Aida Mobile App

Problem space

My sister’s recovery from Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS) inspired me to address this problem space. PCS is when concussion symptoms last longer than the expected course of recovery. Symptoms can include headaches, memory deficits, difficulty concentrating, and imbalance. The severity of symptoms often forces people to adjust their professional and social routines.

Quick stats

10%–15% of concussions lead to PCS

PCS prevalence is higher in females

PCS can last for months and, in some cases, years

Primary research

To gain a better understanding of the problem space and who it affects, I interviewed three people who had been diagnosed with PCS in the past year. Before the interviews, I acknowledged my assumption that people with PCS would prioritize connecting with others who have PCS to feel understood and supported.

Despite this assumption, I kept the interviews open for discovery by asking a diverse set of questions to gain a breadth of insights. Getting a big picture look at the recovery journey helped with developing empathy for the persona and later with putting together an experience map.

Interview insights

Life changing impact

PCS has a major impact on a person’s life and can lead to a sense of grief over what’s been lost (the “old self”)

Outside perceptions

Family and friends compare you to your “old self” and minimize what’s wrong because it’s not visible - this can lead to losing relationships

Effect on mental health

Grief and isolation can lead to low mood and it can be helpful to find something (yoga, meditation, painting) that helps you accept your new reality

Learning a "new normal"

Learning what life looks like with PCS can be frustrating because it’s often a trial and error process to identify what triggers symptoms

Connecting with others

Connecting with others who have PCS is important for feeling understood and for the tips and strategies that they share

affinity map and persona based on interviews

Curbing assumptions

Keeping an open mind during interviews allowed me to discover that my initial assumption wasn’t accurate and, more importantly, I discovered why. Although connecting with others who have PCS was useful, none of the people I interviewed had difficulty finding those connections.

Instead, people with PCS are having trouble feeling understood by their family and friends. I really empathized with the persona, Megan, because this puts her at risk of losing some of her most important relationships at a time when she needs them the most.

Mapping the experience

Analyzing the experience map, I saw that the early days of recovery can be very isolating because symptoms are at their worst and time away from normal routines is often necessary. I hypothesized that friends and family might lack understanding of PCS because they aren't involved in those early stages of recovery where most of the learning and adjustment happens.

Exploring solutions

Inspiration

When I looked at how people get involved in recovery for other types of illnesses, I was inspired by platforms that create communities and make it easy to get both emotional and tangible support.

I decided to focus on creating a PCS-specific solution that makes it easier for Megan to invite her family and friends to be part of her experience by helping with daily tasks she might struggle with.

The goal of this concept is for family and friends to better understand how PCS affects day to day living by helping with every-day tasks and seeing it first-hand. In turn, Megan will gain understanding and support from the people she values most.

Ideation

Initially, I explored form-based solutions because of the logistic nature of coordinating help. Re-evaluating Megan's needs, however, I realized that even the best designed form would require considerable screen time and effort. I pivoted to a multimodal, chat-based concept because it affords Megan the flexibility to use the solution in a way that won't trigger her symptoms.

With further research on support for chronic conditions, I came across the concept of a "point person" (the go-to person for a patient who can’t manage everything on their own) and the idea for a humanized, virtual point person emerged. Through sketching and creating wireframes, I came up with a starting point for testing with users.

From task flow to wireframes

Testing and iterating

I used insights from two rounds of structured testing to further refine major elements of the design. I also found quick feedback from more informal testing extremely valuable in making “micro-design” decisions.

Main test insights

Users didn’t see the calendar button as an interactive element

Aida wasn’t an obvious first choice, most users wanted to use the “ASK ME” options first

Microphone button was mistaken for a “speaker”, users didn’t understand that it was for input

USABILITY TESTING

The bottom bar was an integral part of the design because it’s the main point of interaction with Aida. With feedback from usability testing, I generated multiple iterations until users were able to easily navigate the prototype using Aida.

bottom bar iterations based on test insights

Final thoughts

As part of the design process, I took time to reflect and consider the implications this product might have for users and the world around them. Using questions from the Tarot Cards of Tech, I considered:

How could your product enhance or detract from relationships?

Aida has the potential to both enhance and detract from a friendship. It is possible that friends and family might feel taken advantage of by being asked to complete “chores” on a regular basis for someone with PCS. On the other hand, and hopefully more likely, Aida provides an opportunity for friends and family to be involved in the recovery process of someone they care about. By involving everyone in the recovery journey, people with PCS might feel more understood throughout their recovery.

Who could your product benefit outside of your targeted users?

Aida could be useful to anyone or any group of people who need to organize help. I can see this app concept being particularly useful for single parents, new parents, or families supporting someone with a life-altering illness.

Learnings

I learned a lot exploring this solution, especially because it was my first attempt at the design process from research to the final prototype. Looking back, there are a few things I would do differently.

Design for the context

The purpose of this project was to focus on the design process by choosing only a few epics that came from authoring user stories. I ended up designing two out of a possible ten epics. My mistake was failing to consider how the flows for inviting people and adding tasks fit into the larger context of the app concept. In doing this, I missed an opportunity to explore the information architecture of the project as a whole. I've had to consider whether other task flows would fit into the existing framework. In the end, I'm glad I failed in this aspect because I've learned an important lesson that I'll apply to my future designs.

Diversify research sources

Choosing a niche topic like PCS meant that finding people to interview within the time constraints of the project was challenging. The valuable insights from the interviews could have been complimented by a quantitative survey to obtain more statistically significant results. Taking the time to conduct more diverse primary research would have given me more confidence that I was focusing on a solution that most accurately reflects the problem space.