Design for Elderly – A Meeting Point for Ethnography and Usability

Abstract

Ethnographic research methods are getting more and more popular in disciplines that have mainly been dominated by quantitative or experimental methodological approaches. Especially in technology-driven research, ethnography seems to enrich common approaches by investigating the use of technology in the everyday life of prospective users. By participating in and observing the users and their mundane activities, routines and rituals ethnography provides insights that can be integrated in the design process to improve the usability of the artifact. This article discusses the intersection of ethnography and usability by introducing ethnographic methods, discussing their application in the context of design for elderly and presenting results of an ethnographic case study in the field of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL).