One stop solution to all PCOS related problems - CureIt
PROJECT TYPE
Passion project - 2 members
DURATION
6 Weeks, July 2020 - Aug 2020
OVERVIEW
PCOS is a health problem that affects many teenage girls and women. It is necessary to pay attention to these conditions because one out of every three women suffers it. This app helps tackle this problem with an effective design solution.
"Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the major endocrinopathy among reproductive-aged women, is not yet perceived as an important health problem in the world. It affects 4%–20% of women of reproductive age worldwide.
The prevalence, diagnosis, etiology, management, clinical practices, psychological issues, and prevention are some of the most confusing aspects associated with PCOS."
-Source:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7879843/
Initial lnsight
Customer Outlook
From going to the doctor myself I've noticed many PCOS related health problems around me. Since years, around 60% of women have been facing PCOS around the globe, making it as a serious concern owing to achieve a healthy lifestyle suffering from it. Leaving most of the women isolated and alone when dealing with their appointments and medication.
The health care field lacks an online footprint to accommodate this concern online.
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RESTRICTIONS
"All my doctor appointments has been postponed due to COVID-19."
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MEDICAL FORUMS
"Internet users have searched for PCOS-related topics online. "
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MEDICATION
"The lack of perceived effectiveness was cited as a factor by the researchers."
Design Challenge
How can we help women suffering from PCOS to find and seek proper treatment along with maintaining their health and helping follow a healthy lifestyle at ease?
The goal of this project was to successfully guide young women with PCOS. Here, I led
my team in the designing the solution which was informed by our formative research. Our team looked at 'how to promote an online platform for women with PCOS' who fail to the right treatment and environment to cope up with it. By providing a list of gynecologists available in the vicinity, keeping tracks of the treatment, an informative section about diet and exercises to keep it under control, menstrual reminders along with ordering medicines online.
The Process
Throughout these 10 weeks, I divided our research and design process into the following categories:
Research
Do others have similar problems?
User Interviews
I interviewed 13 participants who are ...
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Age: 18 - 33
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Facing the PCOS problem
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Living under the pandemic situation
I hoped to ...
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Understand how this problem affecting women. If so, what positive effects and what negative ones?
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Learn about current solutions that support women during their difficult days & their pros and cons.
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Identify user needs and expectations for maintaining their periods cycle, health and diet.
From the results & data, I knew that ...
Almost 50% the women participants facing the issue were aged 20-23 years.
On an average, 30% women were struggling from PCOS for about 2-4 years.
Around 30% women visited their doctors monthly for the check-ups.
What about the general population?
Quantitative Research
From the results and data, I learned....
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The most common symptoms noticed were irregular periods, facial hair and weight gain.
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Most of the women preferred Allopathy and Ayurvedic treatment.
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On an average, women preferred to consult the doctor on monthly basis whereas the least number consulted on a yearly basis.
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If given a chance, around half of the women chose to consult a doctor online.
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The most common insight about following a diet and exercise for PCOS control was a no.
What are the problems and what can I do to help?
HMWs
Jane, a software engineer working from home, needs a way to keep a check on her health on monthly basis and avoid the hustle of finding the right treatment along with maintaining her health records because she experiences different symptoms and pain because of irregular period cycles. And wants to have the experience personalized.
How might we help users maintain a healthy check-up routine while personalizing the experience?
Shruti, a college student taking summer classes remotely, needs to connect with others facing the painful state of mind during this time, she is feeling lonely, but she wants to share her experience to make her feel lighter. Without feeling
being running to different platforms.
How might we help create a meaningful way for users to share their experiences with others?
Melissa, a wife and a mother often browses various resources to follow the diet and exercises to keep herself fit and uses different apps to achieve the fitness goals. As a mother, she often forgets to track her fitness and no one around to keep a check/motivate her.
How might we help users to maintain a healthy lifestyle sufficing their fitness needs?
"I didn't want this experience to define my life or compromise my future happiness,
so I started researching hormones and reproductive health".
"I was left hurt, lonely, and confused on top of all the devastating feelings of
incredible sadness and loss".
-Source:Quotes pulled from PCOS
community on reddit platform
What are the existing solutions?
Benchmarking
After understanding the users' needs and expectations, I looked for existing solutions that assist users with their period cycles and health, hoping to find what they are doing well and what not. Here are some main categories: health appointment scheduler, reminder/to-do list apps, wellbeing apps, and exercise apps.
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No 'one stop shop' solution covering majority of features.
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There are hardly any apps that focus on promoting wellbeing for women facing PCOS issues.
Key takeaways
Ideation
Brainstorming
Exploring possibilties
How might we combine different user needs and include common features in the app?
From research we gained valuable insights about our user group and the problem scope that demands to be highlighted.
In order to empathize with the user and understand their pain points....
I created empathy maps which gave me a deep understanding about their emotions and pain points.
Journey Mapping
Deep dive into user emotions
Here, I identified the key interactions and touch points to craft the product's user experience based on
their unique motivations and goals. I've also included the delight and opportunities for future advancement.
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My Solution
Summing it all
With all my takeaways from the research process, I came up with the idea of CureIt App that targets the problems women face fighting PCOS while integrating their expectations & needs.
"A personalized app providing one stop solution for all PCOS related issues. Aiming to offer all well being services from online doctor consultation, doorstep lab testing, fitness exercises, diet recommendations, reminders and a community platform to share their feelings "
Card Sorting
closer to achieving user goals
Card sorting was used to determine which features would help the user in achieving their goals.
Information Architecture
putting it all together
After the research and gaining insights from the card sorting exercise, I ideated the Information Architecture.
User Flow
carving out the successful path
A user flow was created by combining all factors to allow the user to navigate the app easily.
Low Fidelity designs
A user flow was created by combining all factors to allow the user to navigate the app easily.
Converting the idea and research into a product
Iterations
After usability testing
I conducted Usability testing with 5 user participants. I noted and analysed their feedback. And designed the following mockups.
A glimpse of the final look!
Prototype
After making the changes suggested in the User testing, I started designing the screens.
Impact & takeaways
I was a bit too ambitious when writing out my goals and expectations for this app. I thought creating multiple features outside of what the users requested was feasible. After receiving feedback from user testing, I learned to simplify and focus on features that solve user problems in the long run and would make the app more and efficient. Minimizing the number of features that the app would offer to the ones that the users requested. For the demo, I designed the MVP and I'm excited to complete all the screens soon.
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