Mobile Service Software Interface Design for the Elderly

[[abstract]]Human?s life dramatically changes due to the development of internet and new information technology. Commercial mobile services are increasingly provided based on the construction of broad-band communication network environment. Different devices cause that the requirements of using mobile services and operating mobile equipment for the elderly are then totally different from that of the youths and are indeed ignored. The interface of mobile service is one of the most important issues need to be addressed since the elderly use mobile service through the guidance of interface. This paper discusses the universal design approach of developing mobile service interface. Three time slots of participation are defined as identify requirement, refine requirement, and test usability respectively. This paper also proposes oriented software interface approach of designing mobile service software interface as follows: function-oriented user operation-oriented and customized-oriented. Through the environment of mobile service software interface design that created in this paper, the interface designer can understand real user demand and adjust interface components by the user participation procedure. Potential improvement in interface design of mobile service for the elderly is identified through the analysis. Further development of flexible interface components suitable for the elderly to enjoy emerging mobile service is encouraged