Project
My Lymphedema App
Duration
April - May 2020
My Role
UX Designer / UX Researcher
Tools
Figma | Sketch | Invision | Adobe Illustrator
OVERVIEW
What is Lymphedema?
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Lymphedema is swelling that occurs in the arms or legs due to the removal of or damage to your lymph nodes from cancer treatment, infection, or disease.
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Specific diets, compressions, and exercises may help reduce its symptoms on a trial-and-error basis.
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Currently, over 1 million individuals in Canada and 10 million in the US have lymphedema.
“Lymphedema is one of the most poorly understood, relatively underestimated, and least researched complications of cancer or its treatment.” - National Cancer Institute
CHALLENGE
There is no comprehensive digital tracking tool for monitoring Lymphedema.
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No single platform includes everything needed to monitor.
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A combination of different apps & manual tracking makes it difficult to compare and synthesize data.
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Most nutrition apps cater to the nutritional needs of the general population.
PROCESS
Here's how I did it using the UX design process:
01
Empathise
Problem Space Refinement
Secondary Research
Primary Research
PROBLEM SPACE REFINEMENT
Individuals with lymphedema need a single comprehensive app to track their nutritional intake and symptoms, so they can easily identify and minimize their flare-ups.
Value Propositions:
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An all-in-one platform allows users to have all their lymphedema info in 1 consistent place.
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Progress charts allow users to visually see trends and patterns of all their data.
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Shareable data so users can look them over with health professionals.
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Customizable tracking options let users focus on their own unique lymphedema.
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A community platform for users to learn from each other’s experiences and get advice.
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Linkable to other health apps for a seamless health management experience.
USER RESEARCH
60
Surveys
5
Interviews
Qualifying factors:
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User has or takes care of someone with lymphedema
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User is open to tracking on an app
Question topics:
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User demographic/ background
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Tracking intake
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Nutrition goals
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Eating habits
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Lifestyle
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General app usage
User Interview and Survey Questions
“I like seeing summary graphs auto-generated of goals I hit, progression of symptoms/mood...”
“When I get inflammation, I need to go over my intake and check what I have done or not done.”
“I find it interesting to share goals, and benefit from other people’s experiences”.
“ I want to see results and noticing difference and physical improvement due to adjustment made”
DESIGN
CHALLENGE
How might we provide individuals on their moving journeys with organising tools, tips, and resources in order to prepare them for what to expect during all stages of the move?
THEMES
What can I incorporate into the solution?
Interviewees disclosed the need for a systematic approach to planning their moves. Starting with the ability to select a reliable moving company, schedule the to-do list, set reminders, efficient packing, & being able well informed on every aspect of the move. Ending with tips & tricks on how to settle into their new place.
What was shared in each case was the level of stress! What stood out, even more, was that in every circumstance, family & friends were always available to help! That is because the main factor that everyone had in common is not having enough time. Users underestimated the time needed especially for packing. Hence, others' help was a great relief.
02
Define
Persona
Journey Map
PERSONA
Main users personality traits
Studying the above categories, I developed a persona with common motivations, behaviours, & pain points.
I learned that regardless if users used a moving company or not, juggling work & planning a move is exhausting. They use online schedules/to-do list apps to share with their partner, roommate, or family members.
Ultimately, users would like to be & stay informed throughout the process even if they do delegate tasks to others. Staying up to date is very important.
EXPERIENCE MAP
Recording the user's moving process
Combining my personal moving experience with insights collected in earlier research, I created an experience map. the persona, Dani.
Dani is excited to move to her new place. She is trying to discover her new neighbourhood through social media & trying to get tips from others that have moved to that area in the past. She starts to look for recommendations and real reviews for moving companies.
It isn't long before she realises that the moving process is overwhelming with all the to-do lists, due dates, and scheduling. However, when Dani creates a detailed plan she feels more at ease and confident that she will be able to get things done.
Dani shares with her partner the detailed to-do list and schedules to collaborate. However, their busy work schedule puts pressure on both of them. Since it is expensive for her to hire a packing company, she decides to ask family & friends for help. however, keeping track of everything that needs to be packed, where to start, & how to collaborate is a big challenge.
This experience map reflects the ups & down that, Dani will go through before, during, & after the day of the move.
