Issue 1/Q4 2012

OutofTouch?In cooperation with:

RESEARCH

QUARTERLY

RESEARCH

75 percent of all mistakes are evident in a very early phase of a product‘s lifecycle (see fig.1). A significant reason for this is that the first time user tests are carried out is often when the product has already almost been completely developed mean-ing only marginal changes to it can be made. This is also true for classic market research, which mostly takes place for the first time at the beginning of the buying process or during product use.

Often, developments are technology driven and are very seldom orientated towards the needs of older users. When designing pro-ducts, changes which older people typically go through are not adequately considered, lea-ding to users feeling that everyday devices are complicated and have unnecessary functions.

But what does user-friendly mean exactly? emporiaRESEARCH is trying to find an answer to this through empathic product develop-ment. Knowledge of behavioural patterns and the interests and needs of the target group is required to do this. Empathic product develop-ment is only possible for companies in close contact with their target groups.Customers can often struggle to articulate what they want or need. A crucial weakness exactly lies in raising of customer needs in questionnaires. Inter active methods and direct conver sations thus deliver the best results.

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emporiaRESEARCH – 30 employees work on empathic product development

EDITORIAL

The essence of management is making knowledge productive. That‘s why I am proud to present to you the first report from emporiaRESEARCH. We want to present our findings at regular intervals in cooperation with one of our university research partners. This time we invited Ian Hosking from the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge to make an introductory presentation on the subject of the usability of smartphones.

At the same time, we would like to provide an insight into the living circumstances of our customers and what preoccupies our target group, how they communicate, and whether a clear segmentation is at all possible.

At the end of this issue you will find a conversation between two people of different generations. How do they answer the same questions. What is important for both?

I hope you find it all very interesting!

Eveline Pupeter

Eveline Pupeter

Fig. 1 leftEmergence and correction of errors in the product lifecycle

Above fig.emporiaRESEARCH establishes needs of the target group through interactive workshops and direct conversation.

Emergence of error Error correction-85%

Emergence of errorError correction

Prop

orti

onat

ely

resp

onsi

bilit

y

Product definition purchaseTech. devel. Product service

Phases of product lifecycle

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RESEARCH

EuroRSCG Prosumer Report 2012

A frequently asked question in the course of the development of a new product is: what is actually at the root of planning – the product or the target group? Successful companies dis-tinguish themselves through consistent focus on the needs of the customer segments they address, as adequate satisfaction of customer needs leads to the desired consumer behaviour.

Just like behaviour in general, consumer behaviour is determined by a person‘s value system. And the-se values are influenced by the individual approach to target group relevant topics. It is very important for emporiaRESEARCH to discover what their tar-get group thinks about the subject of „ageing“ and more precisely which challenges they face in con-nection to this, amongst other things.

In the „Euro RSCG Prosumer Report 2012“, this question was put to more than 7,000 people in 19 countries. Diminishing mental or physical abilities cause the most worries according to this study. In order to understand age-related physical changes, emporia RESEARCH uses the „empathic tool kit“ developed by the renowned University of Cambridge. With the help of special glasses and gloves we can simulate how age-related reduction in vision and sensory abilities affects the use of technological devices.„Loneliness“ and „losing touch with the outside world“ likewise rank amongst fears which are fre-quently linked to old-age. User-friendly and simple communication means are thus all the more impor-tant. It is only in this way that they will be accepted and used by potential customers.(You can find the white paper about „Euro RSCG Prosumer Report“ at our website www.emporia.eu).

If you want to move people, you must learn to understand what they are moved by!

Above fig.Age-related physical changes can be understood with the help of the „empathic tool kit“.

Fig. leftWhat worries me most about aging (Source: „Euro RSCG Prosumer Report 2012“)

What worries me about ageing (in % of those questioned)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Women Men

diminishing mental abilitiesillness or pain

diminishing physical abilitiesdeath of people my age

financial difficultiesbecoming a burden on someone

loss of independenceunaffordable medical care

lonelinessno longer being needed

loss of identitydying without having achieved goals

living in a care or nursing homelosing touch with the outside world

being forgottenloss of respect or social status

becoming physically unattractivebeing bored

losing support of some children

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RESEARCH

EDC Universität Cambridge

There are a number of reasons why the older ge-neration finds the use of smartphones particu-larly cumber some. Complex user interfaces and numerous functions, in particular, pose parti-cular hurdles in this process. Here we deal with the first operational hurdle in more detail: is the user interface at all readable?

