Avec le vieillissement de la population, le maintien à domicile des personnes âgées est devenu un enjeu majeur pour les pays développés et émergents. Parmi les solutions clés à explorer, les gérontechnologies sont considérées comme des plus prometteuses sans toutefois avoir apporté la preuve de leur efficacité pour l’autonomie domiciliaire, voire même être utilisables et acceptables pour le public visé. Dans ce contexte, une méthodologie de conception centrée-utilisateur a été mise en place pour proposer une plateforme d’assistance domiciliaire multi-tâches et multi-domaines (soutenant à la fois les activités quotidiennes, la sécurité de la personne et de son domicile et le lien social) ciblant un public âgé fragile en perte d’autonomie. Cette plateforme est appelée DomAssist. Sur la base d’une analyse des capacités physiques, cognitives et fonctionnelles en présence (étude 1) et des besoins d’assistance (étude 2) de notre échantillon d’étude, DomAssist a été conçu avec pour originalité une offre de services multi-domaines. En effet, la plateforme s’appuie d’une part sur un système de surveillance d’activités pour délivrer des assistances dites « context-aware » (étude 3) et d’autre part sur un système d’interaction homme-machine unifié et simplifié (étude 4), et ceci tout en promouvant l’auto-détermination (étude 5). Les résultats ont étayé la fiabilité du système de surveillance d’activités, et renforcé le bien-fondé de nos principes de conception concernant le système unifié d’interaction; et le soutien de l’auto-détermination. Notamment un rendu positif concernant l’utilisabilité et l’acceptabilité du système, et un effet bénéfique sur le sentiment de l’autodétermination des utilisateurs âgés ont été obtenus. De là, une dernière étude (étude 6) a évalué les bénéfices apportés après 6 mois d’utilisation de la plateforme, en termes de capacités fonctionnelles des participants fragiles, et de réduction du fardeau de l’aidant. Un effet positif (effet « protecteur » observé par les aidants professionnels) de DomAssist sur le statut fonctionnel des participants équipés (comparé aux contrôles) a été observé ainsi qu’une réduction du fardeau objectif de leur aidant. Au total, les résultats de ce travail pilote sont encourageants et ouvrent de nombreuses perspectives de recherche à fort potentiel d’impact sociétal concernant la problématique du maintien à domicile des personnes âgées / With the increase of life expectancy, aging in place is today a major concern for developed and emerging countries. Among the key solutions to explore, gerontechnologies are seen as the most promising. However, their evidence-based efficacy remains to be demonstrated for independent living or even for their usability and acceptance by the targeted old users. In this context, a user-centered conception methodology has been implemented for designing a multi-task and multi-domain (supporting everyday activities, safety, and social participation) assisted living platform targeting frail older adults with functional decline. This platform is named HomeAssist. Based on an analysis of physical, cognitive and fonctional abilities (study 1) and assistive technology needs (study 2) of our sample, HomeAssist has been designed with the originality of providing multi-domain services. Indeed, HomeAssist proposes an activity monitoring system to provide context-aware assistance (study 3), and a unified human-computer interaction system (study 4); while promoting self-determination (study 5). Results underpined the reliability of our activity monitoring system, and reinforced the rationale of our design principles, concerning the unified interaction system and the self-determination support. Notably, positive outcomes in terms of usability and acceptance of the system, as well as benefits concerning users’ feeling of self-determination have been obtained. From this, a last study (study 6) evaluated the benefits from a six-month use of HomeAssist, on functional abilities of frail older adults and caregiver burden. A positive effect of HomeAssist on functional status was obtained (“protective” effect reported by the professional caregivers), as well as a reduction of objective dimension of caregiver burden. Taken together, the results from these pilot studies are encouraging and open numerous research perspectives with high societal impact concerning the promotion of aging in place.

