People Over Pathogens
Type of project: UX Design & Research
Role (s): UX Researcher, UX Designer
Industry: Digital Health
Tools: Figma, Axure RP
March 2022 - June 2022
With help from my teammates, tasks were split fairly evenly.
I created one of the three personas/narrative scenarios, designed the “Learning more” desktop prototypes and conducted tests on users.
Finding a COVID-19 vaccination or PCR testing site should not require extensive research. My team and I created People Over Pathogens to be an easy, one-stop tool that does it all! Tracks covid-19 symptoms, provides data about the spread of the virus in their area, makes appointments and view test results.
In order to accomplish this, the team created personas based on potential users, mapped out the potential user’s needs, created prototypes, and conducted user testing.
Context
Carity amongst crisis
The year is 2022 and while the worst of the pandemic may be over, everyday people still struggle to find reliable, easy-to-understand COVID-19 sources. Anything to finding testing sites and home tests to symptoms and guidance on what to do if they got the virus themselves.
Research has showed us that trust in information sources are varied. The differences in an individual’s health literacy, comprehension of health websites and access to clear guidance has made it difficult for many to navigate critical information.
People are scared, and fear is amplified by uncertainty and inconsistent sources. Even simple tasks like finding a nearby testing site or understanding when to isolate feels overwhelming to just about anyone right now.
Our goal with People Over Pathogens was to design a solution that made this information accessible, practical and trustworthy for anyone
Listening
Listening
PErsonas
We created three personas to represent the key user groups working through COVID-19-related challenges: Jerry, Kanga & Claudia.
Each persona highlights different goals, frustrations and levels of technical comfort, allowing us to design with a broader range of users in mind.
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“It’s allergy season, I have symptoms and I don’t know whether to freak out or not.”
Background.
Age: Older gen x/ young boomer
Job: Retired firefighter
Education: high school diploma
level of computer expertise: low
Goals & Motivations.
Verify if they have covid or not
Wants to avoid long covid as much as possible bc of age
Frustrations & Pain points.
-Complex UI
-Scattered and misinformation around covid symptoms
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“Weighing the risks of in-person vs online school for my child.”
Background.
Age: Older Millenial
Job: HR Manager
Education: Bachelors
level of computer expertise: High
Background info: parent
Goals & Motivations.
Making an informed decision for the health of my child
Frustrations & Pain points.
-Mixed and scattered information makes it hard to make informed decisions -Frustrated with planning around what to do if there are high case levels in area of residence
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“I need to determine if it’s safe to go back to work ASAP.”
Background.
Age: young millenial
Job: Service Industry worker
Education: Bachelors
Level of computer expertise: High
Goals & Motivations.
Wants to schedule a PCR test to confirm suspected covid infection
Frustrations & Pain points.
-Finding nearby open appointments
-Finding an authorized testing site (not a scam)
User Challenges
This helped the group discover some common challenges users encounter when attempting to access COVID-19 information on their own:
Lack of trust: It’s difficult to choose which sources to listen to especially if they’re all telling you something different
Low digital literacy in some groups: Older and less tech-savvy users may struggle to use websites, forms or symptom trackers
Public health information can be hard for some to interpret: Health and science-based language is not ideal for someone who is already under a lot of stress.
Overload in information and sources: Conflicting sources create an unnecessary layer of difficulty & confusion for users searching for clarification
Execution
features
Seeing these challenges, we focused on finding solutions that would meaningfully improve the experience for common users
With the People over Pathogens app, users will be able to:
Read up COVID-related information & news: simplified explanations & recommended actions allow users of any reading level to understand crucial information. Scientific studies will be linked for users who feel inclined to learn more.
At-home PCR test order & delivery: Check-out modeled after popular online retail stores make for an easy, well known interaction. Credit card encryption and other safety measures ensure user feels safe giving personal information.
Find your nearest COVID in-person location & make appointment: Map modeled after familiar navigation apps make it easy to navigate. Minimal information required makes for seamless interaction.
Receive results to recent visits: Notification will alert user when test results are ready. Test will read “positive” or “negative” with next course of action outined clearly. If user wishes to know more about test result,
Sketches
Now, based on the features and overall look and feel we wanted for the app, how does each team member envision the app? We sketched our own visions them came together to discuss.
The team wanted to imagine a brand that felt serene, reliable, and informative
PRototypes
Guided by the layout discussed and our visual identity, we put together a set of high-fidelity screens. This specifically reflects our In-person PCR test locator path.
Assessment
USer flow
USer Testing
Test subjects were given a series of questions regarding their past experience with COVID-19 test scheduling and COVID-19 related news before attempting to complete the 4 tasks:
Task 1: Scheduling a PCR Appointment
Task 2: Ordering a Rapid-Antigen Test
Task 3: Finding a Covid-19 News Article
Task 4: Checking Community Transmission
Testing will end with a few retrospective questions inviting the user to talk about their experience navigating the app.
The team will know this app is successful if:
User can complete tasks (eg. find testing sites, order tests) without feeling confused
Understand COVID-19 information
Users return to app on their own when features are needed
There is positive feedback from diverse age & ethnic groups
Testing results
Participants were confused by the wording of the checkbox option adding a Rapid-Antigen test when creating a PCR appointment (3 participants)
Participants wanted to view available time slots for each testing provider before entering booking process (3 participants)
Some participants did not see the progress bar at the top while booking PCR appointment (2 participants)
Participants seemed interested in having a page dedicated to scientific COVID-19 publications (2 participants)
Participants wanted to be able to zoom into specific areas of the map to see COVID-19 spread data a b it better(3 participants)
Participants suggested having more scientific articles and COVID-related news on the homepage (2 participants)
Claudia is one of the personas from earlier! She suspects that she might be infected with COVID-19 and had over heard one of her coworkers talking about an app she can use to locate a testing site and book an appointment. She downloads and uses the app to find the closest testing site and find out if she can go back to work.
Below, we envisioned what that process would look like on the People Over Pathogens app.
Reflection
insights
Users did not see UI elements like progress indicators and extra options, which caused some confusion.
Many users wanted earlier knowledge of important information, especially during booking tasks instead of clicking through multiple steps.
The map was difficult to interpret and users wanted more control like zooming into specific areas.
Many wanted easier access to COVID articles and news, rather than having it feel buried.
Overall, most of the issues here came down to visibility and structure.
Areas for improvement
Make UI elements easier to notice
Show important information earlier in flows (like appointment times)
Improve map interaction (add zoom)
Put COVID articles and news in a more obvious place
Improve scannability and structure across the entire app
Takeaways
Our initial goal for People Over Pathogens was to make COVID-19 information more accessible, practical and trustworthy for anyone. I do think the app does moves in that direction. It brings a lot of important information into one place instead of making people jump around sources.
Users completed the main tasks but there still seemed to be issues with clarity, visibility and navigation. While the idea is good, the experience needs a bit more work in order to feel smooth and easy to use, especially for people who struggle with technology.
The concept of the app is solid, but there is a lot of room for improvement.