duration : 8 Months (Personal Project)
Certification : Springboard UX Design
ROLE : Solo UX Designer (User Research, Prototyping, Usability Testing)
Tools : Adobe XD, Invision, Miro
PROJECT SUMMARY
In this personal project, I designed a mobile app that aims to mitigate Seniors' feelings of isolation and enhance their social lives by enabling "Seniors" and "Companions" to connect based on one another's interests. For a specified period of time, a Companion may be requested to see, engage with, and socialize with the Senior. Over time, this fosters the development of meaningful relationships, improving Seniors' quality of life.
As a sole UX designer, I conducted research interviews to better understand users' needs and pain points when looking for the ideal companion or senior. Based on the results of the research, I then identified and prioritized the features for the app's MVP and iterated on my designs in response to user feedback.
CASE STUDY OVERVIEW
Problem
Loneliness and social isolation for a prolonged period can lead to anxiety, depression, health crisis amongst others thereby resulting in poor quality of life. Seniors are at an increased risk of loneliness as they are most likely to face factors such as home alone, shrinking of the circle of family and friends, immobility, hearing loss and other illnesses.
Goal
How can we help Seniors engage in social relationships that would lead to improving their quality of life?
Solution
Companions for Seniors app targets to improve the well-being of Seniors by providing a way to pair Seniors and Companions where the latter spends a specific amount of time interacting, socializing and providing the necessary support to the Seniors.
“It is not a one-sided relationship. It is a commitment that a companion makes and gets something out of it. You provide a social relationship. But you also receive the satisfaction because you made contact, helped their day out and that they understand they are not all alone in this necessarily”
–Participant quote (during User Research Interviews)
KEY FEATURES
'Sandra Thatcher, a 71 year old Senior, enjoys Yoga and meditation. On the International Day of Yoga, she would love to have a company at her home while she performs Yoga since she is unable to go out on her own to a Yoga gathering. She prefers a female companion who enjoys Yoga as much as she does.'
Now, how does this app help her?
Search Companion
Sandra opens the “Companions for Seniors” app and navigates to find a companion who loves yoga. She checks out their profile to learn more about their background.
Schedule a visit
Once Sandra feels assured that a companion’s interests align with hers, she proceeds to schedule an appointment with Emma Sandra, the Companion.
Handle Incoming Scheduling Requests
Emma (companion) receives a new appointment request from Sandra. Emma, being the yoga lover herself, is very happy to spend her time with Sandra and foster their relationship.
Manage Appointments
Oops! After scheduling an appointment, Sandra realizes that she also has a doctor visit around the same time on that day and would either have to reschedule or cancel her Yoga schedule.
RESEARCH : DISCOVERY
Deepening the understanding of the problem space
1 Based on the current scenario, it was very important to learn how the pandemic has taken a toll on people’s physical and mental health while having little to no social activity.
2 Keeping this in mind, I gathered Senior demographics and living arrangements. I learnt that the proportion of home alone or living alone increases with advancement in age. The chances of age-related disabilities also increases which leads to lack of social life bringing adverse effects on their wellbeing. Whether it is pandemic or no pandemic, Seniors seem to be affected the most.
— National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
“A greater proportion of adults aged 50–80 felt a lack of companionship, felt socially isolated, and had infrequent contact with others outside their homes during the early months of the pandemic than in 2018 when those numbers were already worrisomely high”
— Piette J, Solway E, Singer D, Kirch M, Kullgren J, Malani P. Loneliness Among Older Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. September 2020.
3 With this information, I gathered additional insights by scanning through websites that try to help people who are socially isolated and also referred to a few case studies.
Takeaway : Having a companion increases social interaction which elevates the mood of Seniors and dramatically reduces the risk of health complications.
Primary Research : Understanding my audience
Goal
The goal of this research was to understand the needs, expectations and pain points of the users when they seek a Companion or a Senior thereby identifying opportunities for improvement and bringing new features to the table.
Participant Characteristics
Technology Proficiency -Savvy or be open to learning technology
Group 1 Senior - Age : 65+
Group 2 Close friend/Family member of Senior who has either booked a companion previously or is interested in seeking one.
Group 3 Companion - Participants who have had the experience in providing emotional and social support to people in need.
