ElderConnect
Connecting family members via the web.
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GR1
...
-
...
Project
...
Proposal
...
&
...
Analysis
...
Who
...
We
...
Are
...
- Carrie
...
- Cai
...
- Yu
...
- Cheng
...
- Joey
...
- Rafidi
...
The
...
Problem
...
We're
...
Solving
...
Central
...
Problem
...
Statement:
...
Elderly
...
people
...
find
...
it
...
difficult
...
to
...
use
...
technology
...
to
...
connect
...
with
...
their
...
younger
...
family
...
members.
...
For
...
elderly
...
members
...
of
...
society,
...
the
...
desire
...
to
...
connect
...
with
...
loved
...
ones
...
is
...
critical,
...
yet
...
often
...
unfulfilled
...
due
...
to
...
the
...
busy
...
schedules
...
of
...
younger
...
relatives
...
and
...
obstacles
...
adopting
...
modern
...
technology
...
for communication.
User Analysis
Note: Names of interviewees have been changed to preserve anonymity.
Grandparents
...
1. Randy
...
Randy is an 80-year-old
...
retired
...
physicist
...
who
...
now
...
does
...
research
...
on
...
19th-century
...
American
...
history,
...
an
...
activity
...
that
...
keeps
...
him
...
busy
...
despite
...
having
...
a
...
flexible
...
schedule.
...
He
...
lives
...
with
...
his
...
wife
...
(from
...
a
...
second
...
marriage)
...
and
...
cat
...
in
...
Amherst,
...
Massachusetts,
...
and
...
has
...
three
...
sons
...
who
...
all
...
reside
...
in
...
other
...
states.
...
Randy
...
started
...
using
...
...
in
...
the
...
1990’s
...
for
...
work
...
reasons
...
and
...
now
...
has
...
numerous
...
contacts
...
saved
...
in
...
his
...
Outlook
...
account.
...
He
...
appreciates
...
that
...
auto-complete
...
allows
...
him
...
to
...
send
...
emails
...
by
...
only
...
entering
...
the
...
first
...
few
...
letters
...
of
...
the
...
addressee’s
...
name.
...
To
...
avoid
...
sending
...
to
...
the
...
wrong
...
person
...
due
...
to
...
auto-complete,
...
Randy
...
now
...
remembers
...
to
...
glance
...
at
...
the
...
addressee
...
field
...
twice
...
before
...
sending.
...
Randy
...
sees
...
his
...
children
...
and
...
grandchildren
...
about
...
once
...
a
...
year,
...
and
...
on
...
occasion
...
when
...
he
...
is
...
in
...
the
...
area
...
for
...
a
...
conference.
...
The
...
one
...
time
...
he
...
is
...
certain
...
he
...
will
...
speak
...
with
...
them
...
is
...
over
...
the
...
phone
...
on
...
Christmas.
...
He
...
looks
...
up
...
phone
...
numbers
...
either
...
taped
...
to
...
his
...
refrigerator
...
or
...
manually
...
entered
...
in
...
his
...
Outlook
...
address
...
book,
...
and
...
dials
...
his
...
family
...
on
...
his
...
home
...
landline.
...
Outside
...
of
...
Christmas,
...
Randy
...
typically
...
prefers
...
to
...
contact
...
his
...
grandchildren
...
via
...
...
to
...
avoid
...
interrupting
...
them
...
while
...
they
...
are
...
in
...
class
...
or
...
in
...
lab:
...
“maybe
...
they
...
are
...
in
...
the
...
meeting
...
with
...
their
...
advisor,
...
I
...
don’t
...
want
...
to
...
alarm
...
them.”
...
He
...
also
...
indicates
...
that
...
he
...
never
...
uses
...
his
...
cell
...
phone,
...
but
...
rather
...
keeps
...
it
...
in
...
the
...
glove
...
compartment
...
of
...
his
...
car
...
mostly
...
for
...
emergency
...
or
...
meet-up
...
purposes.
...
Hence,
...
the
...
number
...
of
...
contacts
...
in
...
his
...
cell
...
phone
...
is
...
very
...
limited.
...
Randy
...
exchanges
...
emails
...
with
...
his
...
children
...
when
...
one
...
of
...
them
...
sees
...
and
...
forwards
...
an
...
interesting
...
online
...
news
...
article.
...
He
...
also
...
uses
...
...
to
...
arrange
...
meetups
...
with
...
his
...
MIT
...
grandchildren
...
if
...
he
...
knows
...
he
...
will
...
be
...
in
...
Boston
...
soon.
...
