User Research: Understanding life with Parkinson’s
Starting out…
As a Product Designer at MedEngine, I plan and facilitate user research. I try to talk to as many people as possible who live with PD, along with people in their environment, i.e. caregivers, nurses, doctors, etc. I then translate the insights obtained from the interviews conducted with people with Parkinson’s (PWP) into digital designs for our mobile app.
My expectations when joining the team were very much along the lines of what I currently work on. I was drawn into designing products and services that could provide real value to people, especially if by using them, I can provide users with an experience that can improve their overall wellbeing.
Once I joined the team, my aim was to get to know, from as many people as possible first-hand, what it is like to live with Parkinson’s. Carrying out qualitative interviews allowed me to understand people’s needs, their goals and their pain points during a day. These sessions give space for people to openly talk about their feelings and frustrations in a safe and non-judgemental environment.
During my first weeks at MedEngine, I was delighted by how many people were willing to talk to us about their personal health. During these calls, I always tried to have another member of the team with me. This way, we can all empathise with the users for whom we’re building the product. We spoke a bit about user research in our May’s Pulse article.
With my colleague taking notes of the conversation, I began the interview by asking people general questions about their Parkinson’s and their routines. Later, we covered topics regarding communication with their consultant, their relationship with technology and their environment.
Sense-making…
After talking to around 30 people within a period of two months, it was time for me to sit down and make sense of all the answers we had gathered. Using key topics, such as needs, user behaviour, pain points, etc. I discovered many different insights that I later shared with the team. Some things might have seemed common sense at first, however, when visualised gave way to some thought-provoking team discussion.
I came to understand how some people find it tough to come to terms with the fact that they may need assistance or help. This made it clear to me how determined people are to maintain their independence and carry out their daily activities.
Looking at things from the caregiver’s perspective, we also realised how challenging it is other parties involved. For the person with Parkinson’s, they can feel like they have become a burden to their families. For the carers or relatives, they can often feel overwhelmed due to the lack of available information on giving care.
It was also very interesting to understand how people consider ‘a good day’. This was one where Parkinson’s didn’t play such a big role in their lives, where they felt on top of things, and in some cases, where they forgot they even have Parkinson’s! Many told us how feeling on top of their Parkinson’s required years of listening and understanding one’s own body through a process of trial and error.
After analysing these key themes, I was able to infer meaning from these insights and later adapted them into tangible aspects within our mobile app, Flytta. After understanding how Parkinson’s differs greatly from one person to another, I needed to tailor an experience for people where they could personalise certain functions to cater for these diverse needs.
PWP have been very specific in telling us how they want to be in control of their Parkinson’s and how they want to make better-informed decisions when it comes to their health and lead a better life. I’m currently exploring the effect of people taking medication at different times and how reminding them can work seamlessly. We must bear in mind that not everyone is open about having PD, so we have to design a product that can also be discreet and unobtrusive.
After the “Life with Parkinson’s” calls, I’ve been redesigning and refining aspects of the previous app, which I’ve been putting in front of our potential users in the form of a semi-functional prototype during video calls. Despite the distance between Germany and the UK, this has allowed us to obtain feedback for the backbone that will eventually become our refined Flytta. The new versions of the screens containing additional functionalities will be ready soon and I’ll be looking forward to testing these on-site with users over the summer.
Watch this space! 🤗
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