Reflective thoughts on “Inclusive service system design for senior citizens”.

As a part of a five weeks extensive studio on “ probing into the service, system infrastructure”, we dig deeper to understand how gated communities nowadays are using application management system for security and other maintenance activities like payment, etc.

We started with exploring the system and the services to understand the working of its actors. We then narrowed down our focus area to understand how senior citizens who are also an integral part of these gated communities interact with the services being offered in the communities.

Initially, through our research process, we were looking into the senior citizens who use smartphones and use applications such as My gate versus the people who use a feature phone, to understand their interactions when it comes to availing the service. Feature phone users are also people who do not feel the necessity to use or learn a smartphone. If such is the case the question arises-

How inclusive the system is for senior citizens?

Early into the stage after having interactions with some of the senior citizens in the gated community, we realized that categorizing them based on age and their ability to use technology is not really helping us in understanding them as all of them have different interest, liking, ability, etc.

So, we then went about by looking into the interactions they have when a delivery partner comes in or in case of an emergency or for community socializing to identify what could be the paint points for them and of others in that situations.

Link for the research proposal, process, output.

Learning from the process

The service design tool-kits such as stakeholder mapping, competitor study really helped us to map out and understand the process from various stakeholder and system point of view respectively.

Doing an impact analysis helped me understand “who said what?” plays a very crucial role in understanding the value it has in the context of use.

Also, whenever a new service is designed, it has with it its own assumption and it is interesting to unpack it and also to be aware of those biases which further creeps into the service-system design because of it.

Doing a stakeholder analysis and service design for the current system and doing it later when a new service is introduced, gives a better understanding of the impact of the new service into the system and its value proposition.

The idea of putting everything on a wall in a more visual way helps in looking back on how we started with a problem statement to where we have currently reached. It is also helpful in finding links which otherwise gets missed out while jotting it in notebooks.

Learning from the proposed output

1. To look for the ability of the user to make them avail the service than to impose a new thing.

2. To think outside the digital bubble because sometimes physical interactions through meetings or gathering can help facilitate bonding and connection with the community which a smartphone may or may not.

3. Introduction of any new service or solving for a gap present in the current system disrupts the current space. So as a designer we should be cognizant of the fact that ;

What value are we adding?

Questioning to is this the only way?

Learning from peers

Different approaches taken by different team members gave a better perspective to see the service system design from a different point of view and in context with workers, security guards, residents, etc.

Also the role of infrastructures which plays a crucial role when a service system is designed.

Conclusion

This studio helped me get a better sense of terms such as services, experience, platform, infrastructure which constitute a service system design. Also, to look into the implications of introducing a new service into the system.

Lastly a big thank you to facilitators and all the team members of giving constructive feedback at each point, which helped in shaping the project and a lot of learning to keep with.