The benefits of involving older people in the design process

Abstract

The more experience we get of involving older people in innovation and design processes, the more we recognize the benefits of having to do with life experience as input to the development of digital products and services. Heterogeneity raises personalization as a key component in design. This paper argues that old people are an asset in innovation processes, which is illustrated by projects conducted in Sweden from 1992 to 2014. The aim is to present how older people contribute to the development and what hinders them. The goal of these projects was to promote participation of older people during the design process but to varying degrees depending on the question. Different degrees of participation and involvement are discussed based on the “participation ladder”, on an idea of Arnstein from 1969 and on conclusions from innovation research.