Grannie has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic by using online applications like Zoom, Instacart, and telehealth services that she was previously unfamiliar with. However, some apps designed primarily for younger users present difficulties for Grannie due to issues like small text, complex interfaces, and lack of trust in online activities. Younger designers need to take a more universal design approach that considers the needs of older adults to ensure technologies are accessible and easy to use for Grannie and other seniors.

1. Grannie Goes Virtual
The Coronavirus Experience
Jennifer
Keene-Moore
2020

2. Brief History of Grannie
• 2018 – Designing for Grannie (UXD)
https://www.slideshare.net/jkmdgh/designing-for-grannie
• 2019 – Empathy for Grannie (UXR)
https://www.slideshare.net/jkmdgh/big-d-2019-empathy-for-
grannie-v3
• COVID-19 Interviews With
Grannies in Australia, France,
Canada and the US.

3. … if someone had asked us
in 2015 what we would be
doing in 5 years…
How many of us would have gotten it right?
Feb 17th First Death in US from COVID-19

4. High Risk Vulnerable

5. Of the people who die of
COVID-19 are over 65
Of people over 60 are VERY
Concerned about COVID-19
80%
53%

6. Hospitalization Rate by Age
Aug 8/2020

7. % Total Covid-19 US Deaths by Age
0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.2% 0.8%
1.9%
5.1%
12.4%
21.0%
26.4%
32.2%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
Under 1 year 1-4 years 5-14 years 15-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75-84 years 85 years and
over
% COVID-19 Deaths
Aug 8/2020
80%

8. Covid-19 Deaths by Age & Gender
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Under 1 year 1-4 years 5-14 years 15-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65-74 years 75-84 years 85 years and
over
Male: Female % of Deaths due to Covid
Male Female
Of the people who are dying in each age group, male deaths generally seem to be a higher % of
total deaths. Exception is the group over 85 where women constitute a higher % of the
population. There are more Grannies in this group.

9. % Total Deaths by Age
Aug 8/2020
While the COVID deaths would not be in these statistics if the virus didn’t exist, the death rate by
age due to COVID seems to be in the range of the death rate by age due to all other causes.
COVID =80%
All Deaths = 74%

10. % Very Concerned…..
N=2031
July 9-20/2020

11. Grannie Fights Back
• Social Distancing
• Mask
• Hand Washing (to the tune
of Happy Birthday)
• Work from Home
• Hand Sanitizer
• Wipe down everything
• Walked the dog…. a lot…..

12. Grannie’s Challenge
How to define the
current activity as
something you
can do online?
How to find
innovative services
that have a Cognitive
Leap.

13. User Needs: Grannie’s Activities
• Grocery Shopping
• Cooking at Home
• Going to the Doctor’s Office
• Visiting with Friends /Family
• Getting her Hair and Nails
Done
• Banking
• Attending Church

14. Grocery Shopping
• Simple Solution
• Go to the Store – social
distancing, mask, hand
sanitizer
• Shout at people who get too
close
• Grannie’s Online Solutions
• Grocery Store Apps
• Box Store Apps
• Amazon Fresh
• Instacart

15. UX Issue: Substitutions
• Interface to specify preferences is hidden.
• Default is more expensive.
• No equivalent to pinching her own tomatoes.
• Cognitive Leap: Instacart text with shopper.

16. UX Issue: Pick-up / Delivery Slots
• Pick – up / Delivery Slots
• Better now than in March.
• More slots available / Better
organized delivery function.
• Urban Legend as to how to
get a delivery slot: Log on at
Midnight.
• Instacart - 2 hour delivery.

17. Cooking At Home
• Simple Solution
• Thank goodness Grannie can cook!
• Find those old cookbooks.
• Issues caused by COVID
• Not all ingredients are readily available.
• Often the menu is based on combinations
of ingredients Grannie has on hand.
• Investigation of new recipes online that fit
ingredients.
• Often black and white or light printout of
recipes. Print size can be small.

