Use and Even Recommend? Acceptance Modeling of a Smartphone Launcher App for Elderly Users

In this paper, we demonstrate how to utilize acceptance modeling in UX optimization via an adapted Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which was applied in an industrial software development context. We evaluated a new Android launcher application that changes the user interface of smartphones to better match the needs of elderly users. Our findings show, that the factor “Usefulness” has the highest relevance and should be prioritized in both further product improvements and marketing processes. Furthermore, it is necessary to include the additional acceptance output variable “Intention to recommend” to determine successful communication strategies. We encourage researchers and practitioners to use context-specific technology acceptance models in software development processes to ensure adaption in the relevant target group.