Tablet Applications for the Elderly: Specific Usability Guidelines

While the world population is aging, the technological progress is steadily increasing. Smartphones and tablets belong to a growing market and even more people aged 65 and above are using such touch devices. However, with advancing age normal cognitive, sensory, perceptual and motor changes influence psychological and physical capabilities and therefore the way the elderly are able to use tablet-applications.

When designing tablet-applications for the elderly developers have to be supported in understanding these capabilities.

Therefore, this thesis provides a comprehensive compilation of usability guidelines in order to develop user-friendly tablet-applications for older people.

The development and testing of an exemplary tablet-application within this thesis shows how these guidelines can be brought into practice and how this realization is evaluated by test persons in this age group.