MEDIGO APP

Bridging the digital divide in healthcare

PROJECT TITLE

mediGO

ROLE(S)

CEO,
Product Designer, etc

TOOLS

Figma
‍Illustrator

TIMELINE

4 months

PROJECT OVERVIEW

MediGO is a med-tech startup concept that was built over the course of a semester at USC. I led a team of 7 other students to create a fully-fledged project that included both materials and mobile app design, business development strategies, and product pitches to stakeholders.

As the CEO, I was tasked with overseeing all aspects of the project - from managing the product timeline to delegating tasks to project members.

I. BACKGROUND/CONTEXT

current healthcare systems lack the infrastructure for personalized patient management

Originally inspired by the plight of elderly who live alone, we sought to come up with a solution that could bridge the gap between daily healthcare management and emergency care services.

Additionally, the usage of smart watches among other devices as health monitoring devices have surged in the past decade. Smartwatches are able to detect a variety of different health metrics, including but not limited to: heart rate, oxygen saturation, fitness levels, and sleep quality. Studies and surveys have shown that up to 90% of adults have expressed a willingness to share data from their devices directly with their physicians.

Here are a few statistics we gathered about the digital healthcare space:

40% of US Adults

are using healthcare-related applications, and 35 percent are using wearable healthcare devices

12% of medical device users

Use their devices to check metrics for a loved one in addition to themselves.

40% or more people with chronic ailments

are significantly likely to use their devices as trackers for health indicators and 62% of US adults (2+ conditions).

45% of US adults

are interested in tracking their health concerns more seriously, including their symptoms and treatment.

II. PROBLEM

difficulty in consistent, efficient, and critical health management

We found a gap in the modern emergency healthcare's system ability to recognize, diagnose, and treat those with unique medical conditions at maximal efficiency. This also applies to those who suffer from a multitude of conditions that might be put at risk without proper and precise care. Thus, our goal for our solution was to minimize the amount of time between onboarding and medical treatment.

consistency is key!

Between different providers, hospitals, and even caretakers, having a common understanding of the patients' needs is key

maximizing efficiency

Providing patients, their healthcare providers, and their caretakers a common platform that maximizes efficiency

in critical situations...

In situations of emergency, how could we streamline the process of getting critical information to service providers?

III. SOLUTION

supplementing the existing system with a universally accessible tool

With physical monitoring bracelets that not only 1) provide real time health insights and 2) are scannable for patient medical records, we had a vision to completely rewrite the health gadget scene.

The GOband is a health and activity tracker that provides first responders critical medical information in case of emergency. Combined with the mediGO app, track your loved ones and receive real-time notifications and alerts. Our vision for this band was for it to be a multifunctional yet lightweight wearable that could compete with products like the Fitbit and the Apple Watch by being monitorable by users other than the wearer.

IV. CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

setting the foundations

For the first few weeks of the course, we were expected to collaborate and finalize what features we would want our application to have. In order to accomplish this, we had to not only complete logistical efforts to understand our market, but also make empathetic efforts by reaching out and gaining insights.
‍
Two core values that we decided to place at the forefront of our brand and UI were:

1. Accessibility

We project that a majority of our users would range primarily between two extremes of an age spectrum (>10yrs and <60yrs) at an inverse bell curve.

2. Practicality

We to make our services a hub to simplify healthcare for our users, with each feature intentionally chosen. Using the app would have to be both practical and useful.

first, a word from the users...

To find out which features people would like, we first began interviewing potentials users of our app: individuals with chronic health conditions, caretakers, and healthcare professionals. We asked whether they had been using a healthcare monitoring device, and what type of features were indispensable for them. True to our research, most patients were equipped with some type of band - health tracking for our younger interviewees and scannable bands for our elderly ones (information for elderly provided by caretakers). A few key points we gathered:

"I get anxious that something will happen to my grandmother every time I leave the house"

- young caretaker

"I need to be logging things throughout the day, but I'm quite forgetful, and I hate opening apps"

- middle-aged patient

"it would be useful if we could see patient vital records for our elderly patients who have poor memory"

