Repertory Grid Technique in a participatory design of games for older people

Abstract

With the aging society, there is an increasing need for services and software focused on older people. Digital games are one option of software to be provided as tools for entertainment, education, and well-being. However, to deliver these benefits, games must be developed according to the needs and preferences of older people. Seeking to improve the process of eliciting preferences from the target public, we applied Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) during the participatory design of a game. RGT is a cognitive interviewing technique based on Personal Construct Psychology, which has applications in different areas, including computer science. Although many articles discuss the application of RGT in the development of systems, we did not find, in the literature, any application of the technique with older people. We developed a game focusing on older people to understand better how such technique could contribute to game development, following action research methodology. We carried out three cycles of action research, all of which involved the use of RGT. The results indicate some benefits of using RGT instead of traditional semi-structured interviews. The main contribution of this work is to provide researchers with an initial understanding of the benefits of the application of the Repertory Grid Technique for the interviews with older people and how to use it during a participatory design.