AmazonThe CoRo (Consumer Robotics) team had developed a product with a hypothesis that it could support aging in place, but they were operating on assumptions rather than actual user insights—imagining how older adults in their own lives might use the technology without having conducted any research with the target users themselves (older adults or their caregivers). I stepped in to build an evidence-based understanding of how consumer robotics could genuinely serve this population.
Building on an initial scan of existing aging-in-place research across the organization, I designed and led a multi-phase research initiative. I observed 20 in-home interviews conducted by the Emerging Devices team in Chicago and Phoenix with older adults aged 65-79, then facilitated three co-creation workshops in Phoenix in January 2020. These workshops brought together older adults (ages 65-89) and their informal caregivers (adult children ages 53-71) in a participatory design approach—intentionally designing with older adults rather than simply for them. The three workshop configurations included one with only older adults (n=7), one with four older adult/caregiver pairs (n=8), and one with "Mastermind" older adults (n=4). I also conducted a subject matter expert interview with Pattie Moore, a renowned designer and gerontologist, to deepen our understanding.
Rather than directly showing participants the team's existing concepts, I gathered customers' organic ideas and feedback, then mapped those insights back to what the CoRo team was already developing. This approach allowed me to provide clear, evidence-based recommendations: I identified which concepts had the highest potential based on what resonated most with participants, which should be stopped immediately due to lack of interest, and which garnered only muted attention. This research transformed the team's approach from assumption-driven development to user-validated concept prioritization, giving them confidence about where to focus their resources.