18. Grannie’s Online Solution
• Cognitive Leap - Voice Interface to Recipes
• Voicipe, currently in trials.
• No difficulty to see printout.
• No hunting for reading glasses.
• Screen Reader Interfaces
• Accessibility tagging of recipe sites.
• Tablet or cell phone interface.

19. Doctor Visits
• Simple Solution
• Go to office – wear a mask,
don’t touch anything, cross
fingers…..
• Grannie’s Online Solutions
• Blue Jeans (Verizon)
• Zoom for Telehealth
• Vsee (NASA)

20. UX Issue: Telemedicine….Not for Wimps
• App Setup
• May require Laptop
Computer.
• May require link from patient
portal.
• Download client.
• Audio / Visual adjustment.
• User does not choose
application

21. Cognitive Leap - Doxy.me
• Simple user interface
• Activated by link which Dr
can text to Grannie
• No download
• Can be used on a cell phone
– no need for a computer
• HIPAA, GDPR,
PHIPA/PIPEDA, & HITECH
compliant
• Free

22. Two Points of Design Change
Young / Old
54-72
Old / Old
73+
ChangeChange

23. Ch Ch Changes
• Visual
• Motor
• Hearing
• Speech
• Cognition
• Knowledge
• Search
• Attitude

24. Johnson, J., & Finn, K. (2017). Designing user interfaces for
an aging population: Towards universal design.
Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann.
https://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing/

25. Visiting with Friends and Family
• Simple Solution
• Don’t visit anyone
• Grannie’s Online Solutions
• Face Time
• ZOOM
• Skype
• WhatsApp
• Slack

26. ZOOM
• Released in 2013.
• Designed by Eric Yuan –
WebEx.
• Staggering Growth in 2020
• Revenue = 169% increase
• Users - 10M – 300M meeting
users/day.
• Basic service is free.
• Multiple devices.

27. Learning to Use Zoom
• Most frequently taught
application
• March – mostly leader led
• August – mostly online
recordings of leader led
• Training Sources
• AARP
• Senior Planet
• YouTube

28. UX Issue: Zoom – a few cracks
• Zoom
• Not expect the waiting room.
• Invite /Mute active but
greyed out.
• Shared window not well
marked.
• Menu bar keeps hiding itself
– top and bottom.
• 40 minute timeout

29. COVID-19 Interviews…Zoom Used For
• AARP Dance Party for Grannies
• Family Celebrations
• Weddings
• Birthdays
• Passover Seder
• Lawyer Visit - Sign Documents
between Australia and Canada
• Wine Tasting Club in France
• Spanish Language Course
• University Classes
• Tai Chi / Yoga Classes

30. Hair Cut
• Simple Solution
• Don’t do it.
• You always wanted long hair.
• Meet your hair dresser in a park.
• Grannie’s Online Solutions
• YouTube – How to for everything.
• Madison Reed – hair color, delivered to
home, subscription.
• Opportunity….

31. Human Factors Issue: Seriously!
• Human Limitations
• You cannot see the back of your head
and cut your own hair... Even with a
hand held mirror.
• Most devices are handed – scissors,
even clippers and using them in a
mirror is a double jeopardy.
• Most hair clippings and hair dye are
not compatible with electronic
equipment.
• If you make a mess, it will grow back,
but turn off your laptop camera.

32. Banking
• Simple Solution
• Drive up Window or ATM with
masks/ wipes/ gloves / hand
sanitizers
• Grannie’s Online Solutions
• Banking Apps – Chase, BofA
• Ally
• PNC
• Discover
• Capital One
• Venmo / PayPal
Trust issues with online banking and fear of losing money by
accident prevent adoption.

