Role: Product Designer Project Timeline: April 2020 - July 2020 Design Tools: Adobe XD, Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, InVision
So.. what's COVID19?
Project Overview
COVID19 is a new disease first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019. COVID19 was labelled as one of the fastest human to human transmitting viruses that put the world in a global pandemic. There are no vaccines or treatments available at the moment to prevent the spread of the virus.
However, scientists and healthcare specialists have collected data from COVID19 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, to create guidelines, procedures and testing kits to assess whether the patient has developed the disease or not.
Now what?
Although the testing kits are effective in determining whether someone has or had the virus, many people DO NOT KNOW where to locate assessment centres, DO NOT KNOW how long they need to wait to get tested or DO NOT have any idea on what types of test kits are available for diagnosing the virus.
In the United States, there are many online assessment locators that help citizens find the closest ones near them whereas, in Canada, there are only websites that provide a list of assessment centres and there are no ways of filtering whether the centres are close or not to the person.
Problem Statement
In Canada, people who are symptomatic or asymptomatic of COVID19 needs to find testing centres because they want to get medical help and stop the spread of the virus. Most people who are looking for testing centres do not know the types of testing kits available and how long it will take before their turn to get tested.
All About the Market
To understand what is used right now to track and locate COVID19, I investigated on competitors that had similar concepts and defined what success will look like for covidcator.
Competitor Analysis
To see what products or services are in the market now, I investigated multiple COVID19 locators and testing kits to explore the type of information shared with the customers. Below are three competitors (direct and indirect) that I observed closely on how they created and presented their product.
Click to see full competitor's analysis:
ArcGIS’s COVID19 Testing Site Locator (Direct)
Social + Basillabs’s Testing Site Locator (Direct)
Pixel by LabCorp – At-Home Testing Kit (Indirect)
Let's look at the Solution Hypothesis
By creating a mobile application with the focus of locating testing centres, listing all types of testing kits available, and providing an online virtual queue line option, will help control the spread of the virus in the testing centres across Canada.
Key Features
The mobile application will include:
Locate the closest testing centres near user
Join virtual queue lines to avoid crowding
Identify types of testing kits available
Additional resources related to COVID19
What does success look like?
Value Proposition
Company
Increase in user loyalty for using the application
Byproviding the most up-to-date, reliable, and consistent content from credible sources Goal: We want at least 60% of our users to have successfully located a testing centre, have an idea of what type of testing kits are available, or used the app for what they needed help with
Decrease the spread of the virus
People can continue to practice social distancing without being in a crowd or have much physical contact with other patients Goal:We want to contribute to at least 1-2% for flattening the curve for the spread of the virus
Users
Increase overall user satisfaction from finding the closest testing centre near user
By providing an easy way to locate testing centres (walk-in or drive-thru options) Goal: We want at least 60% of our users to be informed about COVID19, located a testing centre and have an idea of what types of testing kits are available
Gain awareness from relevant information about COVID19
Provide users with simplified and relevant information regarding the virus Goal: We want at least 60% of our users to be satisfied with the content on the app and gradually aim higher to 80% as we go through iterations, fixes and improvements
KPIs
1) At least 60% of users are able to LOCATE or search a testing centre 2) At least 60% of users are able to look for TESTING KITS available 3) Overall user engagement increases 50% within 1 month of release 4) More than 50+ users using the app after 1 week of release
COVID19 does not discriminate, let's look at the user research
Personas - A look at our users
To understand who are covidcator’s target users, I focused on what types of individuals will be using the application to find a testing centre. Through the research, I segmented the target users into 4 categories: worry-well, symptomatic, asymptomatic and immunocompromised or comorbidity.
Click on the photos to see the full personas:
User Journeys
Each persona has its own user journeys when they are using the app. Explore the user journey for each of the personas above.
Click on the photos to see the user journeys:
Mapping the General User Experience
Some users require immediate results from the app whereas some users are just browsing to see what are the options around them. Below shows a map of the general user experiences for the two main types of users.
All about the product creation
Using the market research, I created ‘covidcator‘ with the purpose of helping users locate the closest COVID19 testing centres near their location, option to know what type of testing centres are available, giving the users an option to join virtual line ups instead of going in. Now, let’s explore the design thinking process.
Mobile Architecture
The concept of the application breaks down into 4 sections: locating where the testing centres are, option to search for testing centres, additional resources about COVID19, and users can use their profile to save all the data about these centres and resources.
How the concept was made
Using the key features listed, I envisioned the application to show the user a map with pins of different testing centres located close to them. The map and pins are common patterns used for products or services related to location and tracking. I added in the option where users can join a virtual line up to avoid as much human contact as possible before the test.
Paper wireframe of all the features I wanted to add to the application.
Low-fidelity wireframe of the layout to finding a testing centre and joining a virtual line up.
Mid-fidelity wireframes showing the same process of finding a testing centre and joining a virtual line up.
Understanding our users with user testing
Methodology
To understand the target audience, I chose to conduct usability tests usinguser interviews (1 vs.1) with a few of the users.
