Designing technology for older people - The role of technical self-confidence in usability of an inclusive heating control

Abstract

The ageing population of the UK is providing a large market opportunity for inclusive products and services. Yet older people are often excluded from using new technology due to inadequate consideration of their needs during the design process. This study focused specifically on including older people (aged 50-80) in the testing of a novel heating control interface under development. Recent studies have used two scalar methods to assess self-confidence; building upon this a technical self-confidence questionnaire was developed and completed by participants prior to attempting a usability task using the prototype. This study found that high technical self-confidence was inversely correlated to successful task performance. The participants who rated themselves as most technically self-confident were not successful in completing the task. Whereas, participants that rated themselves less confident had greater success completing the task. In general older people reported high levels of technical self-confidence and they were found to be willing to engage with the technical prototype. This highlights the high expectations of the older users group to be able to effectively engage with new technological systems. Designers should aim to instil further confidence amongst older users and provide systems that both support and include older people. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.