Introduction: This research investigated the requirements of an HIT solution that is usable and useful to informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care. Methodology: A needs assessment method was used with an exploratory and a confirmatory stage. Eight semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were used for data collection. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse caregiver experiences with both inductive and deductive coding. Results/Discussion: Expressed and unexpressed caregiver needs were extracted into four categories, Implementation, Presentation, Information, and Practical Caregiving, and used to create the application requirements. Five user personas were created based on caregiving intensity and the functional level of the patients, a method of tailoring the application content to the different personas was created, and a low-fidelity prototype of the application was designed. Conclusion: The findings of this research can improve the preparedness and coping of informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care.

A popularização dos dispositivos computacionais portáteis ao longo dos últimos anos, principalmente os smartphones e tablets, tem motivado o desenvolvimento de aplicações, que possuem um grande potencial para facilitar o acesso a informação e auxiliar os usuários na realização de tarefas do cotidiano. Entretanto, notamos que essa tecnologia não é acolhida por todos os nichos de usuários de modo semelhante. Apesar do envelhecimento natural das populações possibilitar um crescimento considerável de pessoas idosas nos últimos anos, observa-se que a taxa de utilização dos dispositivos táteis pelos idosos, atualmente, pode ser considerada baixa em relação às demais faixas etárias. Esta menor participação dos usuários idosos do mercado de aplicação para dispositivos móveis ocorre devido ao desenvolvimento tecnológico não considerar as especificidades para permitir seu uso, limitando a satisfação dos usuários por meio da concepção de componentes de interface e funcionalidades que dificultam a utilização pelo público idoso, contribuindo até para uma rejeição a essa tecnologia. Assim, neste projeto busca-se propor recomendações de usabilidade específicas para o desenvolvimento de aplicações em dispositivos móveis voltadas para os usuários idosos, a partir do desenvolvimento centrado no usuário, de uma aplicação de interesse para esse público alvo, que foi denominada Eldernote. Em direção a esse objetivo realizamos estudos para identificarmos na literatura as principais recomendações e diretrizes de usabilidade para a implementação de aplicações móveis voltadas para os usuários idosos. A partir desses estudos, iniciamos um levantamento sobre esse perfil de usuários e dos requisitos da aplicação. Com base nas informações coletadas, foi desenvolvida a aplicação Eldernote. Todo o processo de desenvolvimento é descrito neste trabalho, desde a concepção das interfaces até a realização de testes preliminares com usuários reais, com o objetivo de investigar as principais características de projetar-se uma aplicação com usabilidade especialmente para usuários idosos. Finalmente, foram realizados os testes de usabilidade com os usuários em um ambiente real de utilização, que propiciou inferirmos as preferências dos usuários, componentes de interface prejudiciais a utilização e a análise da navegação dos usuários durante o uso da aplicação. Ao final, não só foi possível identificar recomendações de usabilidade mas também resultou na disponibilização da aplicação Eldernote à comunidade de usuários no intuito de contribuir para a melhoria da qualidade de vida dos usuários idosos. / The widespread use of portable devices in the last few years, particularly smartphones and tablets has encouraged the development of applications that have the potential to facilitate access to information and help users in day to day activities. However it is important to notice that this technology is not welcomed by all users. In spite of the fact that the natural process of overall aging of the population is increasing the number of elderly people, it is noticeable that the usage of such devices by this group is relatively low compared with other age groups. This apparent exclusion of the elderly from the market of mobile applications is due to its technological development not take this group particular necessities into consideration to allow its free use, this seriously limits the users satisfaction with the usage of interface elements and functionalities that hinder its utilization by the elderly public and contribute to this groups rejection of this technology. Therefore, this project seeks to propose specific recommendations for the development of applications in mobile devices for elderly users from the development of a user centered application named Eldernote. Seeking this purpose we have studied and identified the literatures main recommendations and guidelines used in the implementations of mobile applications directed to elderly users. Coming out of this research, we initiated the survey of the users profile and their guidelines for the application from interviews with a group of users. Based on this information the job of implementing the Eldernote application began, and in this work we illustrate all of its development process, from its interface conception to the realization of preliminary tests with real users. Finally, after the conclusion of its implementation, we tested the applications usability with users in a real usage environment. From the tests collected data it was possible to conclude the users preferences, prejudicial interface elements and to analyze the users navigation inside the application. With the conclusion of this work it was possible not only to determine usability recommendations but it also resulted in Eldernotes availability to the users community with the intention to contribute to the improvement of the users life quality.