33. Trust Issues with Online Banking
• Cognitive decline in evaluating risk and
accumulated wealth make seniors targets
for Scams.
• Nathan Spreng @ McGill found physical
difference in brain of scam victims.
• Seniors lose an estimated $2.9 billion
annually from financial exploitation.
• Scams Aimed at the Elderly
• Lotteries – fee for taxes
• Tech Support
• Grandchildren in Need
• Romantic Interests
• Social Security (mistake)
• Contractors during Natural Disasters

34. UX Issues with Online Banking
• Persona for online banking is a
millennial not a senior.
• Heavy form fill interface
overwhelming to people with
cognitive issues.
• Short term memory issues make it
difficult inputting long numbers and
copying from page to page.
• Fear that one false step could “lose all
their money.”
• Bad experience with “undo.”

35. Cognitive Leap for Online Banking
https://www.readysetbank.org/ https://capitalone.invisionapp.com/share/WC9RCO
BJX8T#/screens
Invision “simulator” that allows safe practice
1. The Benefits of Banking Online
2. Online Banking Safety and Security
3. Get Started With Online Banking
4. Stay On Top of Your Money
5. Manage Your Account Online
Ready, set, Bank! Website with 5 courses to
help seniors learn online banking.

36. Attending Religious Services
• Simple Solution
• Stay home
• Think pure thoughts…
• Grannie’s Approach to services
in the time of COVID
• Outdoor Church
• Drive Through Church
• Virtual Church
Churches are generally good places for Seniors
to meet their friends.

37. Requirements for Online Church
• Online Churches Need:
• Reliable internet connection
• Computers
• Device to capture video
• Live streaming platform
• Free - YouTube, Instagram, Facebook,
Zoom
• Paid – YouNow, DayCast, TrueCasting.
• Church Specific – Christian World Media,
Streaming Church, Worship Channels.
• Online donation system – Donorbox,
Pushpay.

38. UX Concerns with Online Church Services
Good:
• Most are using a platform that users
know.
• Tips for Zoom on church website.
• Grannie can adjust locally
• Light a candle for atmosphere
• Can reach people in other continents.
Not so Good For Churches
• Financial giving is trending down.
• Pastors feel stress to make online
church services entertaining.

39. Summary
• Grannie is fighting back by using online applications and software that
she hadn’t used before COVID.
• Senior Planet and AARP are providing online courses to learn
applications like Zoom.
• Grannie struggles with some apps that were designed for millennials
and don’t take into account her failing eyesight, lack of terminology,
lack of trust or cognitive issues.
• Cognitive Leap….Grannie wants more applications like Voicipe and
Instacart that jump over her age related shortcomings.

40. Design for your
83 year old self…..
• There may be something equally
challenging when you are 83…
• Ask yourself as a designer……
• Are more older people using my
website now than were before?
• Is my website/ app at least WCAG 2.0
AA compliant?
• Perceivable
• Operable
• Understandable
• Robust Content

41. Thank You!

42. Reference• Johnson & Finn
• https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2017/04/designing-user-interfaces-for-an-aging-population.php
• https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2018/01/accessibility-an-interview-with-kate-finn-and-jeff-johnson.php
• https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2013/10/designing-user-interfaces-for-older-adults-myth-busters.php
• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• https://www.w3.org/WAI/older-users/developing/
• Age Lab
• http://uxmas.com/2012/future-proof-designing-for-an-ageing-population/
• http://agelab.mit.edu/agnes-age-gain-now-empathy-system
• Heuristic / Guidelines
• http://www.redish.net/images/stories/PDF/AARP%20Audience-Centered%20Heuristics.pdf
• https://assets.aarp.org/www.aarp.org_/articles/research/oww/AARP-LitReview2004.pdf
• Fun Articles
• https://usabilitygeek.com/ux-design-thinking-senior-citizen-user/
• https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/02/designing-digital-technology-for-the-elderly/
• https://www.techenhancedlife.com/articles/paradox-good-ux-design-seniors
• https://www.fastcodesign.com/90131258/baby-boomers-are-aging-heres-how-design-will-have-to-adapt
• https://medium.freecodecamp.org/5-principles-for-designing-delightful-digital-experiences-for-seniors-8ece28229653
• http://uxpamagazine.org/future-proofing-tomorrows-technology/
https://www.seniorliving.org/internet/websites/