HEALP
About Healp
Healp is a social platform where users with medical conditions and disabilities can join a community, make meaningful connections, seek advice, and share their health journey experiences with others who understand.
The app also provides users with helpful tips and community-based product recommendations.
Role: UX & UI Design Intern
Deliverables: User Research, User Flows, Wireframing, UI design, Prototyping
Duration: Aug 2020 – Jul 2021
Tools: Figma
Challenges
Key Responsibilities
- Redesign the way user’s connect with one other by changing the app’s current swiping model and making the app feel more social.
- Integrate a new “discovery” feature where users can view and give top product recommendations, tips, and other helpful advice to cope with their health condition.
- Increase user engagement, improve retention rates, and ensure the new designs improve user’s experience.
User Research
In order to understand our target audience better, we conducted several focus groups that were held remotely. We interviewed existing users and asked them to share their overall experience with the way they currently make connections on the app. Additionally, we asked users which type of content they would like to see from the new discovery feature that we were planning on integrating.
UX Research
Focus Group 1
Goals
- Learn more about our users and identify their needs, pain points, and goals.
- Identify user’s pain points with the current UI & UX design of the app.
- Define the type of content that users would want on the new discovery feature.
- Gain insight on user’s overall experience with the way they connect with others through the current swiping model.
Participants
13 participants
Zoom Interview
17 questions
1hr long
Insights
- Users primary goal is to build connections and make friends with others who understand them and their health journey.
- Users stated how making connections with others felt similar to a dating app due to them swiping left and right between profiles.
- Users felt guilty when declining to connect with someone.
- Users suggested the app should be more inclusive by adding more medical conditions and including pronouns on the profile card.
- Users suggested adding a “hobbies” section on their profile so others can learn more about their personality.
- Users are open to connecting with everyone, not just those who share the same condition as them.
- Majority of users wanted to view health tips and product recommendations on the new discovery feature.
User Archetype
After learning about the problems our users face while battling their health journey, I created a persona to better understand who I was designing for. The following persona portrays our key demographic’s common goals and frustrations, which we uncovered through the research phase. (click to enlarge!)
Designing User's Profiles
From recent and previous user research, users stated they are most likely to connect with someone based on the following:
- Similarity in medical conditions and symptoms
- What their potential connection has to offer (best doctors, health tips, career resources, etc)
- The reason they’re on the app (to make friends, receive medication tips, mentorship, etc)
- Their stage in life (in school, working, on treatment, etc)
This information helped us create the way user’s profile cards are designed. Users stated things like age, location, gender, and appearance were not significant when seeking a connection. Therefore, we placed less emphasis on these aspects in the profile matching algorithm. Additionally, we prioritized user’s values by ordering the information on the profile card in a manner that meets user’s needs.
designed by previous interns
Before The Redesign
The original way users would connect with someone is if they both swiped right on each other’s profiles; a module that’s similar to popular dating apps. Once two people are matched, only then they can message each other. The stakeholder wanted to refine the way users connect with one another while also redesigning user’s profile cards.
Benchmarking
Market Research
Before diving into the design process, we researched a variety of apps across many industries where users connect with one another to analyze their profile matching module.
We looked into app’s such as: Peanut App, Wisdo, Wana, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge, Bumble, and LinkedIn. These applications are used across the networking, health, dating, and even motherhood field. These references helped us innovate ideas to redesign the way users connect with one another.
Iteration 1.0
User Flow
Iteration 1.0
Wireframes
Iteration 1.0
Redesigned “Befriend” Feature
The first iteration consisted of adding more detail to user’s profiles. I added pronouns, symptoms, what they can offer to others, why they’re using the app, their stage in life, hobbies, prompts, and their social media handles.
Additionally, we included a message button directly on the profile so users can message others without having to be friends with them. We took it a step further and added ice-breaker prompts onto the message page which served as conversation starters.
Changing Direction
Stakeholder’s Feedback
After taking some time to think about the design changes, the stakeholder wanted to re-evaluate the way users connect with one another and take it a step further. We decided that users must comment on a specific section from another user’s profile in order to connect with them. This way users can initiate a conversation better without them feeling awkward or not knowing what to say.
Iteration 2.0
User Flow
Iteration 2.0
Redesigned “Befriend” Feature
In the second iteration, I kept the content from the previous version the same but broke it off into different sections. I also integrated a comment icon at the bottom right of each section where users can initiate a conversation with a potential connection.
The stakeholder had also suggested changing the blue-colored bubbles to a more friendly color since the blue felt similar to networking apps.***
User Testing
order of users profile.
After finalizing design changes, we conducted user testing on new and current app users.
Started off with general screening questions, showed high-fidelity prototype designs on Figma via zoom, and asked after-testing questions. wanted to evaluate the application’s key features and ensure the app has good usability and a seamless user flow. Also tested out the Chick Reports feature to ensure that numerical data was presented in an accurate and digestible manner. Overall, I received positive feedback on my UI screens and users found the flow of the app straightforward. The following recommendations were made by stakeholders:
Option To Select Measurement System
- Allow users to choose between the metric system or imperial system (E.g. Celsius vs Fahrenheit)
Additions To “Past Deliveries”
- Showcase a timeline of how long it took the driver to deliver the chicks to the farm
15 Participants*
Refining UI
Implementing Feedback
After analyzing user’s feedback, we decided to add a “supporting devices” section onto user’s profiles. Users can include if they use a wheelchair, hearing aids, any kind of supportive brace, walkers*, etc. This way users with specific supportive devices can converse with others about their experience, ask questions, or state their concerns with them.