“Seniors and Companions are more than just two strict roles. The longer you do these things, you become friends and develop a meaningful relationship creating memories”
– Interviewee (Companion)
Semi-structured Research Interviews
7 participants (friends/relatives/acquaintances) were recruited using Screener Survey and were interviewed via audio or video calls for a duration of 30 to 60 minutes. The interviewees involved 2 Seniors, 3 family members of Seniors and 2 who are/were providing companionship services. The participants were chosen from different cultural backgrounds to understand and address different needs.
Interview with a Recruited User
Research : Synthesis
From understanding the interviewees’ behavior, goals, motivations, needs and concerns, I put my lessons learnt in writing after every interview.
Identifying Patterns
Affinity Map: Synthesized the data by identifying patterns and grouping them into themes and sub themes.
Developing a deeper understanding of the users
“There are times when it would be nice to have somebody around to talk to or just hangout. Anybody is welcome as long as there is the same wavelength of thoughts”
– Interviewee (Senior)
Empathy Map - Senior
“My mother is shy and it takes a while to build trust. During companion visits, it is important to keep the subject light and limit to common interests”
– Interviewee (family member of Senior)
Empathy Map - Close relative or friend of a Senior
“Really observing and listening to what and how Seniors say things are important because it helps to understand if they are going through stress or anxiety”
– Interviewee (Companion)
Empathy Map - Companion
Representation of different user types
I was able to establish empathy and focus on the world of Seniors, their loved ones, and Companions by creating Personas based on understanding goals, needs, and pain points. Meet Don, Helen and Tom!
Primary Persona: Don Miller, 73 year old Senior, Retired and Widower
Secondary Persona: Helen Desai, Daughter of a 82 year old Senior, IT Professional
Primary Persona: Tom Anderson, Companion, Working Professional
Key Findings
Gathering from all the insights identified through the synthesis done earlier, I was able to identify three Key Findings that need to be addressed in the app.
Key Finding 1: Common Interests
Having shared interests between Companions and Seniors help to create rapport and lasting friendship.
Since there is no one-size-fits-all solution, finding the right companion or a senior can be a time consuming process and sometimes overwhelming. All the participants have expressed their preferences for a companion or a Senior who would fit into theirs or their loved one’s lifestyle.
HOW MIGHT WE help find a suitable companion or a senior based on interests?
“Since I am very spiritual, I prefer a companion who is interested in spirituality and meditation”
– Interviewee (Senior)
Key Finding 2: Trust and Empathy
Building the initial trust and empathy is the first stepping stone to companionship.
Building trust between a senior and a companion plays an important role so that the senior feels safe, reliable and secure. Once initial trust and empathy are built, companion visits can be a natural progression.
How Might We enable building trust and empathy between Seniors and Companions?
“Sending cards is a way to stay in touch whether it is during covid or no covid. Many have appreciated that”
– Interviewee (Companion)
Key Finding 3: Accessibility
Aging brings Accessibility Issues.
Regardless of how well educated or technologically sound seniors may be, as they age, new physical challenges such as low vision, hearing loss, amnesia and other illnesses arise that make it difficult to use technologies.
How Might We make the application easy to use for senior users without depending on others?
“My mother has arthritis and her hands get really sore. Websites and apps needs to be super user friendly if she needs to use them”
– Interviewee (Daughter of a Senior)
BRAINSTORMING SOLUTIONS
I wrote down all possible features that might serve as the solutions for all of the problems identified. With these possible solutions, I created user stories by articulating the needs of the users to help keep the design user-centered which then helped me to prioritize and identify the essential user stories that should be included in the MVP.
User Story Mapping - Senior (MVPs depicted in Pink color)
User Story Mapping - Companion (MVPs depicted in Pink color)
Information Architecture
In order to keep my design user-centered and track how users navigate through my app, I created Sitemap and User Flows for the Red Routes; essential paths or flows that are critical to the design.
Hierarchy
Sitemap : Helps track all the screen to be designed
Critical Paths to the design
Red Route 1 : Schedule Appointments - 1) Find, Connect and Request Appointment 2) Recipient’s approval of request
Red Route 2 : Manage Existing Appointments - View, Reschedule and Cancel Companion Visits
Low Fidelity Prototype
Sketching: Bring Ideas to Life!
