November 2021 was a very busy period for Easierphone Team as the app was tested in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland. The purpose of the studies was to evaluate the functionality of the Easierphone application which is intended for older people (60+ years) and designed to facilitate the use of the phone by changing the interface (size and arrangement of icons, enlarging the font). These changes speed up the communication process (making a telephone and emergency call, sending a text message) and personalize the device (adding an application).

The biggest advantages of the app according to Polish respondents’ opinions are summarised below:

– large font and icons allow quicker recognition of the interface, as well as perform actions requiring the use of text e.g. sending a text message. The app icons and font were cherished as readable and understandable comparing to the typical phone interface;

– easy and quick to contact, especially with be-loved ones. One of the users described the app as follows: “Overall positive feelings, very readable, easy to make a call”;

– translation to different languages makes the app even easier to manage;

– interface supporting quick getting used to the application, the respondents indicated that they would need some time to get familiar with the application and then they would use it no worse than with the existing mobile interface. Some respondents even claimed that using the Easierphone app was easier than using their existing mobile phone: “Great, easier compared to the basic interface”.

For the purposes of the study in Poland, conducted in ASM Neurolab facility, a triangulation method was used in the form of an eyetracker and an in-depth interview (IDI). Eyetracking is a measurement technique based on tracking eye fixation points (pupils) with the use of specially designed optical devices, the so-called eyetrackers. These devices nowadays consist of specially designed cameras that emit infrared radiation and record their reflection from the bottom of the eye. Then, with the use of appropriately selected algorithms, very precise points of fixation of the eyes on the tested object are established in a given time of the experiment. The research verifies how people perceive the object in front of them, e.g. a website, advertisement or packaging. Thanks to this it is possible to verify, among other things, where the tested person looks, on which elements he or she focuses their attention, and which elements are completely ignored. This is to check whether the recipient, looking at a particular graphic design, sees those elements which the researcher cares about the most.

       

The conducted research is a basis to improve the app according to users’ needs. The second testing phase of Easierphone will take place in August 2022 and the final one which also includes another round of Eye-tracking in July 2023 . Stay tuned with all our news!