Understanding Older Adults' Participation in Design Workshops

Design workshops are a popular means of including older adults in technology development. However, there are open questions around how to best scaffold this participation, particularly in supporting older adults to associate their designs with themselves, rather than designing for an "other older adult." By conducting workshops focusing on envisioning the future of internet of things (IoT) technologies at home, we provide an understanding of how older individuals participate in group activities to conceptualize technology for themselves. We find that at different stages of the design process, individuals shift in who they envision the end user of the technology: at first, they think about common older adult needs, then turn to designing for themselves. Individuals' attitudes towards technology also impact group dynamics along with final design ideas. Our discussion contributes to an understanding of how to support older adults in designing for themselves, new perspectives on aging-in-place technologies, and recommendations for configuring design workshops with older individuals.