Changing color of bubbles to ensure contrast and legibility.* ??
Redesigned Profiles* delete?
have side comments coming off from the right side of “after” -stating WHY I made these design changes with lines pointing to specific design decisions
-added an undo button so users can return to previous user if they changed their app or hit “x” on accident
-provide app with inclusivity by adding pronouns
-overall, users wanted more detail on their profile
-users love idea of adding “here for” and “stage in life”
only show profile. Why these changes/additions were made. The design changes provide users with inclusivity.
Redesigned Befriend Page
Making Connections
get to the point and show the flow of a user sending a message to another user from a specific section on their profile. Explain WHY we made these design changes and how it benefits users. (1. show user sending a message & 2.Show user sending a “like” reaction)
Viewing Reactions
Show the flow of how users view ‘message requests’ made by another user. Show how they can either accept or decline their invitation to connect with them. Another intern designed this particular section.
Integrating The Discovery Feature
The stakeholder wanted to add a new feature onto the app called the “discovery” page. We had previously conducted research from the first focus group but we only had a general idea of what this page would entail. We needed to further our research to solidify the type of content that would be presented on this page. The focus was to provide users with helpful tips, product recommendations, and other useful advice that answers user’s medical concerns.
Business Problem
- Once users finished exploring their connections on the befriend page, there wasn’t much left to do on the app.
- User engagement and retention rates slowly declined because of this. The stakeholder believed integrating a discovery feature would greatly solve this problem.
Business Goal
- Increase user engagement and retention rates by providing users with a new discovery feature that answers user’s medical concerns and needs.
- Promote sales by providing users with top product recommendations.
Challenges & Roadblocks
We wanted to provide users with answers but we as a team needed to figure out how and from where we would gather this type of information. We had two initial ideas in mind:
Method A: Directory
Share top products, tips, advice onto the app from reliable sources online such as Facebook groups, Reddit, forums, etc.
Method B: Community Submissions
Ask the Healp community to fill out surveys on products, tips, advice that has worked for them and share top results.
User Research
We conducted a second focus group to understand our user’s goals and pain points as they seek medical answers and search for reliable products that work. We also asked users to walk us through their journey while they seek these resources, from either in-person or online resources.
UX Research
Focus Group 2
Goals
- Identify user’s needs, pain points, and goals while searching for products, treatments, advice, etc.
- Learn more about our user’s journey while they search for answers regarding their medical concerns.
- Define how we can provide users with reliable product recommendations, tips, and other useful advice. (either online-market place, discussion forms, feed, polls, etc)
- Determine how the Healp team would gather information on which products work best (either method A or B as listed above).
- Define what would encourage users to purchase the products we suggest.
Participants
4 participants
Zoom Interview
6 questions
30min long
Insights
- Users goal is to find reliable products that work from genuine people who also share the same condition.
- Users wish to receive product suggestions and other medical advice from the Healp community, rather than online sources.
- Users are willing to answer our surveys and suggest what has worked for them knowing they are helping out others
- The hardest part about finding products that work best is trusting someone who isn’t trying to only benefit themselves or those who use fake science to back things up.
- A user stated, “none of this is covered by insurance, so how can you find solutions that don’t break the bank?”
- Users stated how it’s hard to understand why a certain product has worked for someone and these details are never included on the package or anywhere else.
Benchmarking
Market Research
Before diving into the design process, we researched a variety of apps that suggested products. laid out their product-related features.
We looked into app’s such as: Peanut App, Wisdo, Wana, Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge, Bumble, and LinkedIn. These applications are used across the networking, health, dating, and even motherhood field. These references helped us innovate ideas to redesign the way users connect with one another.
- We discussed research of discovery pages
- Apps we got inspiration from:
- Peanut ( groups)
- Cherie ( discover page and reviews)
- Stuff that works ( ranking of treatments that work)
- Super Great ( reviews and community )
- Apps we got inspiration from:
- A few ideas for the discovery page
- Polls
- Reviews of products
- Helpful tips
- List of members
- Questions to community
- Community members sharing tips
Takeaways
I learned the importance of involving users every step of the design process by co-creating meaningful key features with them. This helped me create a design solution that is user-driven that alleviates their problems and satisfies their needs.
While speaking to stakeholders, I learned to view the concept of my app from a different perspective. I realized that the app shouldn’t be one-sided, where only the farm owner is evaluating the driver. Stakeholders suggested it would be more beneficial if both the farm owner and the driver evaluated each other in order to have a successful production cycle. Although I was restricted with time, some things I would consider doing in the future are:
- Incorporating an app for the drivers where they can evaluate farm owners based on the conditions of their barn. Drivers could also track their deliveries and their performance
Creating core features for the smart-truck fleet monitoring system
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