Otherwise,
...
he
...
sometimes
...
receives
...
emails
...
from
...
another
...
grandchild
...
in
...
the
...
form
...
of
...
“Hi
...
grandpa,
...
will
...
you
...
sponsor
...
a
...
team
...
in
...
this
...
fantasy
...
baseball
...
league?”
...
Randy
...
has
...
only
...
used
...
videochatting
...
once
...
or
...
twice
...
when
...
his
...
step-daughter
...
wanted
...
to
...
show
...
him
...
her
...
new
...
cat.
...
For
...
photographs,
...
he
...
sometimes
...
emails
...
or
...
snail-mails
...
a
...
CD
...
of
...
uploaded
...
pictures
...
taken
...
of
...
family
...
members
...
at
...
reunions.
...
Overall,
...
Randy
...
does
...
not
...
feel
...
a
...
need
...
for
...
better
...
technology
...
for
...
communicating
...
with
...
his
...
family
...
other
...
than
...
“convenient
...
speed
...
of
...
light
...
transportation”
...
so
...
that
...
he
...
can
...
see
...
them
...
more
...
often,
...
since
...
flying
...
is
...
a
...
hassle.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- The
...
- holidays
...
- is
...
- a
...
- time
...
- when
...
- he
...
- knows
...
- for
...
- sure
...
- he
...
- will
...
- connect
...
- with
...
- children
...
- Chooses
...
...
- over
...
- phone
...
- to
...
- avoid
...
- interrupting
...
- or
...
- alarming
...
- grandchildren
...
- amidst
...
- their
...
- busy
...
- schedules
...
- Appreciates
...
- auto-complete
...
...
- functionality;
...
- does
...
- not
...
- need
...
- to
...
- remember
...
...
- addresses
...
- Finding
...
- phone
...
- numbers
...
- is
...
- an
...
- indirect
...
- process:
...
- must
...
- first
...
- look
...
- at
...
- refrigerator/Outlook
...
- Does
...
- not
...
- use
...
- Skype
...
- much
...
- even
...
- though
...
- it
...
- is
...
- set
...
- up
...
- -
...
- uses
...
- only
...
- to
...
- see
...
- live
...
- action
...
- Uses
...
...
- as
...
- a
...
- way
...
- of
...
- sharing
...
- interesting
...
- online
...
- news
...
- articles
...
2.
...
Susan
...
Susan
...
is
...
a
...
70
...
year
...
old
...
woman
...
with
...
8
...
grandchildren,
...
two
...
of
...
which
...
she
...
helped
...
raise
...
on
...
a
...
daily
...
basis.
...
She
...
currently
...
lives
...
with
...
her
...
daughter
...
and
...
son
...
in
...
law,
...
but
...
since
...
they
...
spend
...
most
...
of
...
their
...
time
...
at
...
work,
...
most
...
of
...
her
...
day
...
is
...
spent
...
alone
...
at
...
the
...
house.
...
She
...
calls
...
her
...
grandchildren
...
from
...
time
...
to
...
time,
...
especially
...
on
...
the
...
holidays,
...
but
...
she
...
still
...
has
...
trouble
...
connecting
...
with
...
them.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- Wants
...
- to
...
- hear
...
- from
...
- grandchildren
...
- regularly
...
- Interested
...
- in
...
- accomplishments
...
- to
...
- congratulate
...
- them
...
- Would
...
- love
...
- to
...
- see
...
- their
...
- faces
...
- (video
...
- or
...
- picture)
...
3.
...
David
...
David
...
is
...
a
...
grandfather
...
living
...
in
...
China.
...
His
...
grandson
...
studies
...
in
...
a
...
prestigious
...
university
...
in
...
the
...
United
...
States,
...
and
...
rarely
...
has
...
any
...
time
...
to
...
contact
...
David.
...
David’s
...
daughter
...
is
...
living
...
in
...
Canada,
...
and
...
he
...
chats
...
with
...
her
...
almost
...
once
...
every
...
two
...
days
...
over
...
the
...
phone,
...
conversing
...
about
...
essentially
...
everything,
...
to
...
stay
...
close
...
to
...
each
...
other.
...
David
...
rarely
...
contacts
...
his
...
grandson
...
except
...
for
...
urgent
...
matters.
...
Although
...
David
...
is
...
not
...
experienced
...
with
...
computers,
...
he
...
owns
...
a
...
laptop
...
and
...
is
...
very
...
interested
...
in
...
technology.
...
He
...
often
...
uses
...
his
...
laptop
...
to
...
read
...
Chinese
...
news
...
on
...
the
...
