Mahalo
Capstone project for my Bachelors of Interaction Design.
Overview
2022 was when travel restrictions started to loosen up, and seniors began to plan international travel. However, the travel requirements were scattered over the internet, making non-tech-savvy seniors need help finding the necessary information in one sitting.
Challenge
Design a platform that concentrates all the scattered information about international restrictions in one place, allowing non-tech-savvy older adults to organize their documents easily and quickly.
Responsibilities
Research
Experience Design
Prototype & Testing
My approach...
I spent one month researching and observing how older people plan their travels. I found that most older adults unfamiliar with the technology needed help finding the information they sought in their dedicated time. That was due to various factors, such as the struggle to navigate government websites, external distractions(people, bad internet, chores), lack of patience, or request for help from a more knowledgeable family member.
I explored the changes that the pandemic brought to digital healthcare technology. I analyzed the most popular or emerging products the industry uses and used user-centred research to cater to them towards users.
I focused on designing for the older population(55+) and exploring how the pandemic impacted technology for them and the businesses that develop solutions for the ageing population.
Benchmarking
I benchmarked different digital solutions within healthcare to learn how they interact with people
Documenting the products allowed me to understand their purpose and the metrics used to measure success. I complimented the chart with research techniques I could use to meet their success criteria.
Finding information about the pandemic is complicated, and a solution that can refer only to the necessary information might be in demand in the industry. Tech such as chatbots is a contender to help streamline the process on a global scale.
Interview
I interviewed 2 of the Sheridan's Centre for Elder Research to learn technology and healthcare best practices.
I found that finding information about the pandemic is complicated and a solution that can refer only the necessary information might on demand in the industry. Tech such as chatbot are a contender to help streamline the process in a global scale.
Card Sorting
I conducted 6 card sorting sessions with users to understand what are their priorities when planning travels.
I asked them to organize and group travel documents that matched together while they spoke their thoughts. I used the Canadian government website to gather all the travel documents users need, which helped me understand their experiences and opinion.
Persona
I created a persona that represents my audience based on the information collected. I found that time and task completion were part of their goals and problems.
Persona I designed.
Low to Mid Fidelity Wireframes
Analyzing the benchmarking and persona I did, I decided to focus on chatbots and AI because a tool that could be available 24/7 would be necessary to address their needs.
These are the initial wireframes I designed as a starting base.
After defining the user's destination
Wireframe of a resource page
Flowchart
The chatbot only refers to users the information they need one at a time.
The flowchart adapts all the instructions on the Canadian government website and breaks them down into steps.
The chatbot is divided into 3 steps:
1. Users go to the chatbot page within the app.
2. They choose the topic they need help with.
3. The chatbot guides them to the resources they need.
The chatbot only refers to users the information they need one at a time.
The flowchart adapts all the instructions on the Canadian government website and breaks them down into steps.
The chatbot is divided into 3 steps:
1. Users go to the chatbot page within the app.
2. They choose the topic they need help with.
3. The chatbot guides them to the resources they need.
I used the Wizard of Oz method to test my chatbot with participants. I mimicked the chatbot and pretended to be the AI that referred the necessary information to them.
Sample of my Wizard of Oz
Initial results
Average time: 7.5 minutes
success rate: 66%
One curiosity was that the failed task was due to miscommunication. The vocabulary and word choice on the government website could be more precise, meaning that the documents named in their website were not recognizable by the intended audience causing confusion.
Interactive Prototypes / High-Fi Prototypes
Using the results from my Wizard of Oz I made an interactive prototype that refers only the information the user needs.
I designed an responsive webpage that can be used in mobile devices and web browser.
Mock-up of my web page.
Mock-up of the mobile version
1. The user inputs their destination.
2. They will be presented with a list of requirements they need to know.
3. When they choose the requirement they will receive the useful information they need to know.
Usability Testing
Using UX Tweak I did usability testing to evaluate the changes. I adapted the language to my users vocabulary to explore whether it would boost my user's efficiency.
Adapting the language added with the chatbot improved the success metrics by cutting the average time and increasing the success rate. Users completed more tasks than in the previous testing, and the average time was shorter even with more tasks.
Iteration 2 results breakdown
*I had only time to test with 2 users before my final deadline to submit my capstone project. If more time was given I would conduct more testing to collect more accurate results.
The next step would be to apply my product in a real world situation with older adults who are actually planning travels to discover the ideal amount they are willing to invest to discover international restrictions and if my product can meet their expectations.
Bruno Akune
UX Researcher/Designer
Contact