With an increasing population and decreasing housing supply, students in large cities get entangled in a societal crisis. Concurrently, the intermediary rental websites are scattered and insufficient. An emerging technology; PropTech is in the nascent phase, aiming to streamline the rental process by assisting target users. Through an exploratory approach, this study thoroughly investigated the sequences which prospective tenants encounter during the rental process. Simultaneously, their challenges and needs got examined. The data collection consisted of a landscape analysis, and semi-structured interviews combined with a focus group. The identified sequences which need to be incorporated into a rental PropTech platform are (1) Finding the listings, (2) Filtering the listings, (3) Contact with landlord, (4) Viewing the property, (5) Closing a deal, (6) Moving in, and (7) Post moving feedback. Throughout such a platform, it is essential to implement functions that support transparency, reliability, privacy, and feedback.

Kollaborative Robotik wird in der Regel als eine, den Anwender entlastende, Komponente in einem Mensch-Maschine-Szenario verstanden. Dabei wird in einer bisher nicht automatisierten Arbeitsumgebung eine Teilautomatisierung nachgerüstet. Für die Entwicklung derartiger Systeme ist neben dem Anwender und seinen Anforderungen auch eine hohe Passfähigkeit zu unterschiedlichen Bestandssystemen ausschlaggebend. Dieses Paper dokumentiert interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit zwischen Industrie, angewandter Forschung und Technischem Design, um Kernanforderungen an Automatisierungslösungen für bestehende Werkzeugmaschinen zusammenzutragen. In einem industriellen Automatisierungsszenario entstand eine mobile Roboterzelle mit einem hängenden Roboter sowie einem Palettenspeicher zur Maschinenbeschickung. Vor- und Nachbearbeitungen sind in einheitlichen Fähigkeitsmodulen gekapselt. Maschine und Bauteile werden über ein intelligentes Bildverarbeitungssystem lokalisiert. Diese Referenzierung ermöglicht nach einmaligem Teachen das Nachführen der Roboterbewegungen bei einer Neukonfiguration. Ergänzt wird die Lösung durch ein schutzzaunloses Sicherheitskonzept und eine bedienerführende Benutzeroberfläche zur Fähigkeitskomposition. Mit der Automatisierungslösung können mittelständische Unternehmen bei Personalengpässen die Produktivität aufrechterhalten und Mitarbeiter von monotonen Tätigkeiten entlasten.

The industry relies on interdisciplinarity to promote advancements. The diverse engineering domains, information technologies, management and social sciences are combined in the industrial environment and oriented o society’s ever-changing demands. In parallel, the demographic shifts caused by population aging present room for innovation on many fronts, such as in health, technology, industry, products, and services, and in the same way in product development processes. In an attempt to tackle such issues, this article discusses how the addressing of the elderly population demands, particularly the demand for smart products, might be supported by the principles of production digitalization. In doing so, it proposes a conceptual framework for the development of smart products for the elderly, sustained by three core pillars: specific product lifecycle stages, Industrie 4.0 requirements for smart product development; and Industrie 4.0 enabling technologies which are integrated by the User-Centered Design philosophy. Their combination into a framework aims at addressing two main points: assist in the translation of elderly real consumers’ expectations and demands into more adequate, appealing products and in creating a transition path for companies who wish to incorporate the principles and technologies of production digitalization in their value chain. Furthermore, the article discusses how this proposal could be validated in the real industrial environment.

