Discovery
Mental health - specifically anxiety, has been a growing concern of healthcare professionals for over a decade.
With COVID-19 now as an added factor, even more people are experiencing exccessive worrying, irrational fear, and uncontrollable worrying. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) states that by age 40, about 50% of the population will have or previously, have had, a mental illness. Anxiety has been found to be a common denominator between more severe mental and physical health problems - possibly exacerbating other symptoms.
Outcomes
POC app to capture initial user feedback in order to build a compellig business case for further development oportunities
Case Summary
Product Vision
An App allowing tech savvy adults to log their anxiety in the midst of an anxiety episode - to help them break the restless thought patterns by constructively and effectively coping with their anxiety.
Long term goal: building a database of knowledge and analytics to help the user understand their personal symptoms of anxiety
Prototyping
Focusing on high-impact feature sets allowed us to create a user story that could be split into a few major user epics: tracking & monitoring anxiety, educating users, and coping with anxiety. The previews show major steps taken in the prototyping effort to bring these scenarios to life and user-tested for feedback in design and function
Let’s talk about Numbers:
40%
of all Canadians say their mental health has declined due to COVID19
50%
of the population will have or have had a mental illness - Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)
43.2%
of the 6.8 million Americans suffering from anxiety are being treated
Outcomes
Coming Soon
Validation
POC prototype has been tested on 10 users in order to validate our hypotheses. We used the previously defined user flow to guide users through the prototype.
ZOOM and Google Meetings were used to interview users and monitor their real-life interactions due to the social distancing and isolation guidelines provided by the government at the time. We utilized video calling technology during User Testing in an attempt to capture anecdotal evidence and user input which we could use for potential future business case developments or a pitch deck.
Our observations came back with almost entirely positive feedback. Many users enjoyed the ability to log their anxiety while doing CBT exercises and mentioned it was a great way to obtain “real” data from the moment of distress. They also mentioned that the tips or suggestions at the bottom of the home screen, with availability based upon their schedule, were helpful in keeping them calm throughout the day with the exercises or suggestions it provided.
User feedback also provided insight that the home screen UI was not as intuitive as we anticipated. Adjustments were made to the design to let simplicity shine and allow for an "easy to use" user experience.
We live in an restless world...
Mental health - specifically anxiety, has been a growing concern of healthcare professionals for over a decade. With COVID-19 now as an added factor, even more people are experiencing exccessive worrying, irrational fear, and uncontrollable worrying. The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) states that by age 40, about 50% of the population will have or previously, have had, a mental illness. Anxiety has been found to be a common denominator between more severe mental and physical health problems - possibly exacerbating other symptoms.
Idea Prioritization
Based on discovery research findings, we came up with three hypotheses to ensure product adoption. These covered: tracking and monitoring, educating users, and helping the user cope.
The features were listed and mapped based on technical complexity (POC only), potential business, and user efficiency values. The highest impact features were expected to be included in the Product POC
Process Highlights
Methodology
Design Thinking driven product concept development
Product Team
UX Designer, researcher
Product Team
UX Designer, researcher
Product Team
UX Designer, researcher
Discovery and Ideation
We started by researching the existing market tailored for wellbeing and self-help. After multiple medical journal reviews and surveys, we gathered 57 responses, primarily via interviews and social networks such as Linkedin and Facebook. This data allowed us to paint a clearer picture of the issues that those who face anxiety must deal with on a daily basis. This information provided us with enough information to build user profiles for further research.
While interviewing young adults who experience anxiety and reviewing multiple studies we found that 3 out of every 5 people suffering from anxiety did not know they were experiencing anxiety before being treated by a medical professional.
We also discovered that anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.
In the end, these interviewees spend years thinking they are experiencing something much more severe than anxiety, so there’s a particular need for a solution to help users to log, identify, and cope with their anxiety.
What followed were efforts to map the user experience to identify other pain points and discover exact areas for opportunity development