Caremap
Empowering collaboration between
families and care providers
Mobile App
Overview
CareMap is a mobile application which facilitates homecare service aiming at various target audience with different objectives. The app allows for providers and care seekers to find each other and stay connected. Families can search for care providers based on location, specific needs, languages, and more. Care providers each have a profile where their availabilities and service offerings are listed.
My Role
I was part of the product design team, responsible for conducting UX research and interaction design.
Problem
A large number of individuals provide care to a senior family member or a friend, which occupies about 19 hours of their busy lives every month on average. As life expectancy is increasing, the demand is naturally following as well. The challenge is to find a solution that provides for the senior family member’s need for independence and a quality life.
The existing Caremap website is a marketplace were families and home care providers are connected. The problem was the conversion rate was too low.
Our Solution
We put forward a mobile app which included the initial features of the website and several additional ones. Therefore, seniors, their families and home care providers will be able to collaborate with each other seamlessly using this efficient solution.
Process
Research
We set a stakeholders workshop to define the direction of the research as well as the business and design goals.
“Canadian families are increasingly hiring paid companion keepers and care providers to support relatives living at home.”
— Alex Mihailidis, University of Toronto Professor and Scientific Director of AGE-WELL
Research Insights
In a 2012 Statistics Canada study it was reported that 5.4 million Canadians are in charge of providing care to a senior family member or friend. More than 3 million Ontarians are family caregivers, while about 48% are caring for a parent or in-law. About 850,000 spend over 10 hours a week in providing care, which includes managing finances, providing personal care, transportation, and scheduling.
Target Users
3 main user groups were identified as target users. The first group is healthcare providers looking for work, the second group is family members of the seniors who are looking for a reliable home care provider to hire, and lastly the seniors. In version 1.0, we focused on the first two users; homecare providers and families of the seniors. Seniors monitoring features are included in version 2.0 roadmap.
Interviews & Observations
Through collaborations with field experts at George Brown College, we were able to understand core users, motivations, major pain points and primary tasks. Potential users were interviewed in order to collect data regarding their challenges, workflow, and opportunities. This data helped us to gain insight into the appropriate approach.
Participants Group 1
- Family with seniors living in Toronto
- Family living in a different city (Ottawa) or overseas
and their seniors live in Toronto
Interview Scripts
- What is the context?
- How often does your senior need help?
- What do they need help with?
- How often do you hire home care providers?
- What is the best case scenario? and worst?
- What tools do you currently use?
- What are the major problems faced?
- Do you take care of your senior yourself or with someone else?
Participants Group 2
- RN (Registered Nurse) Practitioner
- Nursing Student at George Brown
Interview Scripts
- The context?
- How do you find patients/clients?
- What tools do you currently use?
- What does your typical workflow look like? What are your major tasks?
- How many clients/visits do you usually have a day?
- Do you overwork?
- Have you had any issues with your patients or their family members? If so, can you tell us more?
- How much preparation does your shift require? and what do you need to do after leaving patient’s home?
- What are the major problems faced?
Observations
We conducted observations to understand nurses’ workflow including the technology being used. Since we could not follow their personal workflow as a result of the privacy regulations in healthcare in Canada, we observed their reporting, main tools utilized, and primary communication methods between them and their care seekers.
Problem Space
Main Pain Points
User Personas
Having gathered data and defined goals, we built user personas in order to further envision our target audience as well as their motivations and needs. The user personas added a lot of value as they guide us in thinking who the solutions are designed for and helped greatly in the brainstorming stage, where the functionalities were discussed.
User Flow
Using all the information derived from the research, we were able to develop 2 diagrams to identify use cases. User flow will pivot by selecting to be a care provider or a care seeker in the onboarding.
[ Flow: Familiy ]
[ Flow: Care Provider ]
Information Architecture
Care Providers On-boarding
Wireframes
We designed low-fidelity wireframes to give the client an idea of our plan and to get feedback on the site map. The next step was to create high-fidelity wireframes along with describing the functionality of each section which would help us in the prototyping stage. Moreover, the developers would get familiar with the features and functions.
Visual Design
Although uCarenet has had its existing branding, we decided to come up with a fresh new branding identity tailored for the app in order to stand out and grow in a constantly evolving space. The new direction was developed to provide for an optimal user experience; which includes legible and modern typography as well as a proper well thought-out color scheme suitable for the target users.
Final Design
Caremap includes quick and simple ways to schedule a session with care providers, ability to monitor the senior's health condition, direct contact with care providers via messages and phone calls through the app, etc. Care providers are able to browse through the work list on the app and contact the care seekers to learn about the specific needs of the senior.
What I Learned
ADAPTING TO CHANGING REQUIREMENTS
Throughout this project, several changes had to be made to the user flow which affected our approach-in this case switching from designing 2 apps to 1 with 2 main features. The timelines were inevitably affected as well; I learnt how to reprioritize and adapt to the ongoing changes efficiently.
UNDERSTANDING THE LIMITS (PERFECTIONISM VS. REALITY)
This app had a great potential to have multiple additional features applied; however, it was crucial to focus only on key features in a cost effective, realistic, and timely manner.
STAY FOCUSED ON THE MISSION
Design doesn’t rely solely on aesthetics nor always follows the design trends; but it primarily focuses on user interaction and usability. It is essential to understand the user, their problems and then put forward a design that solves it.