The covid-19 pandemic initiated this master thesis project. The pandemic has spread globally causing a lot of fear and uncertainty. We noticed the big shift in people’s daily routines, with the current state being that many individuals are stuck at home, scared to go outside, scared to meet with family members that are within the risk group. The future is very uncertain, people not knowing when society will return to normal. To provide people with a sense of safety, a tool for an easier daily routine, the feeling of more control in their daily lives, an opportunity to help others. These are all purposes that embody the reason for this master thesis.The goal of this master thesis project is to develop a digital prototype of an application concept. The application’s purpose is to provide users with insight of high activity areas of people in their vicinity or specific locations, to hopefully result in the user feeling more in control and hence more safe. The workflow used in this project is based on design thinking, using experience gained from the industrial design engineering program combined with research on the topic of user interfaces to develop and test the concept. The focus of the research in this thesis is placed heavily on usability and graphic design.The process was divided into phases following the process of design thinking, with potential users included in every phase. From interviews, questionnaires and personas during the first phase of context immersion to workshops during the second phase, ideation, to finally usability testing during the third phase, implementation. To ensure that the needs of the user were always focused on throughout the entirety of this master thesis we included potential users in each phase of the project. During the different phases, Tensaii AB provided guidance on decisions made by us, as well as provided feedback on specific methods and results presented during the weekly meetings.The result of this master thesis is an application prototype, the design based on all the data gained from participants and collected literature. A design that, through a high level of usability, enables a wider group of users to easily use it. The concept was named Milocus, translated from Latin to ”my place”. An application that through a check in function can collect data about activity in different areas. The application clearly shows the activity to the user through three categories, calm, busy and very busy. The color choices and design of the application were made using the online tool Material Design.

This diploma thesis focuses on design of the web application for project management. The final product is more process-oriented compared to most of other widely spread project management tools. It builds on the visual representation of tasks' progress. One of the main features is its simplicity and user friendliness as it also aims at the users who are not willing to invest their time to discover more complex applications but are willing to use some project management tool. The application is developped in the Symfony framework.

The purpose of this study is to address uncertainty for the implementation of functionality concerning invoice management in the context of the customer relationship management (CRM) system Salesforce by providing design guidelines. It is a qualitative research project that follows a user-centered design (UCD) approach. Seven themes covering perceived difficulties were identified from a diverse set of stakeholders. The themes were analysed in a workshop where two Salesforce developers used their expert judgment to address the themes with liable design suggestions. This was followed by a heuristic evaluation session where an external Salesforce developer evaluated compressed versions of the design suggestions, leading to a concluding proposal of guidelines: 1) Comprehensive error handling and feedback, 2) Modular architecture, 3) Clarify systems relationship and provide detailed information, 4) Group similar functionality according to user role and provide direct feedback, 5) Understand user needs and utilize data graphics 6) Provide transparency for errors when possible, and 7) Provide traceable documentation based on functionality and workflows.