I started designing the red routes by getting the ideas out of my head and onto paper and iterated on it a few times. Few of the key screens are shown below.
Low Fidelity Sketches of some key screens depicting: 1) Row 1 (from left to right) - Welcome Page, Search Page, Profile Page, and Chat Page and 2) Row 2 (from left to right) - Upcoming appointments page, Scheduling appointments page, Menu Page, and review incoming requests page
TEST EARLY, TEST OFTEN!
I ran a Guerrilla usability test with 5 participants in my neighborhood by converting my paper sketches to interactive prototypes using the MarvelPOP tool to get some initial feedback on the design and make improvements accordingly.
The goal of this test was to identify if the participants are able to:
- Find a new Senior/Companion and Schedule a new appointment request
- Manage existing appointments
- Manage Incoming appointment requests
Uncover Issues, Iterate!
Based on the findings during Guerrilla Usability Testing, I translated my paper sketches to a Digital Low Fidelity Prototype with the incorporated solutions.
Since many Seniors were not familiar with the latest trends in technology, this testing helped reveal some of the usability issues that were critical to this target user group.
Discoveries and Improvements
1 Senior participants were unaware that clicking on a name or an image in a Search Results page would navigate to their respective profile pages.
Improvement: Since they were looking for an indicator to click on a particular spot, I added a ‘view’ button to serve as a signifier.
2 In the Menu page, participants wanted more clarity on the Menu options.
Improvement: I added a brief description under each Menu option.
3 In the Profile page, the participants were too distracted by the texts rather than clicking on the CTA button “Schedule appointment” to schedule a visit with a Companion or a Senior.
Improvement: I kept the text to the minimum and made the CTA button evident so the users know to click on it when it captures their eye..
Inspiration
I created the Mood Board to define the emotions attached with my app and in return drew inspiration from them.
My first inspiration was the ‘Rings of the Tree’ depicting ‘Age and Wisdom’.
“Like rings in a large tree trunk that had been logged and exposed, every year of her life was visible in the wrinkles that lined her face, neck and arms. She was a living, breathing fossil”
– S.W. Lothian, Australian Author
The colors depicted in the Mood Board depict what Seniors might prefer or be able to distinguish as they grow older ; the colors that bring a dash of energy, creativity, and trust!
MoodBoard: 'Loneliness can be unsettling. But when there is a companionship, beautiful things can be built!'
Motivated by my Mood Board, I went ahead with creating my Style Guide.
Styleguide
GETTING CLOSER TO THE FINAL DESIGN
How Might We help find a suitable companion or a senior based on interests?
Having common interests helps a Companion be a good listener and develop empathy thereby improving a Senior’s social life. Hence, displaying “Interests” for every User is utmost important.
How Might We enable building trust and empathy between Seniors and Companions?
The initial stepping stone to building a trust in a Senior is learning that the companion has a clean background and has a good review. On the other hand, learning the background of a Senior would enable companions to provide the necessary support and empathize with Seniors.
How Might We make the application easy to use for senior users without depending on others?
Since with age, disabilities arise making it harder to use technology, accessibility plays a key role in my design.
There is a ‘help’ link provided on all the pages of my app so a user can always look up in case of any assistance. The navigations are straightforward and the pages have a minimalist design. I have added descriptions as required to provide more context and included additional cues on pages so the users know where to click upon to navigate to the desired pages.
TESTING THE DESIGN WITH REAL USERS
Iteration 1
With my High Fidelity Prototype, I conducted 5 moderated usability studies with friends and relatives through in-person as well as remote sessions via Zoom.
Objective
- Identify Users’ ability to navigate through all red routes and complete the desired tasks
- Uncover usability problems in the red routes
I received significant feedback during the sessions. I synthesized the findings, prioritized and identified the changes that needed to be made to the prototypes. My compilation of the findings from all the usability tests can be found in my Usability Test Report.
Key Insights and Improvements
1 Missing Notification reminders
Improvement
A constant reminder such as badge notification or warning message on the Welcome page to be present for any pending requests that have to be acted upon.
2 Missing subject for appointments
Improvement
While scheduling a new request, include a field to enter the subject or a brief title for that appointment. On the recipient’s end, Include the subject under each appointment request so the recipient understands the purpose of the request. Similarly, add a subject for each past and upcoming appointments.
