Before heading to this case study, I would like to ask
“Did your parents, grandmother, or grandfather use the WhatsApp application?’
I’m sure the average answer is “yes”, especially with the current pandemic conditions, communication can only be done remotely. One application that is familiar to use is WhatsApp.
As we know in Indonesia, people aged 60 years and over are considered elderly. Not only increasing age, physical form begins to change, the elderly also experience a decrease in cognitive, perceptual and psychomotor functions. Because of this, the elderly have difficulty in using current technology. One of them is the difficulty in using the WhatsApp application.
By using the User Centered Design(UCD) method, a user interface design is built based on the guidelines that can increase the accessibility of elderly users to the WhatsApp application so that it can be more accessible. The results show an increase in accessibility based on the user-based evaluation carried out.
Create an appropriate interface design, simple and easy to use by target users who are the elderly group, to improve the user experience in using the WhatsApp application
As a Computer Science student, I worked on this project with Ms. Veronikha Effendy and Mr. Aristyo Hadikusuma. My roles in completing this project are:
Disclaimer: This project is a Final Project to complete the Computer Science undergraduate study program and has been published in IEEE Xplorer with the title "Improving Messenger Accessibility for Elderly Users using User Centered Design (UCD) Methods (Study Case: WhatsApp)"
After conducting interviews and observations with 12 elderly people, it was found that the elderly were happy with the WhatsApp application and were considered very helpful in communicating with family and friends. However, in using this application, the elderly still experience several problems which result in the elderly very often needing the help of others in using this application.
Target users expect to use these applications with convenient and not always ask for help from his family in using it. In representing the target users, we conducted modeling using user personas.
To represent one’s understanding and expectations in using a system, we considered to use mental model
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To evaluate the design solutions used user-based method.This method is used by considering the target user who is the elderly. Testing is done by creating test scenarios and what tasks will be performed by the target user. To find out the success of the design solution, it can be seen from the observations and interviews conducted with the test participants.
To evaluate the design solution, we used Maze Design as a tool. Maze design report can be seen in this link 👉 Maze Design Report. The user testing has been carried out on 7 elderly people who meet the persona’s criteria and there were 9 tasks tested by the user.
The test results showthat 5 of 7 users have completed all the tasks given. Through observations and interviews conducted to evaluate the results of the design solution, it was found that:
In solving user problems related to changing profile photos, the design in option 2 is a more appropriate solution design. However, regarding the addition of text labels on each icon, it needs to be reviewed and researched further and regarding user testing carried out by the elderly, it is not recommended to do remote testing.
In completing this challenge, we offer a UI design that can help solve the problems faced by Pasarpolis. The following designs and explanations of each design that we offer.
Navbar section
On the there is a CTA button "Dapatkan Penawaran" and indicates that the button is important and can be accessed at any time when the user wants to get an offer through Pasarpolis.
Hero section
In this section there is a CTA button, an explanation video about Pasarpolis products and this helps solve the problems experienced by Pasarpolis, namely highlighting product-related information. In addition, there are also benefits or advantages when using Pasarpolis products.
This is highlighted in the Hero section with the aim of making it easier for users to know what Pasarpolis is.
The USP section is a section that contains the unique features and things that Pasarpolis has that distinguishes it from competing products. Here we highlight easy steps which only consist of 4 simple steps in getting insurance when using Pasarpolis.
In addition, we also display a form to register a company if the user is interested in using Pasarpolis without having to wait to go to the "Dapatkan Penawaran" page.
Through research that has been done by my team members, we found that quite a lot of company HR do not really understand the importance of insurance for employees. Through this Blog section, we try to educate and provide direction why insurance for employees is very important. This can also increase user interest in using Pasarpolis.
This section contains products and services owned by Pasarpolis. This product can only be enjoyed if the company or HR has registered and selected insurance through the Pasarpolis platform.
If by the end of the landing page the user is still not interested in using Pasarpolis, then we will display testimonials from customers who have used the Pasarpolis platform. The social proof section contains reviews and customer experiences and it is hoped that this will increase user trust to immediately use Pasarpolis.
