Digital Hospice

“Getting your affairs in order” has never included a technology plan. Over the next 5 years, we aim to change that.

Photo albums, personal communication, and mortgage statements have all moved online, leaving online systems and platforms with an ongoing role in maintaining what historically were physical objects cared for by their owners.

By some estimates, the average internet user has over 190 accounts and produces over 850GB of data per year. Yet designers have little guidance on how to create systems that consider their users’ inevitable deaths. Likewise, users have little guidance surrounding technology when it comes to end-of- life planning.

Our research team will be working with terminally ill patients and their families as they develop end-of-life plans. Based on this work, we will develop best practices and tools for people engaged in end-of-life planning, and create guidelines and frameworks for technologists to enable technology to support those plans.

Terminal Patients + Families

We aim to:

Serve patients and their families as they engage in end-of life planning.
Develop best practices and tools for end-of-life planning.
Create design frameworks for tech and mortality.

Digital End-of-Life Clinic

We will:

Support for the public with digital end-of-life issues.
Run public workshops (in collaboration with Boulder Library archivists).
Provide information resources, planning guides, and direct support through our clinic.

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