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People in modern life are working harder, creating more value for society, however, they are also getting more stressed, and anxious in many aspects of their life. The app helps people contact mental health experts virtually. This main function solves the two main difficulties of our target users, help them choose the right experts, and creates virtual appointments flexibly in their busy schedules due to lack of time or conditions to go to the clinic and hospital.
As determined, my app will be about connecting users with mental health experts, I discovered some competitors who solve the same and similar problems as mine. By analyzing them, I can learn from their strengths, and weaknesses; find opportunities to make E-meet stand out, and avoid things that can make the app difficult for users. (See full competitor analysis here)
I was conducting an online interview with participations of 4 interviewees. After collecting information from the interview, I did an analysis by using Miro. The user research focused on 3 purposes: Identifying what participants think about the advantages and disadvantages of the mental health app, identifying whether an online meeting with mental health experts is helpful for users to improve their mental health, and figuring out valuable methods to reduce users' complex situations.
Personas were created based on the analysis of user research. Xuan Hien represents busy people, typically officers, who have no time to find and see experts in person but want to see reliable ones. So virtual meetings can help them a lot to save time. Thai Nam represents people who hardly afford in-person meetings which are a little bit expensive and they get stressed because they have to complete a lot of things in life, typically college students. An online appointment with various options can give them a good choice to see mental health experts
This is a user flow that describes how to make an appointment (call). The call is one of the main functions of the app that allows users to meet their mental health experts virtually. This flow is the premise for me to create wireframes and prototypes without missing any screens. Make sure the flow is full of necessary, simple, and effective steps so users can perform the operation smoothly.
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The sitemap was created as a result after I conducted a hybrid card sorting by using Optimal Sort. Most participants were satisfied with these categories so I know that this order of screens will be easy for users to use the app, and go to any screen they want.
I determined main functions for the app including search tool to find a right expert, and making an appointment video call. Besides, the survey function is also created as a secondary function to support users find an expert.
All main screens were sketched based on functions: search, and making an appointment. The appointment is one of the most important functions because this is an effective way to connect users and mental health experts. It will help users can meet experts virtually with flexible schedules ("Make an appointment" screen). The search tool will help users find experts by themselves fitting all their demands. I thought that the survey feature would be a good supporter that was useful for users to find the right expert as well as helped them somehow understand the current health situation ("Search" screen).
I conducted the usability test at this stage. The test went well-following objectives: Determining if participants understand what the app is about quickly and easily, and observing how users navigate and find information from the menu navigation, homepage, and screens.
After collecting information and analyzing them, I updated the high-fidelity prototype with the main functions of the app including searching for mental health experts and making an appointment. The survey function was replaced with chatting with a matching agency that is faster and more productive (at the bottom of the "Search" screen). The agency will be online 24/7 to reply requests of clients and match them with a suitable expert. While the survey is taken time to complete (about 10 mins) and clients have to choose by themselves. The search tool will work when users type keyword that describes their feeling. The length and the price per session are shown up that is clear and help users choose wisely for the first trial appointment ("Make an appointment" screen).
I added more contrast by changing the theme color to darker (from Steel Teal #558D97 to Ming #38717A). The logo was re-designed to a more simple version. The typography and buttons were also changed to make them easier to read and recognize.
Besides, some big changes to functions and structures were made: Instead of showing up the expert networking, giving users one more way to find an expert by searching them by their roles (therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist) ("Search" screen). This feature is geared towards users who already know something about their situation or want to see specific professionals. The chat feature on the expert's profile was removed and became one of the appointment types ("Expert's profile" screen). Chat is also a method to give a consultation, so if users want to communicate with expert by chatting, they need to make an appointment in advance. The logo is also the way to go back to the homepage so the homepage icon was deleted (on the top of every screen). The search tool has 3 more input fields that support users to find experts easier ("Search" screen). These input could be created and changed based on references from mental health experts about common illnesses in clients.
After polishing the UI, I completed the design system as well as full of assets for E-meet with typography, color palette, grid, and so on. The design system will help me keep consistent in interface design for further iteration and improvement when creating a desktop, and tablet version.
(See full design system)
Many ideas appeared in my head and I wanted to add all of them to the screens as I thought those would be helpful and impressive. However, the complicated application with too many details can make users lose their way of using it. Keeping every screen simple and straightforward is the best solution for users to navigate themselves throughout the app.
I asked too much and explained the questions too much during the interview which could make me reveal what I want. So the questions could become leading questions. Preparing the script, question, and interview objectives carefully can help me avoid explaining a lot and use leading questions.
I prepared the user interview in English only, however, some of the participants could not speak English. I was struggling of translating from English to Vietnamese. For the next project, I have to determine potential participants clearly and prepare all scripts, and questions in the needed languages to avoid getting frustrated with translating languages.
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
bachhop3112@gmail.com
