Involving older adults in the design and development of free/open source software

An age wave is upon us, and many tech-savvy older adults are reaching retirement. To explore the barriers and benefits of engaging this population, promote an active post-working life, and foster community, we plan to involve retired programmers in the development of a free/open source software (FOSS) health and wellness application. FOSS communities are dominated by young male developers, and can be hostile to outsiders despite a shared philosophical alignment of altruistic motivations often embraced by retirees. I expect to contribute to the field by exploring the benefits and barriers of involving older adults in FOSS communities, as well as how they can benefit each other by collaborating to develop a meaningful product with and for older adults.