These slides are from a visiting lecture I gave to the University of York HCI MSc students for the Advanced Topics in HCI module in February 2013. In the lecture I touched on the history of participatory design, and talked about the specific challenges of planning, organising and facilitating design workshops with older people (but also the great insights that this can bring). At the end I talk about some examples of the work I have done on the Banking for the Older Old project. Great bunch of students!

1. Participatory Design
with Older People
John Vines
Digital Interaction Group
Culture Lab, Newcastle University
di.ncl.ac.uk
email: john.vines@ncl.ac.uk
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2. outline of talk
11.20 A brief history of participatory design
11.40 The challenges of ageing populations
12.00 Mini activity?
12.15 BREAK
12.25 Case study
12.45 Final activity (group work)!
13.05 Final activity (discussion)!
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3. part one
a brief history of
participatory design
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4. a simple definition
‘Participatory Design (PD) represents [an] approach towards
computer systems design in which the people destined to use the
system play a critical role in designing it.’
- Schuler & Namioka, 1993, p.xi
… but it is often a lot more complicated than this!
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5. one time, in Scandinavia…
Participatory Design
Co-Operative Design
a concern with the politics of system design
no technology is ‘neutral’
dislocation and deskilling of workers
exertion of the management's control over their workforce
- Kensing & Blomberg, 1998
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7. questioning and alternatives
‘we must use our curiosity and creativity to question solutions
[…] we must use the insight to help ordinary users raise similar
questions to the specific technologies proposed to them. This
is an agenda that has many levels – from questioning wellestablished human-computer interaction paradigms, via
questioning IT strategies on a societal level, to helping users in
particular organisations participate in technological
development. The latter is what we often call participatory
design, but I would claim that it does not come without the
former.’
- Bødker, 2003, p.88
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8. traditions and transcendence
a fundamental tension in all ‘user-focused’ systems design is
balancing an understanding and incorporation of existing
traditions with providing opportunities for individuals to
transcend and break existing boundaries
- Ehn, 1989
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9. a little later, in the United States
‘… to empower users to act as full participants in the design of
systems that will have impact on their jobs and their work-lives.
… to improve knowledge acquisition for design, and the quality
of the resulting system, by involving the people with job
expertise (the people who do the job) in the design process.
… to improve the flow of the software engineering process by
bringing representatives from major components of that
process into the design phase a co-owners of the design.’
- Muller, 1991, p.225
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10. the ‘third space’ of participatory design
- Muller, 2003
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11. the ‘workshop’
‘… workshops are usually held to help diverse parties (“stakeholders”) communicate
and commit to shared goals, strategies, and outcomes (e.g., analyses, designs,
and evaluations, as well as workplace-change objectives). Workshops are often
held at sites that are in a sense neutral – they are not part of the software
professionals’ workplace, and they are not part of the workers’ workplace.’
- Muller, 2003, p.1060
future workshops
- Kensing and Madsen, 1991
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12. resources to support participation
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13. ‘third wave’ participation
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14. warning: terminological overload!
The original term for Participatory Design
use in Scandinavia in the 1970s-late
1980s
co-operative design
Participatory design (with a big P)
participatory design (with a little p)
co-design (collaborative design)
co-creation
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A view of end-user involvement in design
to destabilise power structures and
empower workers/users
A view of end-user involvement in design
to inform more approximately designed
systems and provide grounded insight
A balanced and integrative approach to
broad stakeholder and user involvement in
design
As per co-design, but with core principle
that all people (and not just designers) are
creative and create their own systems
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15. quick thinking time!
Get together in pairs (or threes) and…
1. … define one potential ‘user’ group of technology that you
believe may benefit from being involved in a participatory
design process(don’t choose older people! – but do
choose something related to your Master’s project if
appropriate).
2. … come up with a research question or topic you think
might be interesting to explore in some design workshops
with this group.
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16. part two
the challenges of
ageing populations
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17. ageing populations
Ageing demographics - ‘Very’ old fastest growing age group worldwide
By 2050, over 65s will outnumber all children under the age of 14 worldwide
1/7th of all UK government public spending is on pensions
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18. the challenge for HCI
Accessibility is now law: Equality Act 2012
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
The retirement age has risen and almost inevitably will again in the near
future meaning the workforce will include older users
The spending power of the over sixty-five population is enormous
Older users represent the biggest (and maybe the last) untapped source
of new internet users (only approx. 20% of over-70s use the internet at
the moment – but this is growing massively)
Some of the services offered on the web are almost perfect for helping
with independence in later life (i.e., internet shopping, online banking,
continued family communications)
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19. the challenge for HCI
Most HCI research on the topic of ageing focuses on age-related
functional decline, OR on negative perceptions of ageing:
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Memory
Attention
Visual acuity
Dexterity
Hearing
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Social Isolation
Safety
Risks
Disease and
Health Conditions
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Fun
Enjoyment
Pleasure
Sharing Skills
?