Many of us find it difficult to make big decisions, building ahouse is one of them. It is perhaps the biggest investment andproject that one takes on. During a house building project, thereare many things that needs to come together, you have to finda plot, choose a house model and lastly all those other choicesas for example the kitchen and bathroom details. It is in thisdecision process that it can be useful to be able to test differenthouse models and materials before the final decision is made.It is this process that is the focus of the thesis, or rather, a tool tofacilitate decisions. There are existing solutions today where the usercan change materials in houses online in virtual reality, this thesisexplores how this functionality could be conceived in an AR (AugmentedReality) environment. With this, the user can see their housein real size on the site before the construction has even begun.Neava AB has developed an application called Arvue where it is possibleto view an AR model of a house in real size. The houses NeavaAB produce belong to their customers, who are house companies.But as the team at Neava AB worked on developing customized configuratorsfor virtual reality, some challenges began to emerge.It takes a long time to agree with the customer which colour shadeis correct and the communication between the two at this stage ofproduction can sometimes take a long time. During which Neavahas to wait for the customer’s reply before they can continue theirwork. The problem regarding to the colours is also connected to thecustomers brand identity as the house companies all have their ownspecific appearance and want both the interface and images to reflectthis as strongly as possible. This increases the communicationbetween the two even further.The aim of the thesis is to design a tool where the house companycan administrate their own interface in the interactive AR configurator.The interface design is focused on user experience and evaluatedby measuring the usability and user experience.The work presented in this thesis applied a user centered designprocess, in which the most important part is to involve the users inthe design and to base the decisions upon their needs and feedbackin different ways. This work applied interviews, surveys, evaluationsand user testing continuously to control how well the results were inline with the identified needs.The thesis presents a proof of concept for how this tool for the housecompanies could be conceived by designing both the interface to administrateand the tool itself. By developing this tool Neava AB wouldboth reduce the time they spend on communication but also have aprogressive and innovative product service which could help reducethe environmental impact of building new houses. This is achievedby helping the users make better decisions and reduce the amountof re-buildt houses. / För många människor är det svårt att ta stora beslut, att bygga hus är ett av dessa. Det är kanske den största investeringen och projekt som man tar sig an. I ett husbygge är det många saker som ska stämma överrens, man ska hitta en tomt, välja en husmodell och till sist alla de där andra valen som till exempel köks- och badrumsdetaljer. Det är i detta beslutskede som det kan vara skönt att kunna testa olika husmodeller och material innan det slutliga beslutet tas. Det är denna process som är i fokus i detta examensarbete, eller rättare sagt ett verktyg för att underlätta besluten. Det handlar nämligenom en AR-applikation för hus. AR står för augmented reality(förstärkt verklighet) och med hjälp av denna kan användaren se sitt hus i verklig storlek på tomten innan någonting är bestämt eller ens påbörjat. Neava AB har utvecklat en applikation där det i dagsläget går att visa en AR-modell av ett hus i verklig storlek. Deras huvudsakliga kunder är husföretag som bygger modulära hus. Då teamet på Neava AB arbetat med att utveckla kundanpassade konfiguratorer för virtuell verklighet har några utmaningar börjat visa sig.Det tar lång tid att komma överens om vilken färgnyans som är korrekt och kommunikationen i detta skede av produktionen tar iblandväldigt lång tid varvid Neava måste invänta kundens bedöming påderas modeller. Detta problem är också kopplat till kundernas grafiska profil då kunderna alla har en specifik framtoning och vill att både gränssnitt och bilder ska återspegla denna så starkt som möjligt. Målsättningen med arbetet är att utforska hur ett verktyg för husföretagen att skapa sina egna gränssnitt skulle kunna se ut. Gränssnittet designas med fokus på användbarhet och användarupplevelse och utvärderas kontinuerligt jäntemot dessa kriterier. Projektet tillämpar en användarcentrerad designprocess där det centrala är att involvera användarna i designprocessen på olika sätt. Detta arbete tillämpar intervjuer, enkäter, utvärderingar och användartester genomgående för att kontrollera hur väl resultaten stämmer överrens med de identifierade behoven. Designen tas fram med utgånspunkt i de identifierade utmaningar och problem som funnits med hjälp av dessa metoder.Resultatet är ett koncept som illusterar hur detta verktyg skulle kunna se ut och fungera. Både hur en konfigurator för AR men också för hur en administrativ tjänst för en huskonfigurator skulle kunna se ut.Genom att designa gränssnittet för huskonfiguratorn i AR och medföljande administrativa tjänst så kunde ett förslag för detta verktyg presenteras. Om Neava skulle utveckla detta verktyg så skulle det både minska tiden som de lägger på kommunikation, men också ha tagit fram en innovativ och nytänkande produkt som kan bidra till att minska miljöpåverkan av nybyggnation genom säkrare beslut och minskad ombyggnation.