DocHelper
A mobile platform designed for use in a family medical clinic run by a primary physician and their staff during the transition from COVID to post-COVID appointments.
UX Research, UI Design, Prototyping, User Testing
My Role
Protopie, Figma, Procreate, Google, pencil & paper
Tools Used
Project
School project, team of three
Timeline
Mar 2022 - Apr 2022
Overview
Background
This is a project done during my third year at SFU for IAT334 Interface Design. In a group of 3, we were asked to identify a social aspect that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and design an interactive solution for it. My role in this project was to research user interaction methods and design the interface for the mobile app.
Research
Initial Idea
The design domain our group selected is physicians, we decided to specifically focus on family physicians that are attempting to overcome the challenges of meeting patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods:
· Online interview (Primary)
· Backgound research (Secondary)
User Interview
Behaviour & Habits:
55-year-old family doctor
Keeps physical copies of patient’s record
Needs:
Help patients without risking his health during COVID, organize patient’s documents efficiently
Challenges:
Finding a safe way to meet patients and store patient records without taking up much physical space
Behaviour & habits:
32-year-old doctor
Technologically inclined
Needs:
Plan working hours, keep clinic a safe space for patients and staff
Challenges:
Finding an efficient way to schedule patients for online consultations
Competitor
Existing System
Medici is a current application that allows doctors to meet and communicate with patients virtually. However, they don’t offer:
· any precautions to circumvent the spread of COVID
· is geared more toward doctors working in hospitals.
Findings
Pain Points
Hard to schedule patients' online consultations. It is difficult to find an available time for both the physician and the patient.
It is challenging to keep track of patient's health records. Information is scattered across various platforms.
Lack of precaution to circumvent the spread of COVID and let physicians meet patients safely.
Challenge
Problem Statement
How might we facilitate family doctors' workflow during the COVID pandemic, through an efficient way to schedule patients for online consultations and a safe way to meet patients in person?
Prototyping
User Scenario
After identifying the pain points of target users, I started sketching down the wireframes of some potential features, as well as laying out the user flows and interaction system.
Hand-drawn Wireframes
User Flow & System Map
Visual
Design Concept
To decide on the visual direction of the system's interface, I conducted some in-depth research regarding existing healthcare platforms on the market, especially their colour scheme. I eventually narrowed it down to blue and green as we still want the users to easily recognize our system as a healthcare platform.
Market Research｜Existing healthcare platform colour schemes
Visual Style Experimentation
A/B Testing
Design Rationale
Why Green?
Blue is too commonly used in the healthcare field.
Blue had a very similar interface to Facebook and we wanted the app to be its own unique style.
The colour green represents health and healing relating to our domain field chosen.
The green interface’s 3D buttons is more realistic and intuitive than the flat design, creating a more dynamic and refreshing user experience throughout the interaction.
Green has also proven to be effective in regulating visual fatigue.
UI Prototype
After confirming the visual style of green, I moved on to create some high-fidelity prototypes for the proposed features and interactions in ProtoPie, in order to prepare for the user testing.
In-person Appointment
Online Appointment
Experiment
User Testing
The plan was to get users with medical and non-medical experience to test our app through Protopie. We wanted to test on two user groups as our app was used by both patients and doctors and also wanted the perspective of a patient and doctor.
Method
online testing through Protopie link sharing
in-person testing through face-to-face observation
Participants
users with medical experience (doctors, medical students/interns)
users without medical experience (patients, general public)
My teammates and I were able to conduct Usability Testing with 5 users who have various backgrounds within and without the medical field, which provided us with some valuable feedback for the final iteration.
Refinement
User Feedbacks
Add a button to go back
Link patient records to the detail page
Make the grid adjustable on both sides
Add an indicator of upcoming events
Solution
Final Design
Incorporating the user feedback we received, I made sure to focus on improving the following aspects:
make user path reversible and flexible (at least re-confirm once)
friendly navigation with clear indicators (minimize cognitive load)
provide timely feedback (appointment confirmation message)
Mock-up
Mobile Application
Only in DocHelper
Calendar with online & in-person appointment filter
Pre-appointment COVID health check questionaries
QR Code check-in for in-person appointment
Feature Summary
Reflection
Takeaways
Texts can sometimes be more helpful than graphics or storyboards
During the development process, I discovered that mapping out the system using textual descriptions was surprisingly more effective than relying solely on graphics or storyboards. While visual aids are commonly used to communicate ideas, I found that detailed textual descriptions allowed for clearer and more precise communication of the system's functionality and workflows.
Find more approachable candidates within the same field
Throughout the project, it was challenging to reach out to specific users for feedback and user testing due to time constraints and logistical limitations. To address this, I sought out more approachable candidates within the same field, such as nursing interns or other healthcare professionals who were more accessible and willing to participate. This approach allowed me to gather valuable feedback and ensure that the mobile platform met the needs and requirements of the target user group, which taught me the importance of adaptability and resourcefulness in engaging with users, even in situations with time limitations.