3 Inability to Favorite a companion from Search Results Page
Improvement
Make the ‘Heart’ icon a single click functionality by adding visibility under each search result. Adding a ‘Heart’ icon besides the ‘Favorites’ section title to help the users better comprehend the meaning of the icon.
4 Invisible current location on Search Results Page results in confusion
Improvement
Provide visibility by displaying the default or user selected zip code (location).
5 Default landing on the Schedule section in the profile page were unexpected
Improvement
Swap the Schedule and Bio tab so the users land on the Bio section of the profile that users' prefer. Since reviews are of high priority to some users, an additional tab can be dedicated to the reviews for easy navigation.
Iteration 2
With these prototype adjustments, I conducted another round of moderated usability tests with five new people. Though I have not iterated on the designs further at this point in time, the feedback I received were very insightful.
Few valuable Feedback from the second round of Usability Test session:
1 Transparency of companion’s hourly charge - Users mentioned that hourly rates that a companion charges plays an important role in deciding a companion and that it needs more visibility.
2 Feedback for every visit - Rather than having a generic review section where a user can be reviewed only once, the companion or a senior should have the ability to provide feedback after every completed session.
3 Countdown timer for upcoming appointments - In addition to displaying the date and time for the upcoming appointments, including a countdown timer such as 3 days to go or 6 hours to go etc., would be very helpful. This is especially useful to the Seniors since they do not necessarily keep track of the dates.
CONCLUSION
The ultimate goal of this app is to improve a Senior’s well-being by mitigating loneliness. This is achieved with the help of Companions who spend time interacting, socializing and empathizing with the Seniors.
Having the opportunity to speak with a number of elders, as well as learning about the companions' perspectives on seniors and how their journey has been providing care and support, has taught me a great deal of patience, empathy, and love!
Learnings
1 Insights from Research interviews greatly helped shape my design
Prior to conducting my research, I had the idea that having common interests among Companions and Seniors would be helpful. However, it was only after my interviews with target participants that I realized that shared interests are not just a good to have, but are essential for boosting Seniors' social lives and aiding companions in developing empathy and lasting friendships.
2 Early design testing uncovered accessibility issues early on
Since Seniors are one of the primary target users, delivering a simple, relevant and an accessible interface were my top priority. By conducting Guerrilla usability testing in the initial phases of the design, I gathered great findings that have guided me towards achieving that goal.
I learned that testing early and testing often is the key to building a design that brings utmost user satisfaction.
3 Challenges while testing the product with real users
The usability testing of my app was interesting because there were considerable differences in how one group of users (Seniors) were able to comprehend information at a slower rate than the other younger, technically proficient users.
The issue emerged when Seniors began asking too many questions during the sessions, such as "do I click on this to accomplish that, or is it ok to go back to the previous screen?" and so on. I had to constantly remind them what a usability test was and carefully answering their questions so that my answers did not affect their conclusions.
Another concern was managing time with seniors, who had difficulty understanding what was being asked of them, resulting in longer test sessions than intended.
The issue emerged when Seniors began asking too many questions during the sessions, such as "do I click on this to accomplish that, or is it ok to go back to the previous screen?" and so on. I had to constantly remind them what a usability test was and carefully answering their questions so that my answers did not affect their conclusions.
Another concern was managing time with seniors, who had difficulty understanding what was being asked of them, resulting in longer test sessions than intended.
What’s Next?
Moving forward, I would continue working on iterating on my designs until it accurately reflects my users’ feedback.
Since this is the MVP, I am looking forward to taking this project further by bringing in additional features in the future.
1 Ability to Post a Companion Visit/Scheduling request
Currently a Senior can search for a suitable Companion and schedule an appointment with them. In addition to this, I would like to add a feature where a Senior has the ability to post a requirement for a companion visit to a wide range of companions in their area rather than having to search on their own such as “I would like to have a companion who loves Yoga and spends a couple of hours with me on the International day of Yoga”. The interested and available companions can respond to the request. The Seniors can then view, choose and schedule with one of the interested companions.
2 Personalized Recommendations
Displaying Seniors or Companions profiles in a carousel form based on users’ interests and recent views.
3 Personalized Search Results Page
The search results to be automatically prioritized based on users’ interests mentioned in their profile and their recent activities.
