Knock Knock
Rediscover companionship in your golden years with our senior-centric social app, designed through deep behavioral research
Are we ready to create a nurturing environment that emboldens senior citizens to embrace the unfamiliar with open arms? How can we establish a more secure and inviting atmosphere for senior citizens, encouraging them to venture beyond their comfort zone?
My contribution
As a product designer, I conducted research, analyzed problems, developed concepts, synthesized findings, and designed interactive solutions while integrating behavioral patterns into UX design.
Skills
Design Research
User behavior
User Flow Diagramming
Wireframing
Prototyping
User Interface Design
Usability TestingTools
Project Timeline
Figma/ Figjam
Mural
User testing Sep 2022- Nov 2022
(8 weeks) Vrushti Desai (Product Design)
Hannah He (UX Design and Research)Team and Roles
In a world increasingly driven by technology, our mission is to empower our elders by offering them a user-friendly, intuitive, and enriching digital experience to “Knock-Knock” at their friend’s door virtually and make social connections.
The idea is to create a sense of neighborly closeness and community, allowing individuals in their old age to connect, interact, and potentially spend time together.
What is Knock Knock?
In an era dominated by rapid technological advancements, senior adults seek a sense of physical safety within their neighborhoods. However, the challenge lies in venturing out alone and connecting with others amidst the fast-paced digital generation, making it difficult to establish a feeling of security and belonging.
What is the problem?
How might we create a safer environment for senior citizens so that they are comfortable going out of their comfort zone?
In today's fast-paced, technology-driven world, senior adults often face unique challenges when it comes to feeling physically safe and socially connected in their neighborhoods.
This project is a compassionate endeavor aimed at addressing these concerns and enhancing the overall quality of life for our senior community members.
Introducing Knock Knock
Knock Knock aims to…
Promote Physical Safety: We aim to empower senior adults with essential safety resources for neighborhood outings, such as route information, neighborhood watch details, and emergency contacts.
Create Social Inclusion: We prioritize social connections to combat isolation, aiming to create neighborly engagement, friendship, and community cohesion among senior adults
Help Navigate Technology: We'll assist in bridging the generation gap by providing training and support for seniors to embrace modern technology, empowering them to connect digitally and access online resources.
Commencing Companionship Journey
Onboarding:
Starting with onboarding at Knock Knock, a senior adult's journey begins. We have more straightforward privacy agreements because security and privacy were top concerns for our target audience of users age 50+ . Following that the process of discovering the volunteer moving ahead also includes measures for confirming their location in order for volunteers to assist senior adults in navigating their path.
Knock Knock through user’s eyes
01 Volunteer Support
Senior citizens are granted access to a platform created especially for them, where they may explore neighborhood activities and RSVP for them.
02 Building Connections
As users engage in community involvement through event attendance, they can utilize the app's map feature to locate nearby friends, read their profiles, and connect via in-app messaging, facilitating relationship-building and companionship to combat loneliness.
03 Discovering events together
Senior adults may continue to pursue activities with the assistance of volunteers and their new Knock Knock friends, and they can also sign up for annual or monthly membership packages for the events that most interest them.
04 Enhancement through feedback
Warm welcomes foster enduring relationships between coaches, volunteers, and older clients, while event ratings provide valuable feedback for organizers, enhancing future activities and encouraging community participation
Picture by Adobe Stock
For adults aged 50 and above, Knock Knock is tailored to provide a sense of security while facilitating opportunities to connect with peers and explore beyond their comfort zones.
Brainstorming
Defining an issue, focusing on the areas that contribute to it, and identifying quick solutions.
Choosing the top three target behaviors and concentrating them in the top right corner of the focus map allowed us to further categorize them and explain the hypothesis.
Mapping out the problems and quick solutions on the axis of ranging high impact to low impact and feasibility levels to understand which is the most benefical solution.
B = MAP ( Motivation + Ability +Prompts)
Insights from studying B.J. Fogg's behavior model for senior citizens to venture out of their comfort zones:
We should boost their motivation by highlighting the advantages of exploring new spaces while addressing their concerns.
