The Product
A dedicated mobile app which patients and patients’ keen can use to find doctors, book appointment and consult online.
The Problem
Busy workers as well as elderly people lack the time to meet a dactor or are not fit enough physically to visit hospitals/ clinics in person.
The Goal
Design an app that allows users to easily search doctors, book appointments and consult online.
My Role
UX designer designing the app from conception to delivery.
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
User Research
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was working adults who don’t have time visit hospitals physically.
This user group confirmed initial assumptions about patients, but research also revealed that time was not the only factor limiting users visiting doctors physically. Other user problems included obligations, interests, or challenges that make it difficult to go to hospitals in-person.
Time
Working adults are too busy to go to a hospital or clinic. Also, many elderly people are not fit enough to visit a hospital. Many of senior citizens staying alone, add to the problem
Usability
Users find difficulty navigating through similar online doctor consulting apps available in the market
Experience
Online doctor consultation apps don’t provide an engaging browsing experience
Persona: Rajeev
Problem statement:
Rajeev is a busy working adult who needs easy access to doctors for consultation because his busy schedule sometimes does not allow him to visit a clinic for his regular checkups.
User Journey Map
Mapping Rajeev’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for
users to have access to a dedicated app.
Paper Wireframes
Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized a quick and easy booking process to help users save time.
Digital Wireframes
As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from the user research.
Digital Wireframes
Easy navigation was a key user need to address in the designs in addition to equipping the app to work with assistive technologies.
Low-fidelity prototype
Using the completed set of digital wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype. The primary user flow I connected was finding a doctor and get an appointmet, so the prototype could be used in a usability study.
Usability study: findings
I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.
Round 1 findings
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Users want to search and book quickly
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​Users want to view other patients’ reviews, to be able to to take a better decision
Round 2 findings
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The checkout process is confusing
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“Payment” functionality is confusing
Mockups
Early designs allowed for some customization, but after the usability studies, I added more details and text based instructions.
Mockups
The second usability study revealed frustration with the payment flow. to streamline this flow, I consolidated the “Book” and “Checkout screens” to one “Order summary” screen.
I also added the track status to this screen.
High-fidelity prototype
The final high-fidelity prototype presented cleaner user flows for finding a doctor and book appointment.
Accessibility considerations
1
Provided access to users who are vision impaired through adding alt text to images for screen readers.
2
Used icons to help make navigation easier.
3
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Used detailed imagery for food to help all users better understand the designs.
Takeaways
Impact
The app makes users feel like the stakeholders really think about how to meet their needs.
One quote from peer feedback:
“The app made it so easy to consult a dosctor!”
My Learning
While designing the app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the app’s designs.
Next steps
1
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.
2
Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.
