Context and Methods

This first chapter of this book describes the current social and technological perspectives on the design of smart devices addressed to elder people. Moreover, it considers several methodological approaches such as Human-Centered Design, User-Centered Design, and Inclusive Design, to provide a framework of suitable methods for this applied design research. The chapter also describes the concepts of usability, human factors, and user experience, as factors influencing strategies to put fragile users at the center of the design process. Finally, the author analyzes the Quality Function Deployment tool, allowing a comparison between qualitative and quantitative information, to establish which are the project’s priorities, and which design factors can mostly influence its success.