We need to enhance their ability by simplifying the process through services like transportation and senior-friendly spaces.
internal and external triggers should be employed to prompt action, such as community events and personal aspirations.
By aligning motivation, ability, and triggers, we can empower senior citizens to comfortably step outside their comfort zones and lead more fulfilling lives.
Interview & Snaptesting
Numerous interviews were done in-depth. Each interview began with a brief introduction before moving on to more broad to particular subjects, including their daily routine, pain areas, and expectations.
To keep focused and show continual curiosity for their tales, the questions changed depending on their comments during the interview.
Interviews were conducted over Zoom. Interviewees were senior adults from Golden Gate Park Senior Center
Insights and Quotes from Snap-testing
Language barriers and trust issues hinder community engagement and physical safety, further complicated by the COVID-19 impact on fitness activities
Mapping the Emotions from Interviews
The sentiments of senior adults underscore the multifaceted emotional and practical challenges individuals face in a world shaped by language barriers, trust issues, pandemic-related disruptions, & the ongoing pursuit of safety and well-being.
“If you talk to someone who has experience, you are more likely to go for the event.”
“Technology may change, but the need for personal safety remains constant. I’ve learned to adapt and stay cautious.”
“The pandemic taught us the importance of health and safety. We may be older, but we’re resilient and determined to stay safe.”
What Knock Knock aim to focus on?
Our technology training initiative pairs young neighborhood volunteers with seniors, offering sessions on smartphone, tablet, and computer usage to confidently navigate the digital world and connect with others on Knock Knock. We organize community events for regular interaction and a sense of belonging, while the app facilitates contact sharing to stay connected during gatherings
Journey Mapping: From Idea to Reality
Seniors are eagerly embracing technology by scanning QR codes at grocery stores to join an app connecting them with volunteers and community events.
This digital journey boosts their convenience and social engagement, proving age is no barrier in today's connected world.
Testing concepts through wireframes
Moving forward with the concept, we took on the task of designing using older adults' lenses as we gained more clarity on the subject. These are the final high-fidelity wireframes after several testing iterations to conceptualize from low quality to high fidelity.
As designers, user testing for older adults was crucial for creating technology that is inclusive, user-friendly, and empowering for their age group.
This helped us better understand their unique needs and preferences, ultimately improving the overall digital experience
User Testing
Tailoring UX:
Task completion improved by 40%, but 25% still found navigation challenging.
Usability & Accessibility:
Errors dropped 30%, yet 15% struggled with text size.
Challenging Stereotypes:
70% adapted quickly, though 20% hesitated with advanced features.
Reducing Frustration:
Frustration reports fell 50%, but 10% still found interactions unintuitive.
Why was feedback valuable?
“ With age, the lenses of the eyes become less flexible and make it difficult to focus on close objects, a condition called presbyopia. That’s why nearly everyone needs reading glasses as they reach their mid-40s or 50s. ”
Prototype
Testing for disability
Refinements
Rectifying the color palette
Make it look less formal and corporate-like.
Pass the color-pair contrast test
Make the buttons darker to increase the functionality of the task flow
Reflections
The adaptability of seniors was key in this project, which was designed to show the adaptability of senior citizens in embracing technology, building connections, and embracing outdoor activities. They adapted to using QR codes and mobile apps, challenging stereotypes about older generations' tech savvy.
Enhanced Social Engagement: Seniors' increased participation in events and activities through the app highlighted the positive impact of technology on their social lives. It helped them combat feelings of loneliness.
Empowering Through Connectivity: Connectivity provided by the app empowered seniors to take control of their social calendars and engage with their communities on their terms, fostering a sense of independence.
Leveraging Technology for Inclusivity: Knock Knock demonstrated the potential of technology to enhance inclusivity across generations. It's not just about entertainment but also about fostering meaningful connections and experiences.
Next Steps
Evolving the designs to make them more friendly for senior adults in terms of font size, placing of UI elements, and research more on their perseverance psychology.
I would also like to test out the concept with more users and address their behavioral patterns by incorporating them into the designs for Knock Knock v 2.0