See: http://www.nngroup.com/reports/accessibility/beyond_ALT_text.pdf
See: Vines et al. (in press – but I can send you an unpublished copy)
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20. the challenge for HCI
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21. an even bigger challenge for HCI
Dementia is a global decline in cognitive function – this means that
no aspect of your mental faculties is left unimpaired
In the UK in 2010, 800,000 people live with dementia. Predicted
to rise to 1m by 2021, and 1.7m by 2050.
If there is approx. 20 of us in this room, 6-9 of us will likely die with
the condition (unless a cure is found)
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22. an even bigger challenge for HCI
Massive strain on
healthcare and society
as a whole…
… but what about
supporting positive
experiences of dementia?
Wallace et al. 2013
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23. an even bigger challenge for HCI
Massive strain on
healthcare and society
as a whole…
… but what about
supporting positive
experiences of dementia?
Lindsay et al. 2012
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24. question time!
You have been tasked with both arranging and facilitating
some participatory design workshops with a groups of 80 year
olds, some of whom (but not all) have early-onset dementia …
… in pairs or small groups, discuss what you think some of
the potential issues and problems you may come across in
both arranging and running these workshops.
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5-10 minutes!
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25. practical issues
Older people (very generally!)
People living with dementia
(again, very generally!)
finding participants
‘all of the above’, and…
method of recruitment
reviewing and recapping
turning up for sessions
abstractness & focus on detail
consistent point of contact
diversity and heterogeneity
harnessing existing groups
deviating discussion
difficulty articulating view
used to ‘get what you’re given’
dominated by carers
sensory concerns
Lindsay et al. 2012b; Vines et al. 2012a; 2012b
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26. Break time!
10 minutes!
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27. part three
case study of
participatory design
with older people
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28. case study
new approaches to banking for the older old
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29. methods used
financial biographies
group discussions
invisible design films
questionable concept cards
provotypes
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30. biographies
semi-structured interviews and
visits to peoples homes
ask participants to tell us their life
story with occasional focused
questions of experiences of the
research topic
as interview develops, ask to be
shown relevant ‘artifacts’ and
‘materials’ around the home
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31. financial biographies
“I have a spot here where I save up. I’ll
always have so much for the
housekeeping. … I do have a certain
amount of cash which I like by me … I go
to the bank and I get so much money out
of the bank. I make sure that I have so
much money in.” – Jean, 88
“I write out me carers, me gas, me light,
me phone and hair, feet - chiropodist,
water, television, St Leonard’s Hospice
which I support, church – how much I
donate each week and then I give a bit
extra at Christmas, that all goes down.” –
Thora, 89
“If I want anything out of the wall, Nigel will
get me 100 out if I need it.” – Barbara, 95
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32. financial biographies
make participants feel at ease and
allows them to tell us stories of their life
provides a good understanding of
existing traditions, why people do
them based on their life story, and the
barriers new systems make
the ‘site’ is peoples homes, meaning
they can access supplementary
materials to give more insight
not so useful for ‘transcendence’
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33. invisible design
short films, usually a dialogue
between two characters, about a
new technology one of the
characters is using
used in group workshops to prompt
discussion
the technology is in the scene but
never ‘seen’ (hence invisible)
created to promote discussion
about the experiences and context
of use of the technology, and not
physical qualities of the interface or
system
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34. invisible design
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35. invisible design
“Well I visualise it as a blank note with no sum on.” - Margaret, 82
“Like a cheque in other words.” – Iris, 81
“I don’t trust the banks, I don’t trust the finance institutions, because it’s only one
operator filling in one set of numbers, puts in the wrong number, the wrong initial
on a name, and you’re in hock” – Jean, 82
“the Queen’s head disappeared if handed to unauthorised payee. How do we
know we are going to buy something e.g. a lady goes shopping for shoes and
may visit 10 shops before she finds what she wants. How does she pay if not one
of the authorised payees?” – Rita, 84
“if they’d shown us some of the money that was supposed to be there, and how it
worked, it would be more helpful to me” – Edith, 87
John Vines
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36. invisible design
new design suggestions
suggestions of how existing (nondigital) technologies exist negating the
need for the new design
further understanding of existing
traditions, practices and desires
through participants concerns about
the invisible design
avoids focusing on tangible details –
however, can be a significant barrier
to some people to participate
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37. questionable concepts
a collection of cards provided to
participants in a pack to take home
with them after a workshop
each card has a pictorial illustration
of an idea – the idea relates to
insights from the biographies or
invisible design discussions
the idea is ‘questionable’ – i.e., not
entirely practical, feasible, and may
in some respects go against the
values of participants
The card also includes a set of
questions related to the ideas for
participants to answer
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38. questionable concepts
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39. questionable concepts
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40. questionable concepts
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41. questionable concepts
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42. questionable concepts
“If this actually came to pass it would
be just a way for the banks and
financial institutions to make more
money for the “fatcats” and the
shareholders and to exploit the man in
the street”- Rita, 83
““hide it in code among telephone
numbers in my diary.” - Agatha, 81
“I like the idea on the front of an iPad
type wallet … But you could also, I feel,
have a card that you could put into a
computer or a screen and you would
call up your accounts, and see them.”