Possible design intervention:
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Create a collaborative platform where people can get help / help others with different tasks of the moving process: schedule, to-do-list, & packing
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Leave real live reviews & get helpful tips
03
Ideate
User Stories
Task Flow
Sketches
USER STORIES
Possible Scenarios
Thinking of the users' 30 user stories and categorizing them by similarity.
I decided to focus on the memorization aspect after having learnt that there are not many digital solutions that help people memorize large volumes of text or big music pieces. Moreover, from the interviews.
EPICS
Targeted solutions
Analyzing the user stories, I found related stories that can be categorized as epics. Those epics are actual guidelines for features that I will be incorporating into the solution I'm working on.
REVISED
DESIGN
CHALLENGE
How might we prepare individuals for planning their move with collaborative tools in order to allow help from friends & family?
TASK FLOW
Complete Packing a Box
With the chosen core epics for the app, I created the main task flow that allows the user to add a package to the list of packages.
The user will fill in info about what's in the package, which room it belongs to, whether is it meant to be donated, and take/upload pictures of how things were organised to help with the unpacking too.
SKETCHES
Scribbles, ideas, notes, & more
One task flows, many users. The owner of the project, DANI with the collaborators on this project her partner, a family member, & a couple of friends.
Ideas started rushing & I started sketching with the goal of creating a simple design that is intuitive. I created an inspiration board of different collaborative platforms to help me ideate.
Ultimately, this project is supposed to grant the user an ezMove.
04
Prototype
Wireframes
Prototype
WIREFRAMES
I developed wireframes that translated the task flow through sketches & assets.
05
Test
Usability Test
Gathering Feedback
Iterations
USABILITY TEST
How to improve the current prototype?
After creating the wire flow mid-fi prototype, I conducted two rounds of testing with 5 different users each round. Users were given 5 chronological order tasks to complete. I took notes of each user test & assessed the usage patterns if they are easy or difficult to identify & remember.
GATHERING FEEDBACK
What was challenging for the user?
After creating the wire flow mid-fi prototype, I conducted two rounds of testing with 5 different users each round. Users were given 5 chronological order tasks to complete. I took notes of each user test & assessed the usage patterns if they are easy or difficult to identify & remember.
ITERATIONS
How the design changes improved the user experience?
I completed multiple changes on each of the 4 main wireframes and added frames to enhance the flow experience.
After the second round of testing, I reiterated again.
Iteration includes Asset, icons, & text changes, in addition to reorganizing the information hierarchy.
06
Refine
Brand Identity
UI Library
Final Prototype
BRAND IDENTITY
Developing the tone, look, & feel of the brand
Words that describe EZ MOVE Brand:
Easy
customizable
Dependable
Practical
Convenient
WORD MARK
SKETCHING
I started sketching the word mark after getting inspiration from the visuals collected in the Mood board. Word mark to express the packing process.
WORD MARK REFINING
The typeface needs to have solid stackable-looking letters. Especially the letter M-needs to symbolize the box/house Icon.
TYPOGRAPHY
I wanted to choose a font that is both clean & soft to contrast the boxes & QR code edges. Jura is modern, legible, sans serif, and elegant.
COLOURS PALETTE
Colours were inspired by the moving boxes, lead color print on boxes, and the wall off-white
ICONGRAPHY
Icons used have clear lines with soft edges. I utilised my design background to create a few unavailable icons. This was done carefully keeping in mind the design proportions of the icon template.
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Final refinements were added. Colours, Typography, animation, and imagery.
Features Highlighted:
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Dynamic QR Code with Mobile App Deep Linking Capability
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Photo Upload
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Icon selection
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Customized project profile
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Project owner emphasis
07
Final Statement
Future Plan
Take away Summary
FUTURE PLAN
Marketing Website
This web page will inform stakeholders and potential users of the many features of this digital solution, accessible through desktop & mobile.
Easy is a main selling point, with a section dedicated to taking the user through simple steps to achieve a major task. This will trigger the audience's curiosity to try and ultimately use ezMove.
TAKE AWAY
What did I learn to become a better designer?
• To utilize my curiosity and never shy from asking questions, the more I share the more others share too.
• To Always be ready for your assumptions to be wrong.
• To pivot, start all over again, & be ready for more brain bogglers whenever needed.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this case study, planning a move and creating a digital solution are very similar. Setting a detailed plan is key to staying focused on the end goal.
Maybe my next project will be creating a planning solution for UX designers.