Case Study: Improve Accessibility for a room booking website

Overview

In the last year of my master's study in Human-computer Interaction, I attended a course “E-Health: Promoting Healthy Ageing”, where I learned different aspects including clinical perspectives, political perspectives, social and personal, technological of the E-health domain and the characteristics of older adults. During the course, we spent 3 months designing and developing a technical solution for promoting physical exercise for the elderly in a team of 4 using principles of user-centred design and inclusive design.

My Role

For this project, I contributed to the work including planning the context of use analysis and user testing, and conducted the design work including wireframing and prototyping. Iterate the design and solution through feedback from stakeholders.

This mobile aim to target at older adults aged 65+, varying in digital literacy. To better understand our users, we conducted observations of 5 target users to examine how elderly users engage in physical exercise and 8 structured interviews to understand user challenges and technology use. I co-designed the interviews questions and made the observation plans for the user research.

Key Insights from Observations

• Most elderly people engage in low-intensity physical activities.
• Group exercise or physical activities offer social opportunity and guidance, which are popular among elderly

Key Insights from Interviews

• While 100% perform light activities like walking, only 25% follow structured routines, with 37.5% having medically prescribed exercises.
• Common challenges include lack of structured plans, physical discomfort, and inconsistent motivation.
• External reminders, family support, and understanding health benefits drive adherence for most participants.

Based on user insights, we developed an exercise app tailored for elderly users. The app enables elderly users to find exercises based on health conditions or specific body parts, ensuring personalized and safe workouts. It offers structured exercise plans with reminders to encourage consistency and long-term engagement.

We considered existing design systems but found that older adults have unique needs that industry standards often overlook. We refined some design includes create larger buttons and touch areas to accommodate reduced dexterity, use simple visual elements and clear color contrast for readability and minimized complexity to avoid overwhelming users.

Task 1: Search and add exercises to a personalized plan.

Task 2: Complete scheduled exercises with guided instructions.

To make sure our app was truly user-friendly, we conducted usability testing with four participants, including three older adults who matched our target users and one less tech-savvy user to test accessibility. Each participant was asked to complete key tasks, such as searching for exercises and following a guided workout plan, while we observed their interactions and noted any difficulties. We measured task success rates, efficiency, and overall usability scores to identify pain points. After gathering feedback, we refined the design to address confusing navigation, unclear buttons, and input interactions, ensuring a smoother experience for all users.

Testing Results

• Effectiveness – 100% task success rate, but some UI elements were confusing.
• Efficiency – Near-optimal task completion time, with minor navigation struggles.
• User satisfaction - Score 77.5 (Good Usability), 89.2 for target users.
• User experience - High in Attractiveness (2.56) and Efficiency (2.41), but low in Novelty (1.41).

Major Issues Identified

• 🔸 Confusing time input – Users found the time selection unintuitive.
• 🔸 Unclear tab buttons – Users did not realize they were clickable.

Refinements Implemented

To solve the identified usability issues, I refined the design to simplify time input interaction for exercise scheduling, improve button affordance with clearer visual cues and reduce clutter on the exercise screen for better readability.

🎯 Inclusive Fitness Solution

I collaborated with my team to develop an accessible fitness app tailored to older adults, enabling them to maintain structured exercise routines. The app features a simplified interface, reminders, and the ability to find exercises by health conditions or targeted body parts, addressing the unique needs of elderly users.

💎 Custom Accessibility Design

To ensure usability for older adults, I designed the interface to address specific challenges such as reduced dexterity and limited digital literacy. I incorporated efinements such as larger touch controls for ease of interaction, clear navigation cues with simple, consistent layouts and refined visuals for readability and accessibility.

✨ Inclusive Design in Practice

This project gave me the opportunity to refine my understanding of user-centered and inclusive design by focusing on the specific needs of older adults. I learned how to balance accessibility and simplicity, ensuring that the app was easy to navigate for users with varying levels of digital literacy. By embedding accessibility principles into every step of the process, from research to iteration, I was able to create a solution that felt both intuitive and empowering for elderly users. Seeing the positive feedback from participants during usability testing was the most rewarding part of the experience, as it affirmed the app’s potential to genuinely improve their lives.

🚀 Iterative Design Process

Throughout the project, I learned the importance of iteration and user feedback in refining a design solution. By conducting usability testing and incorporating feedback from participants, I was able to identify and address usability issues, resulting in a more user-friendly and effective app. This iterative approach allowed us to continuously improve the design, ensuring that the final product met the needs and expectations of our target users.