Not just a matter of design: Key issues surrounding the inclusive design process

In order to create effective inclusive designs, we need to address many questions not only issues of design itself, but also questions surrounding the design process: methodological, ethical and practical. If we are to address these effectively, we need to identify them, consider the options and think through their implications. Nowhere is this more true than in the development of technology for older people, an increasingly important area in the light of the increasingly aging population. This paper presents some first steps in the exploration of these issues in this context, mapping out a space of the issues and discussing each of them in greater depth. We report on views expressed at workshops on inclusive design and the older population held during 2004, particularly one run at HCI 2004, involving 24 participants from academia, industry and the older population.