Accessible Lessons to Help Seniors Identify Scams
Identifying user challenges among older adults and designing an impactful solution tailored to their needs using agile methodology.
Client
Tech Fleet
Scope
UX Problem Discovery & Solutioning
Tools
FigJam, Google Suite
Role
UX Researcher and Service Leader
Project Overview
For this apprenticeship project, I collaborated with UX professionals to identify key challenges affecting the elderly population and design an effective solution tailored to their needs using agile mythology. Throughout the process, we applied the Google Sprint technique to conduct ongoing research in weekly sprints, continuously refine our problem statement, and iterate toward a solution through an adaptive non-linear approach.
Problem Prompt
In a collaborative workshop, we generated a range of ideas addressing global user challenges. After rounds of voting, we decided to focus on seniors who struggle to use their devices confidently due to lack of accessible education tools and concerns about online scams. Throughout the Agile UX process, our research revealed that existing learning platforms lack impactful resources and clear guidance tailored to seniors. By the end of the sprint we've framed our problem as how might we help seniors gain confidence in identifying and avoiding online scams through accessible education tools?
Agile Process
Using the Google Scrum framework, we dove deeper into the problem prompt by applying both primary and secondary research methods. During each sprint, our team split into two groups, one focused on primary research and the other on secondary research. Each side provided valuable insights that evaluate our assumptions and ongoing research into the issues affecting seniors. Over the course of the project, we conducted a total of five sprints.
Sprint 1
In sprint 1, we documented our initial assumptions and prioritized high level questions to guide upcoming user interviews. We established a shared goal to gather user feedback and uncover new insights. Both research teams created a research plan to recruit participants that match our criteria.
The primary research team conducted interviews and captured participants responses, while the secondary team analyzed existing case studies and relevant articles. Using the Google Sprint framework, we collected just enough data for rapid iteration. We then facilitated an affinity mapping workshop to identify emerging patterns and user stories. Then for the next sprint we refined our research questions and continued using the same research methods to build our findings.
Insights from users:
"Completing financial tasks on my phone is challenging compare to using a desktop."
"On certain applications there isn't a way to translate the content into my primary language."
"I felt anxious using my phone because it was small, especially the back button whenever I browse the web."
Continue Sprints
In the subsequent sprints, we continued using same methods to deepen our understanding of the problem prompt. The primary research team conducted interviews with updated questions, while the secondary research team explored new case studies based related to emerging topics. Towards the end of each sprint, we held affinity mapping workshops to identify patterns, gain stronger insights, and narrow our focus. This process led us into the design phase where we reviewing our research and begin sketching ideas.
Insights from users:
"There is not enough information for beginners to able to use a mobile device, it feels catered for people that already know how to use it."
"Sometimes it's hard to find my contacts or messages that I saved because of not remembering the interface."
Most participants mentioned they have been scammed using their phones often by someone pretending to be an acquaintance.
Design Sprint
During the design sprint, we facilitated a crazy 8s workshop, where both primary and secondary research team generated a wide range of solution ideas based on the problem prompt and insights from previous sprints. Each concept was sketched focusing on features that could assist users with technical challenges and recognizing online scams. We conducted at least two rounds of ideation to refine our concept and better align them with seniors’ needs. In the final round, we voted to move forward with the idea of developing an application designed to help seniors build confidence by identifying online scams through supportive tips and meaningful educational resources.
Before designing the low-fidelity wireframes, we created a task flow to outline the user journey and necessary steps to complete key tasks. This allowed us to visualize the concept clearly and identify technical constraints or pain points where seniors might encounter along the way.
Testing Phase
I contributed in creating the usability testing documentation containing user scenarios, tasks, and questions to support future iterate of the wireframes. The teams developed high-level questions to help identify missing design elements, evaluate visual clarity and accessibility. Given the fast-paced of the design sprint, we managed to test the concept with one participant, provided valuable feedback on the user experience.
Feedback:
Navigation was a bit tricky to access the specific module
Without indication or a progress bar its hard to tell their progress in the module
Next Steps
Iterate on a recruitment strategy to gather enough participants for testing
Strategize our approach in testing with seniors instead of remotely
Iterate designs for the following sprint using the feedback we received
Learning Outcomes
I learned how effective Agile UX mythologies can be when applied to real-world problems. Continuous discovery helped us gain a deeper understanding of the problem space. Our research revealed that seniors struggled with their mobile devices and as the sprints progressed, many seniors want to learn how to use their device more effectively and spot scam messages. This insight allowed us to create a concept design, even though we haven't test it yet. I felt grateful for the opportunity to interact with team members from diverse backgrounds and apply a service leader mindset.
Thank you for reading!