- Dolores, 81
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43. questionable concepts
allows the telling of stories and
experiences people have had in their
lives relevant to the design context –
again, understanding tradition
supports critique of ideas but also
creativity in the form of alternative
suggestions – transcendence reflecting
onto existing traditions
is tactile – something that is valued by
many older people – and can be
completed at home, offering time for
reflection
uncomplex data – writing on the cards,
scribbles of ideas, and discussions
prompted by each card
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44. activity time!
Group yourselves into teams of 3-5.
You have a pack of quote cards, and two sheets of A3 paper
each.
In the remaining time, work as a group to categorise the
quotes into related topics or themes (spend about 10 minutes
on this – no need for any rigor!). For the final 10 minutes,
choose one collection of quotes to develop a ‘questionable
concept’ on the other sheet. Tell us what the idea is, how it
relates to the quotes, and write three questions you would like
to get participants thinking about.
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45. references
Bødker, S. 2003. A for Alternatives. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems . 15, 1, 87-89.
Briggs, P., Mark Blythe, John Vines, Stephen Lindsay, Paul Dunphy, James Nicholson, David Green, Jim Kitson,
Andrew Monk, and Patrick Olivier. 2012. Invisible design: exploring insights and ideas through ambiguous film
scenarios. In Proceedings of the Designing Interactive Systems Conference (DIS '12). ACM, New York, NY, USA,
534-543.
Ehn, P. 1989. Work oriented design of computer artefacts. Stockholm, Arbetslivscentrum.
Ehn, P., and Kyng, M. 1992. Cardboard Computers: Mockingit-up or Hands-on the Future. In: Design at Work .
Lawrence Erlbaum, 169-196.
Gaver, W., Mark Blythe, Andy Boucher, Nadine Jarvis, John Bowers, and Peter Wright. 2010. The prayer
companion: openness and specificity, materiality and spirituality. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '10). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2055-2064.
Gaver, W., Andy Boucher, John Bowers, Mark Blythe, Nadine Jarvis, David Cameron, Tobie Kerridge, Alex Wilkie,
Robert Phillips, and Peter Wright. 2011. The photostroller: supporting diverse care home residents in engaging
with the world. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '11).
ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1757-1766.
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46. references
Lindsay, S., Katie Brittain, Daniel Jackson, Cassim Ladha, Karim Ladha, and Patrick Olivier. 2012. Empathy,
participatory design and people with dementia. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems (CHI '12). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 521-530.
Lindsay, S., Daniel Jackson, Guy Schofield, and Patrick Olivier. 2012. Engaging older people using participatory
design. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '12).
Kensing, F., and Madsen, K.H. 1991. Generating visions: Future workshops and metaphorical design. In J.
Greenbaum & M. Kyng (eds.), Design at work: Cooperative design of computer systems. Hillsdale NJ US:
Erlbaum
Kensing, F., and Blomberg, J. 1998. Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, 7 (3-4), 167-185.
Muller, M. J. 1991. PICTIVE—an exploration in participatory design. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '91), Scott P. Robertson, Gary M. Olson, and Judith S. Olson (Eds.).
ACM, New York, NY, USA, 225-231.
Muller, M J. 2002. Participatory design: the third space in HCI. In The human-computer interaction handbook,
Julie A. Jacko and Andrew Sears (Eds.). L. Erlbaum Associates Inc., Hillsdale, NJ, USA 1051-1068.
Schuler, D., and Namioka, A. 1993. Participatory design: Principles and practices. Lawrence Erlbaum, New
Jersey, USA.
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47. references
Vines, J., Mark Blythe, Stephen Lindsay, Paul Dunphy, Andrew Monk, and Patrick Olivier. 2012. Questionable
concepts: critique as resource for designing with eighty somethings. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference
on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '12). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 1169-1178.
Vines, J., Mark Blythe, Paul Dunphy, Vasillis Vlachokyriakos, Isaac Teece, Andrew Monk, and Patrick Olivier.
2012. Cheque mates: participatory design of digital payments with eighty somethings. In Proceedings of the
SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '12). ACM, New York, NY, USA,
1189-1198.
Vines, J., Mark Blythe, Paul Dunphy, and Andrew Monk. 2011. Eighty something: banking for the older old. In
Proceedings of the 25th BCS Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (BCS-HCI '11). British Computer
Society, Swinton, UK, UK, 64-73.
Wallace, J., Wright, P., McCarthy, J., Green, D., Thomas, J., and Olivier, P. A design-led inquiry into Personhood
in Dementia. 2013. In proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI
’13), ACM, New York, NY, USA.
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