User Insights
During the usability tests, I focused on giving the users open questions and observed what they thought of the application. Here are some of the results:
Positive Quotes
• I like how I can line up virtually and see when it is almost my turn to go in • I like having the option to filter where I can find the test centres • I like the option to skip so I can do these questions later • I like to read up on what these things are since I don’t understand them • I like the colour choices for this app
Negative Quotes
• I don’t know what are COVID19 symptoms? • So much information, it feels overwhelming! • Do I click this? • Why can’t I skip this screen? • I don’t understand what the legend is for • Why does the back button not work? • It would be nice to see more visuals and images
Overall Results
• 90% of the test users thought joining a virtual line for either a drive-thru or walk-in was simple and straightforward • 100% of the test users were successful in joining a virtual line up on the application • Users listed their favourite features on the application: 1) Joining a virtual line-up - helpful with time management and reduce stress in a crowded environment 2)Time slots - know when to go in and able to prepare for your turn 3) Map that shows test centres nearby - know what is around, how long it would take and if there are testing kits available with real-time data 4) Notification - able to get notified when it is their turn 5)Informative components- identifying distance, people in front and wait-time
The results collected were all used to make iterations to the next phase of the prototype. Let's get into what the final prototype looks like.
It's time to talk about iterations and finalizing covidcator
Covidcator was designed to help users avoid crowds at testing centres by giving them information to know when it’s their turn to go in. Let’s explore each asset of making this application.
Brand Identity
Covidcator brand asset represents ‘communication’ and ‘openness’. There are many stories of how people treat people with COVID19 as viruses themselves and to prevent that stigma, I want to create something that gives anyone the ability to locate a testing centre without feeling afraid of getting tested for the virus. We are here to stay strong together and not to segment communities.
Logo
Typography
Colour Palette
Icons
Components
High Fidelity Prototype
The high fidelity prototype was built using Adobe XD for all the logic connections and Adobe Illustrator for UI elements. The prototype was made with improvements and the goal of reducing pain points that users experienced data collected from the usability test.
On-boarding
The application will onboard the users with some COVID19 related questions to help detect the closest testing centres to the user.
Home - Locate a testing centre
On the home page, users are able to locate a testing centre by sharing their geolocation or manually adding in a location. From the user research, the test users thought the having a detailed information card for one location was more useful than having the swipe pattern to see multiple locations around. Using the research, when the user clicks on any of the location icon, an information card for the select test centre will pop-up for the user to see how far is the distance, where it is, hours of operations, and wait-times.
Find a test centre and join a virtual line
When users make a selection, they will go into a more in-depth information page about the testing centre. Users will have the opportunity to join either a walk-in or drive-thru virtual line. Before joining the line, they will need to select the date and time slot that they want to go get tested. They will need to fill up some quick personal information for the health clinics to know who is going in - this information can be sent to the health clinic database to keep track of people's information. After submitting all the information required, users will receive back a ticket and QR code for the line they joined.
Notifications
From the user research, having notifications to alert the users about their turn is an important feature that all test users expected to see when using the app. On covidcator, users will be given notifications for permission to use their location and enabling push notifications when their turn is almost up. When it is almost the user's turn, there will be a notification sent 30 minutes earlier on the application to remind them about their time slot as well as an option to cancel if they do not need to get tested at that location anymore. If the user does not show up within 15 minute of their time slot for their testing, their time slot will automatically be given to someone else to not stop the queue in the virtual line up.
Additional Resources
During the usability test, many of the test users did not know whether they had COVID19 or know what the symptoms are. So to help the users out, I included an "additional resource" section where they can learn more information on symptoms, prevention, statistics and other useful information about the virus.
Updating Profile
In the beginning of the application, users completed questions to help populate testing centres near them. In the profile section, users are able to edit that information including information related to account settings and saved testing centres that they want to refer back to in the future.
Final Product
Covidcator's main goal is help users find the closest testing centres (in Ontario) near them. This application can help maintain a steady contactless experience between the health care provider and users who are sick.
• This is a new disease that does not have any cure or vaccine for it yet, so there is limited data on which type of testing is the best way to diagnose the disease. • As this is a new application, I have limited research on our users’ behaviours and patterns when using the application. However, I want to do more usability tests and other methodologies to help clarify some components and points of the data. • Finally, as this application is meant to share resources between the health clinic and user, not all health clinics are willing to use the the queue system so there might be inaccuracy in real-time data regarding wait-times, and people in front of the user.
Future Goals
• Explore building a stable database for the healthcare / testing centre side to help information accuracy between application database, instead of just focusing on the application users • Expand the application to tablet and desktop responsive versions • Expand the idea of the app to all of Canada instead of restricting it to Ontario only • Integrate and build a partnership with other healthcare medical applications • Expand beyond COVID19 and help to detect assessment centres for other diseases
Project Credits
Mobile App Concept • UI/UX Designer: Eva Chan • Mentor: Tina Adam
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