AllwaysWithYou

Facilitating Remote Care for Aging Adults

Introduction

AllwaysWithYou is a product that enables aging adults (Care Receivers) to maintain their independence by allowing their loved ones (Caregivers) to monitor their health, set reminders, store medical records, and facilitate communication between various members of the elder’s care team remotely.

My Role

UI / UX Designer and Researcher on a team of 3 other designers. Worked directly with the founders of the company.

Goal

Create the first high fidelity mobile prototype of AllwaysWithYou that includes the applications primary features for the Caregiver’s interface. Create smart watch and tablet interfaces to be used by an aging adult with dementia (Care Receiver).

Understanding the Product

Before designing the interface, my team needed to understand the brand identity, product, and previous work that had been done. Previous work included user research aimed at determining features, a style guide, and high fidelity designs of certain user flows. Once we had a mutual understanding, we began establishing Information Architecture for AllwaysWithYou.

Design System

A design system was created in order to maintain consistency across screens. By documenting font size/weight, color palette, and UI elements, screens can be created more quickly and cohesively.

AllwaysWithYou had a preexisting Design System that denoted colors and fonts. My team adapted these elements in creating UI components.

Version 1 Usability Test & Redesign

Once the prototype was completed, the team set out to gauge the effectiveness of our design decisions through user testing. This round of usability testing consisted of 5 moderated tests where participants completed tasks in a Figma prototype. The most impactful usability issues had to do with the Alerts, Schedule, and AI Chat Bot.

Previously Addressed Alerts

Problem : Confusion regarding which alerts have been addressed.

“Did I read it yet? I expect it to be gray or not be on the screen at all.”

Goal: Clarify which alerts have been already been addressed. 

Solution : Place addressed alerts in a separate section with a caption and reduce salience by adding a dark overlay.

Use of Color in the Schedule

Problem: Confusion around the colors used to represent different event types. 

“There are too many colors to keep track of…do they mean the same thing?”

Goal: Reduce cognitive load on the schedule and improve clarity.

Solution: Reduce the number of colors used to represent event types.

Accessing the AI Chat Bot

Problem: Confusion regarding accessing the AI Chat Bot feature.

“This heart icon, I am not sure what I would find here or what it even does.”

Goal: Enable users to access AI Chat Bot more intuitively.

Solution: Place AI Chat Bot access points in situations where users will want to get additional information (i.e., after getting high blood pressure alert).

Version 2 Usability Test & Redesign

This round of usability testing consisted of 9 moderated tests where participants completed tasks in a high fidelity prototype in Figma. Some of the most important issues identified are listed below with their solutions.

Medication Adherence on Dashboard

Problem: User frustration due to lack of information abut medication adherence on the Dashboard.

Solution: Indicate medication adherence through “pill box” snapshot

Color of Alert

Problem: Confusion around severity of alerts.

“Blood pressure 150/110, i don’t know what that means… it could be great or bad I wouldn’t know”

Solution: Change alert color to red to more clearly indicate that there is a problem.

Confirming Updates on Alerts Dashboard

Problem: Confusion and hesitation relating to approving changes to medication.

Solution: “Approve” changed to “Update Now” to be less daunting and more clear.

Viewing Medical Document

Problem: 7/9 users did not view the medical document where the update originated.

Solution: Caption the medical document icon to clarify its function

Prototype

Reflection

The project goal has been achieved by creating a high fidelity prototype that incorporates the products primary features. Pain points have been identified, through 2 rounds of moderated usability tests with a total of 14 participants. Design decisions reflect test findings and have been validated through positive user feedback (“I think having this as a caregiver would be invaluable”). By creating the first comprehensive prototype of the AllwayWithYou interface, my team and I have provided a strong foundation for further iteration and testing. Future steps for this product should include further testing, focusing on essential user flows like addressing an abnormal biometric alert. Additionally, usability testing should be conducted on smart watch and tablet interfaces. From this process, I have come to better understand the value of effective collaboration between designers and stakeholders.