UCSA: A Design Framework for Usable Cognitive Systems for the Worried-well
Personal Ubiquitous Comput., 17 (6):
1135--1145 (August 2013)DOI: 10.1007/s00779-012-0554-x
Abstract
This paper presents a design framework that facilitates the development of usable cognitive stimulation applications for elders. A usable application considers various aspects for its design to suit its users, such as usefulness, ease of use and satisfactory user experience, in order to engage them in its use. The framework brings together the lessons learned over a period of 3 years performing fieldwork and evaluating prototypes with elders. As proof of concept, and to gather feedback for the framework, we designed, developed and evaluated Abueparty, a cognitive wellness system that uses a game board metaphor to propose everyday entertainment activities for the cognitive stimulation of worried-well elders. The evaluation results provide evidence that participants perceived Abueparty as useful, easy to use and providing a pleasant user experience. These results provide evidence of the framework's usefulness for the effective design of usable cognitive stimulation applications.