Designing a Groundbreaking Healthcare App for a Global Telcom Leader

Transforming a New Healthcare Initiative from Zero to One

Company Overview

With over 30 million U.S. users, this enterprise client was looking for ways to help its older adult userbase and their caregivers.

Goal

The objective was to thoroughly understand the needs of the users and the vision of stakeholders in order to design a new app for a new market. This app will be created by an external team of engineers and tested with actual patients in the real world. The resulting data will then be presented to the enterprise board for approval to move on to the next phase.

People & Time

Users

1. Older adults
2. Adults with chronic conditions
3. Caregivers
4. Stakeholders and team members

Team & Timeline

Problems

1. This team, which was still in the process of being formed, was facing challenges due to a short runway and being behind schedule. In addition, there was a need to improve communication between team members in order to get back on track.
2. In the early stages of this project, there were no established processes in place, and there was a need for organization across different teams and companies

Solutions

1. I swiftly established lines of communication by actively seeking out and joining all relevant conversations and initiating new ones as needed. In addition, I took on additional roles such as temporary product manager and researcher to expedite progress and get things moving quickly.
2. I successfully lead the design process from start to finish, covering all stages including
   - discovery
   - planning
   - low-fi prototyping
   - user testing
   - hi-fi redesigns
   - a design system
   - logo and branding/marketing work.

The results of this work can be seen in the section below.

Results

The final deliverables included hi-fidelity prototypes with extensive user-testing, a design system compatible with the enterprise, design documents for engineers and product teams, high fidelity presentations for leadership to use when engaging with internal and external stakeholders, and a logomark and branding materials for marketing.

Process

Discovery & Planning

I effectively organized all materials for this project in the company’s Confluence platform by transferring my comprehensive design document, which can be accessed here, and holding meetings with all necessary parties to launch the project. The information I gathered includes details on tracking team members using DACI, timelines, business and user needs, design artifacts, measurements, and more. All of this can be found in the design document.

Stakeholders had already done market research and partnered with a hardware provider. We were to create a software solution. We knew that older adults needed this hardware, but we were not sure how they wanted to interact with it through the software.

I organized and participated in daily user testing sessions that lasted for several weeks. During each session, I made live edits to the prototype based on the feedback I received, allowing us to quickly gather information and move forward quickly.

Low-fidelity Prototyping & User Testing

This is an early prototype of a pre-release product that demonstrates various ways to present data using graphs and charts. Please note that certain identifying details and sensitive information have been redacted and blacked out.

I rapidly developed a prototype that we could present to users as soon as possible. During user testing, I iterated the prototype in real-time based on feedback from each batch of users. For example, I found that the majority of our users preferred to see important health data in a list format rather than a grid layout. This information helped me improve the prototype and make it more user-friendly.

I incorporated the larger organization’s design system and made appropriate modifications, testing new changes with users and the design team. Improved designs were then incorporated back into the system.

I involved the external engineering team early on to ensure they had input on the designs and kept all work within their scope throughout the process.

Hi-fidelity Presentation-ready Update

I made visual updates to the app to enhance its appearance while still adhering to the design system’s guidelines for c-suite presentations. I also attended design system meetings to deepen my understanding of it. My knowledge of the existing design system enabled me to quickly update the app’s visual design in one sprint without compromising its accessibility.

2/12 of the screens. This is an early design of a pre-release product that demonstrates various ways to present data using graphs and charts. Please note that certain identifying details and sensitive information have been redacted and blacked out.

User testing showed that older adults and caregivers also preferred the updated darker designs.

Finalization of Design System and Stretch Goals

I completed all app designs and worked closely with the engineers throughout the process to ensure smooth and continuous handoffs. I made remaining small adjustments with the design system’s team, and with some extra time on my schedule, I took the opportunity to design and test a new logo mark that stakeholders were very happy with. Please note that the logo will be shared at a later date.

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