Internet.
...
David
...
would
...
like
...
to
...
connect
...
with
...
his
...
daughter
...
and
...
grandson
...
through
...
video
...
chat,
...
but
...
the
...
following
...
difficulties
...
exist:
...
David
...
is
...
not
...
familiar
...
with
...
the
...
English
...
alphabet
...
so
...
it
...
is
...
difficult
...
for
...
him
...
to
...
type
...
the
...
address
...
of
...
a
...
website
...
or
...
the
...
login
...
information
...
of
...
MSN
...
or
...
Skype.
...
Furthermore,
...
his
...
eye
...
sight
...
is
...
not
...
very
...
good,
...
so
...
he
...
has
...
difficulty
...
reading
...
tiny
...
text.
...
David’s
...
daughter
...
finds
...
the
...
setup
...
of
...
internet
...
tasks
...
to
...
be
...
too
...
complicated.
...
Compared
...
to
...
video
...
chatting
...
over
...
the
...
Internet,
...
she
...
finds
...
a
...
phone
...
call
...
to
...
be
...
much
...
simpler
...
and
...
faster.
...
Currently,
...
the
...
only
...
way
...
David
...
can
...
have
...
his
...
computer
...
set
...
up
...
for
...
video
...
chat
...
is
...
through
...
the
...
help
...
of
...
a
...
friend
...
who
...
is
...
very
...
skilled
...
with
...
computers.
...
However,
...
this
...
friend
...
is
...
not
...
always
...
available.
...
David
...
hopes
...
that,
...
in
...
the
...
future,
...
video
...
chat
...
can
...
be
...
as
...
simple
...
as
...
a
...
phone
...
call.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- Typing
...
- in
...
- English
...
- is
...
- an
...
- obstacle
...
- for
...
- grandparents
...
- from
...
- other
...
- countries,
...
- particularly
...
- when
...
- the
...
- content
...
- includes
...
- internet
...
- lingo
...
- such
...
- as
...
- website
...
- urls.
...
- Elderly
...
- user
...
- often
...
- experiences
...
- difficulty
...
- reading
...
- small
...
- text.
...
- Older
...
- generation
...
- finds
...
- the
...
- simplicity
...
- of
...
- a
...
- phone
...
- call
...
- more
...
- attractive
...
- than
...
- the
...
- multiple
...
- steps
...
- necessary
...
- to
...
- set
...
- up
...
- Internet
...
- connection
...
- and
...
- video
...
- chat.
...
- We
...
- should
...
- not
...
- take
...
- for
...
- granted
...
- that
...
- the
...
- youngest
...
- group
...
- of
...
- users
...
- is
...
- familiar
...
- with
...
- computers.
...
Younger family members
...
1. Tyler
...
Tyler is an American-born
...
Taiwanese
...
completing
...
his
...
second-year
...
of
...
MBA
...
at
...
MIT.
...
He
...
calls
...
his
...
grandmother
...
in
...
Taiwan
...
on
...
her
...
birthday
...
once
...
a
...
year,
...
usually
...
after
...
a
...
reminder
...
from
...
his
...
mother.
...
To
...
start
...
the
...
call,
...
Tyler
...
signs
...
onto
...
Skype
...
and
...
calls
...
his
...
grandmother’s
...
international
...
number.
...
He
...
uses
...
Skype
...
over
...
other
...
means
...
(such
...
as
...
phone
...
cards)
...
for
...
convenience
...
and
...
low
...
cost;
...
international
...
Skype
...
calls
...
cost
...
two
...
cents
...
per
...
minute.
...
The
...
birthday
...
call
...
usually
...
lasts
...
a
...
few
...
minutes,
...
during
...
which
...
his
...
grandmother
...
asks
...
him
...
how
...
school
...
is
...
going
...
and
...
also
...
remarks
...
that
...
he
...
should
...
improve
...
his
...
Chinese.
...
The
...
two
...
converse
...
entirely
...
in
...
Mandarin
...
Chinese,
...
which
...
Tyler
...
can
...
only
...
speak
...
at
...
a
...
basic
...
level.
...
Tyler
...
attributes
...
the
...
short
...
duration
...
of
...
the
...
call
...
largely
...
to
...
language
...
barrier,
...
and
...
secondly
...
to
...
the
...
fact
...
that
...
“there
...
isn’t
...
that
...
much
...
to
...
talk
...
about.”
...
Tyler
...
mentions
...
that
...
if
...
it
...
were
...
not
...
for
...
the
...
language
...
barrier,
...
he
...
would
...
like
...
to
...
learn
...
more
...
about
...
what
...
his
...
grandmother
...
