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Debbie Watson is a PhD candidate in Design at the University of Technology Sydney, where her doctoral research examines how adaptive wayfinding technology can support older adults navigating complex urban environments. Her study brings together smart glasses, wearable physiological sensing, and an AI-driven navigation engine to explore how real-time stress and cognitive load might inform the guidance a person receives as they move through a city. The aim is to extend independent mobility, reduce environmental stress, and support spatial cognition for adults aged 65 and over.
What distinguishes Debbie's approach is the perspective she brings to it. Before turning to academic research, she spent more than twenty-five years in technology delivery and leadership, most recently as a General Manager at Nexon Asia Pacific leading a Microsoft Business Applications practice, and earlier as the founder of a consultancy in London delivering enterprise solutions across government, health, finance, and defence. That background means her research sits close to practice. The systems she proposes are grounded not only in design theory but in a working understanding of what it takes to build, integrate, and deploy technology in the real world.
Research focus
Research focus
Debbie's doctoral work follows a Research through Design methodology, complemented by a mixed-methods program that pairs quantitative measures of navigation performance and physiological stress with qualitative insight drawn from participatory co-design with older adults. Co-design is central rather than incidental: the research treats older adults as partners in shaping the system, not simply as subjects to be tested. The project advances from a completed systematic review through participatory workshops, prototype development, and field evaluation across contrasting Sydney urban environments.
Research interests
Research interests
Her broader interests span age-friendly technology design, adaptive wayfinding, spatial cognition, human-computer interaction, assistive technology, gerontechnology, urban design, and participatory design methods. The connecting thread is a concern with how emerging technology can genuinely serve people whose needs are too often left at the edge of design.
Background and education
Background and education
Debbie holds a Bachelor of Information Technology (Software Engineering) from the Queensland University of Technology and is completing her PhD in Design at the University of Technology Sydney (2024 to 2030, expected). Her doctoral research is supervised by Professor Nimish Biloria and Professor Shankar Sankaran, and is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.
Her earlier career spans solution architecture, software development, and technology leadership, including engagements with organisations such as Transport for London, BAE Systems, the NHS Supply Chain, and Microsoft. This combination of executive judgement and hands-on technical depth continues to shape how she frames and conducts her research.
Connect
Connect
Debbie welcomes feedback and collaboration, particularly from researchers and practitioners working in adaptive interfaces, age-friendly design, physiological sensing, and urban mobility. She can be reached at debbie.j.watson@student.uts.edu.au, on LinkedIn, or via ORCID 0009-0000-7455-3108.
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