An obvious solution to remove this obstacle would be enlarging the text. To understand why this is not sufficient, we need to take a quick lesson in biology. Close adaptability (accommodation) of the eyes becomes more and more difficult for people as they get on in age. This means that nearby sharp vision without suitable correction – e.g. in the form of glasses – is no longer possible. It doesn‘t have anything to do with illness; rather it is an inevitable age-related loss of functions.Figure 1 shows this development. A 10-year-old

for example still has an accommodation breadth of 11 dioptres on average, and this decreases to 7 dioptres on average in a 30-year-old. At the age of 50 this value levels out at around 2 dioptres and no longer changes much from this age. The effects of this loss of function are often recognisable between the age of 40 and 50. The average age in Europe is 43. If we look at the statistics this means that half of the population is older and with this affected by age-related long-sightedness.

With the „Cambridge Vision Simulation Software“ it is possible to simulate age-related long-sighted-ness or make it under standable. Figure 2 shows the possibility of text enlargement on an iPhone. On the lower picture the software simulates how the user interface is seen through age-related long-sightedness. In figure 3 we can see how text enlarge-ment has an effect on specific functions (writing

Smartphones - „Short-sighted“ manufacturers overlook the 50+ target group!

Figure 1, right:Close adaptability (accommodation) of the eyes becomes more and more dif-ficult for people as they get on in age.(Source: Vassilief, A and Dain, S, 1986)

According to Ian Hosking, resear-cher at the University of Cambridge,

smartphone manufacturers are being „short-sighted“.

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RESEARCH

text messages). The typed text is now halfway rea-dable but other functions such as the keyboard or send button remain in the original text size and are thus unreadable like before.

As mentioned in the introduction, being able to change the text size is not enough. A solution is needed to enlarge all screen elements. In light of the fact that around half of the population is affec-ted by age-related long-sightedness it seems quite „short-sighted“ of smartphone manu facturers to not consider this when developing these products. Even if manufacturers were to take on this subject, it would be just the first hurdle for older users of smartphones. As soon as they can see the user interface in its entirety, further difficulties loom.

Fig. 3 left:Text size adaptation on an iPhone – in the right hand picture the Cambridge software simulates how the user interface looks like in the case of age-related long-sightedness.

Fig. 2 above:Although the typed text becomes visible through text enlargement, other functions such as the keyboard and send button remain in the original text size and are thus unreadable like before.

EDC Universität Cambridge

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RESEARCH

STUDY User segmentation

Who exactly are these senior users?Silver agers, 50+, the golden generation. These are just some terms which summarise the group of people over 50. However, when you look more closely at this part of society you can im-mediately recognise that summarising everyone under one term isn‘t enough. The living circum-stances and physical condition of a 55-year-old person are clearly different from those of an 80-year-old person. Different age groups in this segment of society have different experiences and priorities.

They have different expectations and demands.

In product design, and when developing new technologies, it is important to put the users into focus. For the 60+ segment of society emporia RESEARCH has carved out two important user groups in studies and analyses which are much more different in lifestyle than age.

BACK-UP TYPE - The basic type81 percent of people in this group already have a mobile phone and make up approx. 20 percent of all mobile users. From a mobile phone they want easy operation without stigmatisation. Im-portant contacts persons are parents, partners, children and grandchildren.With parents and partners personal contact and contact by telephone or text messages are the most popular. Modern communication methods like email and Skype are also used with grand-children. Letters also still play an important role.Landlines, mobiles are computers are used for daily phonecalls and emails in particular. Daily communication and information play and impor-tant role. Cost and the fear of making mistakes are particularly considered as an immediate hurdle.

ASSURANCE TYPE - The security type56 percent of this group already have a mobile telephone, and they make up 14% of all mobile users. It is important to them that the mobile phone is constantly by their side and that help can quickly be called for in an emergency.The most important contact persons for this group are parents, partners, children and grandchildren. Modern communication methods such as text messages or email are only popular when getting in touch with their grandchildren. Additionally, letters are also gladly written to parents.Similar to the back-up type, landlines, mobiles and computers are used for daily phonecalls and emails. Daily communication and informa-tion are also paramount with this group.

