Increasing the usability of online information for older users: A case study in participatory design

This article describes one of the first documented participatory design (PD ) efforts specifically aimed at older users. The goal of the project was to make an existing World Wide Web (WWW) site more user-friendly far older us ers, specifically in terms of display format issues. A PD team was assemble d from a group of community-dwelling older adults and developers from a uni versity research lab. After the developers established the trust and confid ence of the participants and developed a conceptual user model (based on a survey and previous literature), the PD team evaluated the original design. Prototypes were iteratively developed and tested by the PD team to improve problems found in the original design. Specific design improvements and ge neral design guidelines for older WWW users are discussed.