Helping Hand

guiding mobile app use without getting too close

This envisionment explores ways to make it easier for a helper to guide someone else when using a mobile app. Most apps are designed for a single person to use and assume that you can work out how to use them. Helping can be intrusive when together, but even harder when remote.

This has been a problem for many years especially for those looking after elderly relatives. However Covid made the situation worse as a greater reliance on technology went hand in hand with more difficult face-to-face help.

You can download the envisionment slideshow as a PowerPoint slideset, or view online using Google Drive version. (The screen size on the Google version is a little mangled unfortunately 🙁 )

The idea of helping hands to have an easy way for a helper or carer to be able to see the screen of the person who needs help. This is rather like remote control software, and there may be times when that is exactly what is needed, the remote equivalent of “hand me the hone and I’ll do it”. However, that may always be so good if you are the perosn being helped as you never learn how to do it yourself.

Helping Hands would allow the helper to point to a button or other control on the screen and have the location where they touched simply highlight on the principal user’s screen. The user can then click the button for themselves both giving a sense of empowerment and enabling incidental learning.