Typical statements for representa-tives of the „back-up type“ are:

„The main thing is that it works.“ 62%

„Many technical devices have way too many functions which you actually don‘t need at all.“72%

„I find it hard to part with devices and replaces them with new ones when they still work.“ 71%

Typical statements for representati-ves of the „security type“ group are:

„Before buying I asked my son/daughter.“ 56%

„Technical advances make devices harder and harder to operate.“ 40%

„I find it hard to part with devices and replace them with new ones when they still work.“ 47%

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RESEARCH

STUDY User segmentation

Source: emporiaRESEARCH

Source: emporiaRESEARCH Source: emporiaRESEARCH

How do you use technologies ...

Communicative environmentWhat content do seniors want?

How do you stay in contact with ...

... parents• in person• by phone• by text

... your partner• in person• by phone• by text

... children/grandchildren• in person• by phone• by text• by email• via Skype• in writing

... friends• in person• by phone• by text• by email• in writing

Back-up Typ

Assurance Typ

-+

-+

-+

-+

-+

-+

Computers• research• email

+ daily help for communication and information

+ laptops are handy

- high costs- fear of problems- of small importance

+ daily help for communication and information

- high costs- fear of problems- of small importance

Back-up Type

Assurance Type

Mobiles• daily phone calls• texts

+ daily help for communication and information

+ can be reached in an emergency

- would rather phone through a landline

- constant availability

+ daily help for communication and information

+ can be reached in an emergency

- would rather phone through a landline

- complicated operation

Landlines• Daily phone calls

+ daily help for communication and information

+ mobility through cordless phones

- cold calls- high costs

+ daily help for communication and information

+ cost saving

- little comfort because of cords

30 % special events (past)

25 % everyday moments

15 % special events (present)

15 % greetings

10 % news

5 % humour/art

Being close to customers, listening and showing an interest in their particular needs is important to emporia Telecom – „close to the customer“ is our motto. That‘s why the „my super senior“ pro-ject was started. emporia employees regularly meet a representative of the target group and discuss the topics of mobile phones and tele-phoning.

Johann Marckhgott, 71. Auditory teacher and director of the Institute for hearing and vision education, retired for 10 years.

Mobile or television – What would you rather do without?I‘m actually not ready to give up my mobile. I‘d rather leave the television, since I can always read the paper.

What devices do you use? Do particular means of communication exist for certain people?My mobile is my main means of communication.

With it I can reach all people and can even call up my emails. Though I‘d rather do that on a computer. I only have a landline so people can call me on it.

What news have you celebrated recently?

I got a text about the birth of my grandchild. That is some-

thing special that you‘d like to know straight away.

Is it difficult for you to keep track of the techno-logy jungle?What‘s important for me is: What technology

suits me? I have tried tablets before but that would just be yet ano-ther device. I prefer „all-in-ones“.

When did you write your last letter? What was it

for?I congratulated friends in Germany on their birth-day. Unfortunately, people now only write on special occasions.

Postcards or texts – what do you write on holiday?My mother-in-law always gets a postcard. Otherwise, I only send postcards to people who I know will appreciate them.

Simple communication – what does that mean for you?When two people simply speak to each other – in person or on the phone. Something gets lost in a text message. Günter Vorauer, 29. R&D emporia Telcom, Linz software team. Specialist areas: software deve-lopment and acoustics.

Mobile or television – what would you rather do without?In private I could do without both, no problem. How-ever for my job I couldn‘t be without a mobile.

What devices do you use? Do particular means of communication exist for certain people?I use email and Skype, professionally and privately. The telephone is however the most important means of communication. Texts are over-used. When meeting someone sometimes you receive updates every minute until you meet up.

What news have you celebrated recently?Someone I know is getting married, and I received the wedding invitation in the post.

Is it difficult for you to keep track of the technology jungle?Dealing with new technology is a „side effect“ of my job anyway. I constantly deal with new techno-logy and also need to constantly learn about it and further develop myself.

When did you write your last letter. What was it for?I can‘t really remember. Probably as an exercise in school.

Postcards or texts – what do you write on holiday?Definitely postcards to my parents, grandparents. I don‘t switch on my phone at all on holiday.

Simple communication – what does it mean for you?As it is so beautifully said: talking brings people together. Direct communication, which is limited to the essentials.

My „Super Senior“

Q & A

RESEARCH

Imprint: emporia Telecom Produktions- und Vertriebs GesmbH & CoKG, Industriezeile 36, A-4020 Linz - Austria