Abstract
Assistive technologies, such as telecare monitoring applications installed in the home, are being promoted to help reduce pressure on health care systems caused by an aging population and as such promise a large market for new products. However, despite many projects undertaken by commercial companies, and despite significant investments both by the companies and by national and international funding programs in the EU, such systems are not widespread. This paper reports on a retrospective study of the development of one early system, HandyHelper. We were interested in what challenges the development team faced and why the system is no longer on the market. Qualitative research methods were applied, including document analysis and interviews of key people involved in its development. Even though the system worked technically, the input of older users was sought, and a pilot installation was run, the development was stopped. The findings from a thematic analysis point to complex issues. Some problems were avoidable, e.g., by providing more support for new users, though other problems point to inherent tensions, such as the different needs of sensor-based security features and interactive services aimed at the older users. Yet other aspects are outside of the developer’s control, such as available public funding. We summarize these findings and suggest lessons learnt for future projects.
Highlights
In the media, there are repeatedly reports about the aging population in Europe
Assistive technologies, such as telecare monitoring applications installed in the home, are being promoted to help reduce pressure on health care systems caused by an aging population and as such promise a large market for new products
In an effort to deal with these challenges, Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) came into being: ‘‘the use of technology to: extend the time people can live in their preferred environment by increasing their autonomy, self-confidence and mobility; support maintaining health and functional capability of the elderly individuals, promote a better and healthier lifestyle for individuals at risk; enhance the security, to prevent social isolation and to support maintaining the multifunctional network around the individual; support carers, families and care organizations; to increase the efficiency and productivity of used resources in the aging societies.’’ [1]
Summary
Due to demographic changes, including a decrease in the number of children being born and an increase in life expectancy, there will be fewer young people to support and care for the older people This was first brought to the awareness of many people in 2006, when the European Union (EU) issued a policy document highlighting the longer-term problems [11]. Since user-centered methods that work more generally for software development fail to reach the goals in this area, it is worthwhile to study the development of this type of system to understand what happens in detail during the development of systems that aim to go to market, but fail. Despite the challenges and lack of successful systems, few studies have investigated the development of projects in the area of AAL to understand the problems that arise. In order to maintain anonymity, the country and company where the study was carried out are not identified, the details of the system are described only sketchily, published articles that could identify the project are not included in the references, and the names of all companies, products, funded projects and persons have been changed
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