports
On-Site Research Summary
Background Research Summary
Main problems
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Exceeding sitting time for all participants in daily life
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Lack of physical activity
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Some health problems related to a sedentary lifestyle
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General findings
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Minimum to medium acquaintance with digital products
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Interest in using smartphones.
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Interest in a specific place and a chair to sit and spend time during the day
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Interest in using wristwatches
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Increasing motivation for using the app and new devices, if they see the benefits of it.
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They rather prefer tablets to smartphones.
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They prefer to be in contact with smaller, more intimate groups of people. like close friends and family members
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They mostly prefer to not share their personal information
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There is a Personal alarm in each room that supports them whenever they are close to it. ​​
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In designing digital products we should consider,
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High contrast
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Easy to decipher
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Easy to interact (e.g. buttons at least 9.6 mm)
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Very clear signifiers
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In designing non-digital products we should consider,
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Usually low agility rate in older adults
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Low visual and audial sensibility
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Sensitive skin
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Difficulties in dealing with small knobs and pieces
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Consistency and clear relation between digital and physical products features
Age distribution of the target group
Report of On-Site Research
41%
Use social media regularly.
82%
Have a smartphone or tablet.
73%
Have the experience of using social media.
62%
Prefer to have meals with each other.
67%
Spend time mostly sitting in front of the TV or reading magazines, books, and newspapers.
44%
Spend some hours in the evening with the other residents
92%
Have a specific sofa or chair to sit in.
68%
Live in a single room.
33%
Exercise regularly.
10%
Have the movement disorders
Benchmarking
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The other product included in this service is a wristband that can measure the walking time and steps of the user and also has an emergency button required in urgent situations.
The intensity level of the alarms is based on the user abilities regarding the scientific research findings regarding design for old adults.
This service includes a smart cushion that when the user is sitting for a long time on it, will react to promote movement by breaking sitting time. The reaction is in the forms of vibration and sound alarms
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And an application that provides health information, count standing up numbers and steps and adds to the points of users, and acts just like a game that encourages the user to have a more active and healthy life at the same time that provides a platform for social interactions.
Without this motivation, any kind of movement promoting product could soon demonetize and become an unnecessary object at home that using that needs having lots of self-motivation which is very hard to find in seniors who live alone.
Design Idea
Ideation:
The idea is a service including a product promoting physical movement. The movement would happen in the forms of standing up from a sitting position (or breaking sitting time) and walking and taking steps.
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Designing Appearance & Functionality
OMA
A smart cushion to promote motion through sitting time breaks in order to promote more physical activity. A smart wristband to measure the steps. And these are connected to an application to support long term playful use. ​
Expert Evaluation
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Visibility of system status
OK
Recognition rather than recall
OK
Match between system and the real world
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Flexibility and efficiency of use
OK
User control and freedom
OK
Aesthetic and minimalist design
OK
Consistency and standards
OK
Help users recover from errors
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Error prevention
OK
Help and documentation
Usability Testing
Methodology
Usability testing was conducted with 30 seniors of 70-95 years old. The test first was discussed in the group in order to create social situations that let participants clarify doubts. We used a simple language and informed the older adults of the goal of the project beforehand and also kept the test short and made use of breaks. In all steps, it was explained how the test is related to the participants’ world.
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Prototyping and evaluating user interface
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One-by-one in-person usability testing
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Moderated testing with the assessment of satisfaction at each step
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Expert design reviews
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Test description:
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Testing OMA with this defined target group gave me a chance to receive immediate feedback and to understand their needs and feelings better.
Participants were told to complete the three-step workout process.
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They first start to try OMA cushion. I explain for them one by one, what it is doing and how it works.
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Then there was a practical explanation about the watch, the features, and the instruction. later on, they use the watch to see how is the feeling of having that around the wrist and how they can use it.
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In the end, they were one by one taught how to use the OMA app. So they start to use all 3 parts with each other to have a complete sense of protection and motivation.
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Usability Testing Report
Post-Test questions:
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Could you describe OMA for me?
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What was your favorite aspect of OMA?
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What was the most confusing part of OMA?
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Would you continue using this product?
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Would you recommend this product to a friend or colleague?
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Did you find OMA joyful?
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Did you like it?
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How much you think you can trust OMA in an emergency situation?
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Do you think it will increase your activity level?
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Do you find the OMA cushion comfortable?
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Do you find OMA watch easy to use and trustable?
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Do you use usually any social media?
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How was the chat with the OMA app?
Breakdown
75%
Find it useful
67%
Find it understandable
65%
Could interact with it
70%
Find it joyful
Make it more understandable
Communicating with the elderly helps me to find out their abilities and the level of interaction with digital products and social media, also to understand better how this product accompanied by a service could be perceived by its users.
Revealing weak points
Finding weak points and solving the problems, helps me to develop this triple objects. If it is not making users' lives easier, it would not be considered a success.
Revising Report
Individuals with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities have special needs for interacting with their environment. Effective design of controls and displays in the residence and workplace used by old adults is critical for maximizing their abilities; in reality, however, the design of these devices often fails to account for their special needs. Old people are accustomed to accommodating to their environment or inventing ways around it. They need devices that either require only their abilities or can be modified. ​
OMA App Design After Usability Evaluation
Score
Menu
Appearance
Health
Chat room
Home
Setting
Cushion
Prototype
"OMPA" could be an alternative name, based on some users' opinion who couldn't feel the connection with OMA