Designing for aging on the move: A user-centered approach to recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle for the elderly using Kano–AHP– QFD

Designing for aging on the move: A user-centered approach to recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle for the elderly using Kano–AHP– QFD | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Designing for aging on the move: A user-centered approach to recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle for the elderly using Kano–AHP– QFD Yin Jing, Sheng Yu, Yongsheng Cheng, Xinxin Yang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231738/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Against the backdrop of an aging population and ongoing innovations in eldercare models, travel-based retirement—an emerging lifestyle that integrates tourism and senior living—calls for age-friendly recreational vehicle (RV) designs to meet the diverse residential and mobility needs of older adults. In such mobile retirement contexts, we aim to identify optimized design strategies for RVs that enhance living comfort and functional adaptability for elderly users. First, data were gathered through online questionnaires and field interviews to uncover the core needs of elderly RV users. Then, these needs were classified using the Kano model into five types: must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, indifferent, and reverse. Next, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritize these needs within a demand evaluation system. Subsequently, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was applied to construct a House of Quality that maps user needs to product design characteristics and identifies key design indicators. Based on the integrated analysis, we distilled six core design elements and developed three RV solutions tailored to elderly users. Finally, user evaluations helped determine the optimal solution. Our findings demonstrate that the combined Kano–AHP–QFD approach effectively quantifies elderly users’ demands, enhancing design rigor and user satisfaction. This methodological framework shows strong practical value in age-friendly RV development and offers a foundation for integrating intelligent technologies and human-centered care into future travel-based retirement solutions. Physical sciences/Engineering Health sciences/Health care Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing Kano model AHP QFD RV Design Travel-based elderly care Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7231738","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":522969276,"identity":"7570c4e2-1b57-4eef-9c6b-1eedab85aa3f","order_by":0,"name":"Yin Jing","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing Normal University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yin","middleName":"","lastName":"Jing","suffix":""},{"id":522969277,"identity":"4e8b8f0b-85a1-42d3-af87-62ab819a0a6a","order_by":1,"name":"Sheng Yu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xiamen University Tan Kah Kee 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care","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231738/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231738/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAgainst the backdrop of an aging population and ongoing innovations in eldercare models, travel-based retirement\u0026mdash;an emerging lifestyle that integrates tourism and senior living\u0026mdash;calls for age-friendly recreational vehicle (RV) designs to meet the diverse residential and mobility needs of older adults. In such mobile retirement contexts, we aim to identify optimized design strategies for RVs that enhance living comfort and functional adaptability for elderly users. First, data were gathered through online questionnaires and field interviews to uncover the core needs of elderly RV users. Then, these needs were classified using the Kano model into five types: must-be, one-dimensional, attractive, indifferent, and reverse. Next, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to prioritize these needs within a demand evaluation system. Subsequently, Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was applied to construct a House of Quality that maps user needs to product design characteristics and identifies key design indicators. Based on the integrated analysis, we distilled six core design elements and developed three RV solutions tailored to elderly users. Finally, user evaluations helped determine the optimal solution. Our findings demonstrate that the combined Kano\u0026ndash;AHP\u0026ndash;QFD approach effectively quantifies elderly users\u0026rsquo; demands, enhancing design rigor and user satisfaction. This methodological framework shows strong practical value in age-friendly RV development and offers a foundation for integrating intelligent technologies and human-centered care into future travel-based retirement solutions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Designing for aging on the move: A user-centered approach to recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle for the elderly using Kano–AHP– QFD","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-10-02 08:08:59","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7231738/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7935f12d-7dbf-4fc9-a80b-cd8c599ed3e9","owner":[],"postedDate":"October 2nd, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":55589690,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering"},{"id":55589691,"name":"Health sciences/Health care"},{"id":55589692,"name":"Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-19T05:08:42+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-10-02 08:08:59","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7231738","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7231738","identity":"rs-7231738","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}