Design for Longevity: People, Product, Process, Platform
WHO Client
• Edward Jones Investments
• Raymond James
• Transamerica Corporation
WHY Design Challenge
WHEN Time Sep 1, 2022 Dec 31, 2024
DESIGN FOR LONGEVITY
How might we design an effective, respectful, and delightful longevity service?
WHAT Design Highlight
The study explored the research question of how to design an effective longevity coaching service and system by experimenting with two types of service encounters: tech-based and touch-based. The authors developed six research hypotheses about service encounter types, resulting in six corresponding dependent variables/design attributes: 1.
Learnability: A touch-based service can help first-time clients learn new concepts or knowledge about longevity more easily than a tech-based service; 2. Efficiency: A techbased service can help clients get the task done as quickly and accurately as possible, enhancing their capabilities to adapt to complexity better than a touch-based service; 3.
Safety: A touch-based service can easily create a safe and reliable personal space that enables clients to better expose their vulnerable side with comfort than a tech-based service; 4. Trustworthiness: A tech-based service can more easily build trust with a client than a touch-based service; 5. Confidence: A touch-based service can empower clients with the confidence to grow and explore the unknown better than a tech-based service; 6.
Satisfaction: A tech-based service can provide better-perceived service quality to meet client’s satisfaction and expectations than a touch-based service.
HOW Design Process
An experimental longevity coaching service was designed to see if service encounter type would impact six dependent variables/design attributes of longevity services. The authors applied script theory and seven script-based variables to design and construct the longevity service, which was pilot tested with twelve volunteer participants from Boston or New York with various backgrounds, educations, age ranges, and different financial planning experiences and knowledge. To conduct and analyze the experiment, authors used four qualitative research methods: surveys, Think-aloud approach, semi-structured interviews, and semantic and transcript analysis coded by a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) and Open AI.
LEARNING Project Takeaway
• In the conclusion, the authors use six hypotheses based on the dependent variables/ design attributes to structure and frame takeaways about user experience.
• Keynote: Design for Longevity (D4L): Service Innovation through System Thinking https://design4drupal.org/keynote
• Podcast: Empowering people through service design https://www.designdrives.org/episodes/79
• Podcast: Is It Design for Longevity (D4L) or Sustainability? https://open.firstory.me/story/clm2sq6l6007801xa3bmb138b
DESIGNER Project Credit
Sheng-Hung Lee (Chief Designer, MIT AgeLab) Joseph F. Coughlin (Project Advisor, MIT AgeLab), Maria Yang (Project Advisor, MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering), Eric Klopfer (Project Advisor, MIT Comparative Media Studies), Olivier L. de Weck (Project Advisor, MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics ), John Ochsendorf (Project Advisor, School of Architecture + Planning), and Sofie Hodara (Project Collaborator, Northeastern University College of Arts, Media and Design)
AWARD Project Publication
2024 Book Chapter, Design in Action, Intellect Inclusive Financial Planning Service Design Considerations for an Aging Population
2024 Book Chapter, Systemic Service Design, Routledge Prototyping Longevity Service Systems: Tech or Touch?
2024 Book Chapter, Service Design Futures, Bloomsbury Design for Longevity: An Empathic Service Design Framework
2024 Book Chapter, Service Design Futures, Edward Elgar Design for Longevity and Immersive Technology: Literature Review
2023 Journal, CPCL Longevity Planning Service Across Immersive Technologies
2022 Journal, Arte, entre paréntesis Retail Banking and Financial Service Under System Analysis
2023 Conference, IASDR Designing Longevity Planning Blocks through Experimental Participatory Observation and Interviews
2023 Conference, Cumulus Antwerp Applying Human-Centered System Design to the Development of a Tool for Service Innovation
2023 Conference, ICED Co-create Financial Planning Services for an Aging Population: Designers' Perspectives
2023 Conference, ICED Service Design in Action: Transformation, Consideration, and System Thinking
2023 Conference, IDC From Brainstorming to Bodystorming: Co-creation Workshop Analysis Using Applied Video Ethnography
2023 Column, DesignWanted Building an AgeTech City: Services, Community, and Technology
2023 Column, DesignWanted Design for simulation: how to project your future self?
2023 Column, DesignWanted Design for Longevity: Service, Systems, and Sustainability
Maintaining a good quality of life in later years relies on strategic longevity planning
Richey, D., and Perry, S., 2022, Finding Your Financial Advisor: How to Understand the Industry and Confidently Hire the Best, Houndstooth Press, Austin, Texas.
