Co-creation of Digital Public Services Enhances Usability for Ageing Populations

Why It Matters

This approach ensures that digital services are not only accessible but also meet the specific needs and preferences of an ageing demographic, fostering digital inclusion and independence. By incorporating user feedback throughout development, designers can mitigate potential usability barriers and create more effective and adopted services.

Key Finding

Directly involving older adults in the design and development of digital public services results in solutions that are better suited to their needs and more likely to be adopted.

Key Findings

• Co-creation processes can successfully integrate the perspectives of older adults into the design of digital services.
• User involvement throughout the design lifecycle is crucial for developing inclusive and usable digital solutions for this demographic.
• The specific context of the cities (Bremen and Zaragoza) influenced the co-creation approaches and outcomes.

Research Evidence

Aim: How can co-creation methodologies be effectively employed to design digital public services that meet the needs of an ageing society?

Method: Case Study

Procedure: Three co-creation projects were conducted in Bremen and Zaragoza as part of the MobileAge EU-funded innovation project, involving older adults in the design of digital public services.

Context: Digital public services for ageing populations in European cities.

Design Principle

Embrace participatory design to ensure digital services are inclusive and meet the evolving needs of diverse user groups, particularly ageing populations.

How to Apply

When designing any digital service intended for a broad audience, especially one with a significant proportion of older users, implement co-design workshops and iterative user feedback sessions with representatives from that demographic.

Limitations

The findings are specific to the contexts of Bremen and Zaragoza and may not be directly generalizable to all European cities or other cultural contexts without adaptation.

Student Guide (IB Design Technology)

Simple Explanation: When you make digital things for older people, it's best to ask them to help design it from the start, not just try it out at the end. This makes the final product much easier for them to use.

Why This Matters: This research shows that involving users directly in the design process leads to better, more usable products, especially for specific groups like older adults who may have unique needs.

Critical Thinking: To what extent can co-creation processes be scaled up for large-scale public service development, and what are the potential challenges in maintaining user engagement over longer project durations?

IA-Ready Paragraph: This design project adopted a co-creation methodology, inspired by research such as Jarke's (2020) work on digital public services for ageing societies. By actively involving end-users from the target demographic in the design process, the project aimed to ensure the developed solutions were not only functional but also highly usable and relevant to their specific needs, mirroring the success of participatory approaches in enhancing digital inclusion for older adults.

Project Tips

• Consider involving end-users from the target demographic in your design workshops.
• Use iterative prototyping and gather feedback frequently from your intended users.

How to Use in IA

• Reference this study when justifying the use of co-design or participatory design methods in your design project.
• Use the findings to support your decision to involve specific user groups in your design process.

Examiner Tips

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of user needs by incorporating user research and feedback throughout the design process.
• Explain how your design choices were informed by direct user involvement.

Independent Variable: Co-creation methodology (presence/type of user involvement).

Dependent Variable: Usability and relevance of digital public services.

Controlled Variables: Specific digital public service being designed, characteristics of the ageing population in the studied cities.

Strengths

• Focuses on a specific, often underserved demographic (ageing population).
• Employs real-world case studies from EU-funded projects, providing practical context.

Critical Questions

• Were the co-creation methods truly inclusive, or did they inadvertently favour more vocal participants?
• How were potential conflicts or differing opinions among co-creators managed?

Extended Essay Application

• Investigate the impact of different co-creation models (e.g., workshops, online platforms, ethnographic methods) on the design outcomes for a specific user group in an Extended Essay.
• Explore the long-term adoption and impact of co-created digital services within an ageing community.

Source

Co-creating Digital Public Services for an Ageing Society · Public administration and information technology · 2020 · 10.1007/978-3-030-52873-7