Building digital confidence for seniors, one step at a time.

Co-Founder + Product Designer and ResearchPrize Winner

Timeline: Aug 2022 – Feb 2023
Role: Co-Founder · UX Research · Product Design
Team of 5: Social Workers · Product Manager · Curriculum & Product Designer
Status: Piloted

As a cofounder and design strategist, I launched a browser-based game along with 4 other members, wherein older adults leverage patterns of repetition and reward system to learn how to best use their smart phones, thus supporting their ability to feel confident in using technology. The product tackled the last mile problem space that exists in digital literacy interventions.

Supported by

Riot Games Social Impact Fund
IDEO.org
Design for Digital Thriving
Fair Play Alliance

2 out of 3 Older Adults

feel low to no confidence with using technology

Source: Pew Research Centre

Read my Capstone on Digital Equity for Older Adults

2.5 months20+ research participants

“I feel like I’m at the bottom of the ladder when it comes to this.”

73 yrs, research participant

“My grandson teaches me something. But as soon as he leaves, I forget.”

75 yrs, research participant

So we asked ourselves

How might we build a learning system where older adults can develop digital autonomy and confidence in the absence of human intervention?

.the journey

Despite literacy classes or support from family, the older adults we spoke to found it difficult to bring autonomy to their digital experiences. We then studied the ‘Last Mile’ problem.

Desire to
learn

01Digital Literacy
Classes

02In Person
Support

The last mile:Autonomy

.the approach: Our HCD sprint 1

1200+hours of qualitative interviews

Ideation started with conducting 1200+ hours of qualitative interviews: a combination of focus groups, one on one conversations, and senior center visits.

Focus groups
One on one conversations
Senior center visits

How we centered our users through personas ↓

A remote research session: two researchers on a video call with three older adults at a senior center

.user persona

2.5months

20+research participants

The Ask Mabel journey map

From the desire to learn, through tech classes and family support, to building confidence through lessons. Each stage carries how it felt, and the opportunity it opened.

.iterations

Iteration 1 · Native Plug-in

The idea
In-app training. A plug-in inside everyday apps that guides people step by step while they use them.

Why
Learning inside familiar apps keeps the learning curve low. There is no new app to learn.

What we learned
Feedback was positive, but technical limits blocked the build, so we went back to the problem space.
Iteration 2 · Game Application

The idea
Gamified learning. An app with interactive lessons, plus a support team for everyday tech problems.

Why
Mobile games are popular with older adults, so we used play to make self-paced learning engaging.

What we learned
People liked the game, but worried about phone storage. The mascot felt like a stereotype, and they asked for one that was more confident and empowering.
The final design
Both lessons shaped Ask Mabel: lessons arrive by text, with nothing to install, and Mabel became a confident teacher.
See the final product ↓

Final User Journey

Based on lessons learnt from previous iterations and testing, we built out our user journey for iteration 3.

.the solution

Ask Mabel was developed as a playful SMS experience that sends timely lessons to older adults who wish to learn basics about digital technology.

Lessons are structured as concise, digestible bits of information followed by quizzes and rewards to reinforce learning. They build autonomy and digital confidence steadily, so learners can participate and thrive in our increasingly digital world. There is no app to download: a text arrives at a preferred time, with a lesson link to practice basic skills.