CoFaçade:

We present CoFaçade, a novel approach to helping elders reach their goals with IT products by working collaboratively with helpers. In this approach, the elder uses an interface with a small number of triggers, where each trigger is a single button (or card) that can execute a procedure. The helper uses a customization interface to link triggers to procedures that accomplish frequently-recurring high-level goals with IT products. Customization can be done either locally or remotely. We conducted an experiment to compare the CoFaçade approach with a baseline approach where helpers taught elders to perform IT tasks. Our results showed that CoFaçade can reduce helpers’ time and effort, reduce elders’ frustration, and improve elders’ success rate in completing IT tasks