- healthcare provider (nurse)

While we originally had plans to use the app for personal monitoring, we decided to reroute into an application that makes it easy to share information. With this information, we finalized the key points of the mediGO app and its correlating functions on the band.

finalizing product features

First, we finalized the relationship between the different facts of the mediGO ecosystem, confirming the role of each and their relationship to one another. Next, we compiled a list of features commonly seen in both smartwatches, medical tracking bands, and health/wellness applications. From this list, we narrowed it down to a few we thought were the most important/most feasible to implement.

a chart with all the original feature options, highlighting the few we ended up choosing

V. UNDERSTANDING OUR USERS

Understanding our users through storytelling

To precisely communicate my product vision with my team and our stakeholders, I drew up a few storyboards with scenarios that express how mediGO is supposed to be used. We chose user personas of different ages, social situations, and even culture.

side by side image of woman and her elderly mother utilizing the GOband happily

schoolgirl happily walking with her GOband

Mapping the user journey

After determining what functions we wanted the app to have, and how our different products would interact with each other, we began our app development process by mapping out a user flow that would help us imagine how each user (patient, caretaker, first responder) would interact with our application. During this step, we were careful to minimize the number of steps it took to complete a task.

chart of how we approached our user stories, highlighting each step with a text marker

VIII. VISUAL DESIGN PROCESS

Shaping the visual narrative

While mediGO's vision is to provide our users with their information in a logical and concise type of manner, our goal for the app was to create an intuitive, reliable, and inviting space for our users. We used both solid and gradient cool-toned colors such as blue and purple to establish a comfortable and calm environment and tone.

visual design system with all the icons, text, elements, and colors we used.

IX. CRITIQUES, ADJUSTMENTS, AND HI-FIDELITY PROTOTYPING

taking critique and making adjustments

During the first round of reviews for our product, we were able to pitch our product and concept to the class and professor and receive our first round of critiques for our low fidelity prototype. During this time, we also sent the link for a few of our "users" from our initial round of interviews to review. A summary of the notes we received from each group are:

"simplify and highlight"

"modernize interface"

"too many obscure features"

Secondary Adjustments

Using the critique we had received and additional brainstorming within the team, we adjusted our approach by reducing the number of features in app and instead highlighting features that were more likely to be used. A question we often had to revisit is "what makes our app unique," and "would this be what the users want." We had to constantly keep ourselves in check to ensure our vision was on par with reality.

Thus, the solutions we implemented following the class critique and final rounds of brainstorming include:

highlight important, remove nonessential

We realized that there was no informational hierarchy in our design, and this was making it difficult for users to navigate through

update user interface

Up to this point, we had been neglecting the aesthetic, tone, and overall feel of the project for the sake of focusing on functionality.

organize metrics and simplify

The feedback we got from users suggested that our design took a significant amount of mental effort/ cognitive load to understand and navigate.

REFLECTION

how did we design for impact?

One of my greatest takeaways from this project is the importance of strong team chemistry, a byproduct of hardwork and trust. While I joined this class with the goal of implementing and practicing my knowledge in design, I was unable to focus on that aspect because I was being spread out with other responsibilities. As the "CEO," I learned that each individual in a professional space is equipped with their own strengths, and it is the responsibility of those in leadership to guide them along that path in order to create the best possible product.

Beyond the project...

This project was definitely an interesting experience as a designer, because for the first time I had to juggle my priorities between aesthetic, basic function, and my various responsibilities as a part of leadership. As I reflected, I noticed two main philosophies I carried that speak about me as a designer and as a team member.

1. There is always a minimum standard for my work. If I cannot accomplish this during work hours then it will be done after. (This normally applies to aesthetic - it is my joy to create beautiful products)

2. Either everyone wins, or everyone loses. If someone on my team is lost and cannot complete their core tasks, then everyone on the team has failed.

All in all, I had a lot of fun working on this project, especially while thinking of my grandmother who could have totally benefited from a product like this. I dedicate it all to her!

Back to the top!

Work

Resume

Play

About