PROJECT OVERVIEW
Senior In Transition is an app whose purpose is to streamline communication between caregivers and the family members of those who are in nursing facilities.
MAIN CHALLENGE: When I familiarized myself with the project, the first version of the app already existed, but wasn’t accepted well by users. My team and I were asked to explore the possible reasons and to propose some solutions.
MY TEAM: We functioned as a fully remote team. The team included: me as the product designer, a creative director, a developer and the product owner.
We have done user interviews, with the goal of understanding the blockers to use the app. We created new wireframes and did another round of user testing. After we created a new design proposal and started building the app.
POSITIVE IMPACT: As a result of the redesign, the app got funded.
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USER RESEARCH
For this project, we got to work on an existing app, so the most important thing was to understand what wasn’t working, in which areas it needed improvement, and where the app didn’t meet the expectations of the users. We worked on two parts of this app: the app itself and the admin penal. For the app there were two intended types of users: caregivers, and family members. The caregivers were the key users, a.e if they decide to use the app the family members will follow (it won’t work the other way around). The open interview technique was chosen, and for the analysis we used card sorting. For the admin penal - there was also a third type of user - the facility manager. The needs of this specific user would be addressed in through the admin penal. The work process on the admin penal will be described in a separate section of this case study. In order to keep the interview structured, we created guidance questions.
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The owner of the app was in contact with caregivers who tried the app and agreed to an interview. In total, 53 caregivers were interviewed. With the goal of saving time for the caregivers, we chose to conduct the interviews via a Zoom call, with a screen share (so the interviewer could see the interviewee’s screen). In addition to Zoom, we utilized Otter.ai - it’s an online app that records and creates transcriptions of the audio.
*It’s important to mention that this research was done in June 2022, before ChatGPT the official launch. Today, I would definitely use ChatGPT to help analyze the transcripts better
MAIN TAKE AWAYS
The caregivers used apps like WhatsApp and didn’t see the value in using SIT.
Nine out of ten caregivers found the app confusing.
We learned from the interviews that the main issue was that the app doesn’t address the specific needs of the caregivers.
IDEATION & WIREFRAMING
CAREGIVERS ARE ALWAYS SHORT ON TIME
SHOPPING LIST
For each patient, caregivers can quickly check off missing items, and families receive automatic updates, and caregivers save time on communication.
SPECIAL SET OF
EMOJIES
Caregivers can give quick status updates without typing. The emojis were chosen based on input from nurses about what would be most helpful.
GROUP FUNCTION
People can join a local group to help each other. For instance, if a patient runs out of shampoo and their family is away, another nearby family can assist.
THE APP IS CONFUSING
Eliminate the transportation category, because it’s redundant.
With the launch of the app to include video tutorials, that will be accessible on YouTube.
BUTTOM NAVIGATION
A SHORTER MENU
By nesting some of the items.
EXPLANATIONS
CAREGIVERS ARE ESPECIALLY CONCERNED ABOUT PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA
LIBRARY SECTION
This section will be divided into two parts: resources (helpful articles and books), and help organizations. This section will help the caregiver to direct the family to the relevant information and help.
MANY MISCOMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN CAREGIVERS & FAMILY MEMBERS
The communication will be only with one family member for every patient.
A caregiver could be messaged only if he/she is on shift.
ONE FAMILY MEMBER PER PATIENT
The communication will be only with one family member for every patient.
USABILITY TESTING
The goal was to find an MVP; we were looking for a lean version of the app that we could release, and then over time add more features, if needed. The list of all the ideas above was way too big to fit into an MVP. In order to be sure which features the users responded to the most, we did a round of user testing. We wanted to see if a user can use the user flows we created in the prototype. Testing Format: remote testing, Tool: MAZE. It’s an online testing tool. It was chosen because it simulates the use of the app “in the wild” (vs. guided testing).
TESTING FORMAT - remote testing, TOOL - MAZE. It’s an online testing tool. It was chosen because it simulates the use of the app “in the wild” (vs. guided testing).
DECISIONS
The following features will be dropped: health and shopping check lists, groups, and library. They were too confusing for the users; 60% of the testers couldn’t understand how to use them.
The following features will be built: specialized emojis, and a caregiver could be contacted only if he/she is on shift. Those features were chosen because they were a smaller lift and will help to create clarity in the communication process between the caregivers and the family.
The bottom navigation should be created; 90% of testers responded well to the bottom navigation.
POSITIVE IMPACT
•Increased Engagement: A more user-friendly interface encourages frequent app use and reduces abandonment rates.
•Higher Satisfaction: Both caregivers and families can experience reduced stress and improved trust through a more structured and effective communication process.
•Improved Usability: By focusing on a leaner feature set, users can navigate the app more intuitively, reducing frustration and increasing adoption rates.
•The app got funded.