Research Statement
Approach
Research Method & Human Behavior
Aging Population & Longevity
early-stage pre-retirement post-retirement
Longevity Planning & Advising
Service Design & Social Innovation
How to redesign longevity planning products, services, and experiences
associated with four research lenses: approach, human, system, and technology across three diff
erent life stages:
early-stage,
pre-, and
post-retirement,
in order to transform, enhance, and refine longevity literacy, strategy, and well-being.
1. Wiles, J. L., Leibing, A., Guberman, N., Reeve, J., and Allen, R. E. S., 2012, “The Meaning of ‘Aging in Place’ to Older People,” The Gerontologist, 52(3), pp. 357–366.
2. Golden, S., 2022, Stage (Not Age): How to Understand and Serve People Over 60--the Fastest Growing, Most Dynamic Market in the World, Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, Massachusetts.
3. Richey, D., and Perry, S., 2022, Finding Your Financial Advisor: How to Understand the Industry and Confidently Hire the Best, Houndstooth Press, Austin, Texas.
4. Mitchell, O. S., Hammond, P. B., and Utkus, S. P., eds., 2017, Financial Decision Making and Retirement Security in an Aging World, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
5. Design Led Innovations for Active Aging, 2014, Making Aging Better: A Look at How Service Design Can Inovate Senior Care.
Expected Outcome
Refine research approaches and design process targeted for an aging population
Outcome 1. Understand and propose an effective observation approach to study older people’s explicit and implicit behavior, decision-making process, and how it affects the design and user research process for an aging population.
Propose and experimentally apply an integrated service system framework
Outcome 2. Propose and experimentally apply an integrated service system framework and human-centered design process in the field of finance innovation considering the desirability of financial service providers and receivers, and supporting teams. The aim of the research is to propose an integrated service system design to address complicated systemic financial challenges.
Approach
Research Method & Human Behavior
Enhance financial planning services, literacy, well-being, and longevity
Outcome 3. Through conducting 30 expert interviews and thorough literature reviews, we want to leverage the result and the process of the study to enhance financial literacy rate and redesign financial education systems specifically created for people are in the stage of pre-retirement, retirement, and post-retirement to improve people’s quality of life and behavior to have better lives during their longevity.
Suggest longevity economic plans and strategies
Outcome 4. Build adaptive financial planning experiences, creative and educational tools, and customized financial service systems through the lens of longevity and people’s behaviors to empower financial advisors, users, and other key stakeholders.
Research Methods
From Marcus’ multi-sited ethnography [1] that is suitable for solving complicated challenges and most of the time filled with “unexpected trajectories”. We applied various academic theories and evidence-driven approaches to help us effectively triangulate data. Data gathering formats
Data collection strategies Data analysis strategies
Co-creation service design workshop
Expert interviews
Work-in-pair Groups
Financial advisors
Service designers
Educators
Early stage (20~49 years old)
User interviews Survey
Pre-retirement (50~65 years old)
Post-Retirement (after 65 years old)
1. Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24, 95–117. JSTOR.
2. Murphy, K. M. (2005). Collaborative imagining: The interactive use of gestures, talk, and graphic representation in architectural practice. Semiotica, 2005(156). https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2005.2005.156.113
3. Muhr, T., 1993, ATLAS.Ti.
4. Friese, S., 2014, Qualitative Data Analysis with ATLAS.Ti, SAGE, Los Angeles.
5. Lee, S.-H., 2022, “From Brainstorming to Bodystorming: An Applied Ethnographic Perspective to View Co-Creation Workshops,” DesignWanted.
Early Thoughts and Ideas Prototyping
Designed and developed by Joseph F. Coughlin and Sheng-Hung Lee (in the process of MIT licensing: M.I.T. Case No. 24907, "Longevity Planning Blocks for Use in Retirement Planning")
Expert Interview
Co-creation Workshop
iPhone Timelapse
Expanding beyond money and finance, D4L is a service which considers themes of family, mobility, community, risk, investment, trust, communication, and future, to help financial advising recipients comprehensively prepare for their futures.
Longevity Planning Blocks (LPBs)
Longevity Planning Blocks (LPBs) and Immersive Technologies
We recruited nine participants with academic backgrounds through personal connections to serve as clients in an individual 30-minute longevity coaching session with facilitator. Each group experienced one form of AR and used the LPBs. The experiment concluded with a 10-minute follow-up session to collect participant feedback using the Think Aloud method.
3 participants
3 participants Group 2
3 participants Group 3
Longevity Planning Blocks (LPBs) and Immersive Technologies
Though using unfamiliar technologies can sometimes make participants nervous, they reframe and elevate the LBPs into a set of high-tech, touchable, and creative artifacts to enhance immersion and longevity coaching experiences.
