An Academic Project

AgeWell Prototype - A Healthcare Tracking App for Seniors

Introduction

This project was given to us with the intent of teaching us how to design for an audience outside ourselves, to learn to find areas of meaningful and useful designs, learn to effectively conduct and evaluate user tests, as well as pitch and present our ideas for feedback, so we could do rapid iteration and improve each week leading up to the final product.

We were given an audience of users aged 75 and above and required to find a problem space and design a product for them through careful research and user testing, then pitch our solution as a sellable product by making a microsite to showcase it.

Finding the Problem Space

Initial Research Findings

During our research phase, I focused on finding common struggles for our user group, seeing where we could bring in a product to help ease the issue. We came across a bunch of sources stating that medical care for elderly people that live alone is a huge concern, so we decided to focus on that. I also did a whole bunch of research on how to visually design for this group, since I expected that it would be different than how we are used to designing for ourselves. Here are some of our key findings:

• Users find it difficult or tedious to track and remember their appointments themselves, and remembering health concerns by the time these appointments comes around is not easy.
• Seniors would like to maintain their sense of independence and be able to feel like they can complete tasks themselves.
• A simpler UI is preferred, with icons being labelled for recognition and colours high in contrast to increase visibility for age related eyesight loss. Interations should be simple and straightforward as to not confuse the users.

Design Process

Paper to Prototype

After conducting our research and narrowing down our problem space, we started doing quick sketches of what we wanted the UI to look like. I made sure to keep the UI looking simple and easy to navigate since our research showed that would better for senior users.

I then translated these sketches to mid-fidelity wireframes with the help of my team, splitting up the screens so we could get more done. This is also where I started testng our colour palettes and fonts, making sure that they would be easily readable and have enough contrast.

User Testing, Feedback, and Iterations

After prototyping and presenting our initial wireframes, we started user testing, using the think-aloud paired with post-test interviews to get as much valuable information as possible. The feedback we got was as follows:

• One of our users said it was confusing as to why there were two pages with the same information (the home page and the reminders page) and we noticed them clicking through the two pages looking confused. To fix this we simplified the home page reminders to only show the title and no additional information until you click into it.
• All three of the users found the home page was loaded with information, making it unclear what to click first, what each feature provided, and the information on the home screen versus the navigation bar. To fix the issue, we added a skippable onboarding feauture that users will get at the start of using the app and can refer back to at any time, to help clear up the functions of each fature and where to find it.
• The last issue was with the on-boarding process, as the users found it confusing which information was mandatory and which was skippable, as well as a lack of variety for inputs (email vs. phone number). To solve this, we added a skip button for inputs that are skippable and greyed-out buttons for inputs that are mandatory. We also added more options of information for the input.

Finally, I decided to darken the color pallete to increase the contrast, making sure to test it in greyscale, as well as implementing more of the secondary colour to highlight interaction points, and we ended up with the final wireframes.

Key Features

On-Boarding

The on-boarding process gathers important health information to automatiaclly set up related symptoms, so that users do not need to do all the set up themselves. Non-essential information input is skippable, so users do not need to enter information they might not want to. It also quickly introduces the main features in a skippable sequence, so that unfamiliar users are able to quickly understand exaclty which button does what, and what the key features are.

Homepage

The homepage is where users can find all the main features, including the reminders, event notfications, and the daily logs. The reminders on the homepage are simpler than the reminders page to avoid repetition or confusion. Reminders can be checked off as they are completed, helping reduce the cognitive load and signifying to users that they are complete.

Daily Log

Users can log their emotions, pain levels, health related information, and exercise information. Clickable elements have a slight drop shadow to indicate the interaction. All past logs are also available to see for reference when needed. These daily logs will come in handy when the user has an appointment with their healthcare provider and need to reference symptomps they had on certain days.

Calendar

The calendar page is where users are able to add events and view past or upcoming events. These events can include things like appointments, commintments, family events and much more.

User Profile

Lastly, the profile page is where users can customize the app to their needs, including their symptoms, medication, and other personal information. Since this "user" is diabetic, there is a specific area for them to log their blood sugar levels and insulin doses.

Reflection & Next Steps

What I Learned

1. User Research: This project was very heavily reliant on user testing, and was one of the first projects where I wasn't able to ask my peers to test because the audience was so different. It really helped me get comfortable asking people I am not familiar with to conduct testing to get more accurate feedback. I also learned to use techniques like affinity mapping and diagramming to help me apply the feedback a lot better.
2. Unfamiliar Audiences:The design process of this project required a lot more research into the audience and their needs for design than any projects I had done before this. This helped me learn to see how I can use my design knowledge for different users and audiences, rather than just sticking to the ones I am already familiar with.

What Would I do Next?

Since this project was a while ago, I think I can improve the consistency of the design, and look into seeing how I could expand this to work for more types of health concerns while still keeping the UI easy to navigate.