“does
...
all
...
day”
...
and
...
hear
...
more
...
updates
...
about
...
his
...
cousins
...
who
...
live
...
with
...
his
...
grandmother.
...
However,
...
he
...
also
...
admits
...
that
...
he
...
calls
...
his
...
grandmother
...
more
...
out
...
of
...
obligation
...
than
...
for
...
chatting
...
purposes.
...
When
...
asked
...
why
...
he
...
chooses
...
to
...
converse
...
with
...
his
...
grandmother
...
Skype-to-phone
...
rather
...
than
...
Skype-to-Skype,
...
Tyler
...
explained
...
that
...
it
...
would
...
be
...
too
...
cumbersome
...
to
...
call
...
her
...
phone,
...
ask
...
her
...
to
...
sign
...
onto
...
Skype,
...
and
...
wait
...
for
...
her
...
to
...
sign
...
on
...
before
...
finally
...
being
...
able
...
to
...
chat.
...
He
...
added
...
that
...
this
...
certainly
...
would
...
not
...
be
...
worth
...
the
...
very
...
short
...
time
...
(2-3
...
minutes)
...
that
...
the
...
conversation
...
typically
...
lasts.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- Uses
...
- Skype
...
- on
...
- his
...
- end
...
- for
...
- efficiency/cost
...
- reasons,
...
- but
...
- would
...
- find
...
- it
...
- more
...
- cumbersome
...
- to
...
- accommodate
...
- Skype
...
- on
...
- his
...
- grandmother’s
...
- end.
...
- Does
...
- not
...
- have
...
- much
...
- to
...
- converse
...
- about
...
- with
...
- his
...
- grandmother
...
- Feels
...
- that
...
- conversations
...
- tend
...
- to
...
- be
...
- short
...
- due
...
- to
...
- language
...
- barrier
...
2.
...
Nancy
...
Nancy
...
is
...
a
...
senior
...
at
...
Princeton,
...
completing
...
her
...
thesis
...
to
...
graduate
...
and
...
go
...
on
...
for
...
a
...
computer
...
science
...
PhD.
...
Naturally,
...
she’s
...
busy
...
all
...
the
...
time,
...
but
...
she
...
would
...
like
...
to
...
keep
...
in
...
touch
...
with
...
her
...
grandparents
...
who
...
have
...
supported
...
her
...
her
...
entire
...
life.
...
Unfortunately,
...
she
...
has
...
run
...
into
...
some
...
obstacles
...
that
...
prevent
...
her
...
from
...
connecting
...
with
...
them
...
more
...
deeply.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- Not
...
- a
...
- lot
...
- to
...
- talk
...
- about/forgets
...
- what
...
- she
...
- wants
...
- to
...
- tell
...
- them
...
- Doesn’t
...
- quite
...
- know
...
- what
...
- she
...
- can
...
- say
...
- that
...
- will
...
- interest
...
- her
...
- grandparents
...
- Language
...
- barriers
...
- often
...
- lead
...
- to
...
- miscommunication
...
3.
...
Rebecca
...
Rebecca
...
is
...
a
...
junior
...
studying
...
mathematics
...
at
...
MIT.
...
She
...
mostly
...
uses
...
phone
...
to
...
contact
...
her
...
grandmother
...
(hereinafter
...
referred
...
to
...
as
...
Mom-mom,
...
as
...
per
...
Rebecca’s
...
preference).
...
Occasionally
...
she
...
Skypes
...
with
...
Mom-mom
...
and
...
her
...
mother
...
at
...
the
...
same
...
time,
...
because
...
her
...
mom
...
can
...
get
...
the
...
computer
...
set
...
up.
...
Usually
...
Rebecca
...
calls
...
Mom-mom
...
rather
...
than
...
vice
...
versa
...
because
...
Mom-mom
...
worries
...
she
...
might
...
disturb
...
Rebecca
...
during
...
class
...
or
...
sleep
...
hours.
...
Rebecca
...
and
...
Mom-mom
...
talk
...
on
...
weekends
...
mostly.
...
When
...
Rebecca
...
is
...
at
...
home,
...
she
...
sees
...
Mom-mom
...
all
...
the
...
time
...
because
...
they
...
live
...
close.
...
So
...
when
...
she’s
...
away
...
she
...
still
...
wants
...
to
...
keep
...
in
...
touch
...
with
...
her.
...
She
...
said
...
“We
...
just
...
catch
...
up.
...
