Digital digestive health journal
Gut Guardian: Revolutionising Digestive Health
ROLE
UX Designer
EXPERTISE
UX/UI Design
YEAR
2023
Problem
Males between the ages of 50 & 60 around the world are at higher risk of developing diseases and currently lack the awareness & tools to detect them early, combined with high time barriers that limits timely intervention, leading to premature death & disability which could be prevented
Solution
A holistic digital digestive health journal that enables users to track their dietary & stool activity, to obtain detailed analysis that would revolutionise early detection, provide viral insights for timely intervention, and improve digestive health outcomes with easy & fast access to medical professionals
User Interview
We interviewed 7 males aged 50 to 60 and uncovered 3 main insights:
Participants lack habit of going for regular health checkup due to busy schedule and high costs
Participants lack awareness and understanding of the importance of proactive digestive health management and insights their stool provides
Participants had difficulties recalling food intake that might have resulted in stool abnormality
Persona
After evaluating the key insights, we developed a persona to effectively convey the gathered user information throughout the design process.
Lo-Fi Sketches
We sought inspiration from existing applications related to our concept, such as health, diet, and telemedicine apps, and developed our paper prototype after sketching various options.
Heuristic Evaluation
We then performed a heuristic evaluation with another group in our class, walking them through our paper prototype while they took notes. Using Nielsen's 10 heuristics, they identified and compiled a list of 30 usability issues, including their severity and suggested fixes.
My group then reconvened to review their heuristic evaluation, categorising the issues based on severity, recurring usability problems, and those we deemed crucial to address.
Hi-Fi Prototype
Based on our heuristic evaluation, we made 3 main changes which includes:
1) Inclusion of system to keep track of telemedicine appointments
2) Change of calendar page format
3) Removal of fingerprint verification
In our old system, users only had the option to book an appointment. In this new system, users can either cancel or reschedule their appointment, giving them more control.
Our old calendar page format that has a monthly view with stool icons is now replaced with dates, and the diet and stool analysis has its individual calendar page with the option for users to toggle between day and week. This eliminates the chances of users being misled to perceive that only the stool analysis can be accessed since dates are used instead of the stool icon
We also removed the fingerprint verification method and allow users to draw their unlock pattern instead since not all mobile devices support the fingerprint authentication method. This prevents the limitation of having no authentication for some users.
Incorporating other minor adjustments based on our heuristic evaluation, we developed our high-fidelity prototype
A/B Testing
Using our high-fidelity prototype, we conducted A/B testing to determine the preferred position of our core button on the stool analytics page among users
We utilised a between-subject design to avoid fatigue effects and conducted an experiment with users that met our criteria. We asked them to complete the Loop11 testing page we prepared, which included a task requiring participants to find the percentage of undigested food
Our results showed that participants found the percentage of undigested food more quickly and with fewer page views when the buttons were rectangular and stacked vertically (Version B) on the stool analytics page, compared to when the buttons were square and placed side by side (Version A)
The resulting digestive health journal app allows users to track their diet and stool activity, providing detailed analysis for early detection, valuable insights for timely intervention, and improved digestive health outcomes with quick access to medical professionals
As this was my first project that introduced me to the design thinking framework and its various phases, I gained many new insights and learned the importance of putting users first. I also understood the value of the iterative prototyping process. If we had more time, I would love to test our prototype with users and continue iterating to ensure it is truly suited to their needs. This project also opened my eyes to UI/UX, sparking a strong interest in the field. I am eager to continue exploring UI/UX and gaining more experience in it!