There’s
...
really
...
no
...
other
...
purpose
...
but
...
to
...
talk.”
...
Rebecca
...
hopes
...
that
...
computers
...
could
...
be
...
easier
...
to
...
use
...
so
...
that
...
Mom-mom
...
could
...
use
...
the
...
computer
...
without
...
Rebecca’s
...
mother’s
...
help.
...
Lessons
...
learned:
...
- Not
...
- all
...
- kids
...
- are
...
- not-so-close
...
- to
...
- their
...
- grandparents.
...
- In
...
- this
...
- case
...
- Rebecca
...
- actively
...
- contacts
...
- her
...
- grandmother.
...
- In
...
- some
...
- cases
...
- there
...
- can
...
- be
...
- another
...
- family
...
- member
...
- to
...
- assist
...
- the
...
- elderly.
...
- Her
...
- grandmother
...
- worries
...
- that
...
- she
...
- might
...
- disturb
...
- Rebecca.
...
- There
...
- could
...
- be
...
- a
...
- better
...
- way
...
- to
...
- signal
...
- when
...
- she’s
...
- available.
...
Task Analysis
1.
...
Phone
...
a
...
younger
...
family
...
member
...
Subtasks:
...
- Look
...
- up
...
- phone
...
- number
...
- on
...
- refrigerator
...
- /
...
- post-it
...
- notes
...
- /
...
- notebooks
...
- (most
...
- likely)
...
- in
...
- cell
...
- phone
...
- contacts
...
- in
...
- computer
...
- address
...
- book
...
- Dial
...
- number
...
Preconditions:
...
- Know
...
- there
...
- is
...
- a
...
- high
...
- likelihood
...
- that
...
- younger
...
- family
...
- member
...
- will
...
- be
...
- available
...
- at
...
- time
...
- of
...
- call
...
- (less
...
- likely
...
- to
...
- call
...
- otherwise)
...
- Have
...
- record
...
- of
...
- phone
...
- number
...
- somewhere
...
- nearby
...
Time
...
constraints:
...
- Typically
...
- constrained
...
- by
...
- younger
...
- family
...
- member’s
...
- schedule
...
Frequency
...
of
...
use:
...
- Particularly
...
- high
...
- use
...
- on
...
- holidays
...
- and
...
- birthdays
...
- From
...
- daily
...
- to
...
- once
...
- every
...
- few
...
- weeks,
...
- depending
...
- on
...
- the
...
- user
...
2.
...
Videochat
...
with
...
younger
...
family
...
member
...
Subtasks:
...
(current
...
process
...
is
...
usually
...
child-initiated)
...
- Have
...
- younger
...
- family
...
- member
...
- set
...
- up
...
- webcam
...
- and/or
...
- microphone
...
- Be
...
- informed
...
- of
...
- a
...
- time
...
- to
...
- chat
...
Preconditions:
...
- Have
...
- a
...
- scheduled
...
- time
...
- to
...
- talk,
...
- even
...
- if
...
- only
...
- a
...
- few
...
- minutes
...
- in
...
- advance
...
- Have
...
- web
...
- communication
...
- hardware
...
- (webcam,
...
- mic)
...
- Have
...
- something
...
- to
...
- talk
...
- about
...
- /
...
- have
...
- a
...
- reason
...
- for
...
- videochatting
...
- over
...
- other
...
- means
...
- Have
...
- other
...
- person’s
...
- “buddy”/username
...
- information
...
Time
...
constraints:
- Typically constrained by younger family member’s schedule
Frequency of use:
- Varies from once a week to once a year, depending on user.
...
3. Email a younger family member
...
Subtasks:
- Login
- Sending email:
- type letters of addressee’s name
- sometimes attach a picture
- Receiving email: scan inbox (and sometimes junk folder)
Preconditions:
- Has access to email address (usually auto-populated from contacts)
- Has a reason for messaging:
- i.e. in area and want to meet up
- i.e. forward interesting articles
Time constraints:
- None
Frequency of use:
- Varies from none to daily, depending on the user
...
4. Contact a grandparent
...
Subtasks:
- If via videochat:
- help set up webcam / account if not already set up
- tell grandparent/parent to sign in / prepare for the call
- may involve first calling parent, then parent contacts grandparent
- be told that grandparent is ready
- call grandparent
- If via phone or email:
- find person in contact list and call
- type in grandparent name in email
Preconditions:
- have free time
- be reminded by parent to call
- have something to talk about (this is made easier on holidays/birthdays)
Time constraints:
- school, lab, meetings
Frequency of use:
- Varies from once a week to once a year, depending on the user