St. Mary's Hospital
The Project
Creating this mobile app for St. Mary's Hospital would allow people to access information about the hospital anywhere and anytime. It is one of the fastest-growing online resources. Mobile sites and apps are also easier to navigate using touch, voice, or a keypad and provide direct access to the information customers are more likely to need while on the go.
Duration: Several months
Role: Sole UX Designer, Team Leader
Methods: User personas, Research, Interviews, Prototyping
Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, Balsamiq, SurveyMonkey
The Problem
The hospital received many complaints from their patients and visitors were about the current website being too old and lacking important information that should not be information upon request. Users of the app and the website wanted to know clearer information about the services provided, location of different departments, easier ways to contact the hospital, job openings, and patient transport. The hospital also needed an app that was easy for users of all ages to operate at the same time keeping up with today's trends and technology. They did not want to lose returning patients but wanted to be inviting to strangers.
Ideate
I spent most days studying feedback from patients, visitors, understanding the requests of the hospital executives, and reviewing what the competitors offer. After this research was done, I created a few low-fidelity mocks on paper and through Balsamiq to pitch my ideas to the executives for feedback to see if the designs would meet the needs of the users were asking. I had a few extreme idea switches before finally choosing one that I believed in strongly. I began to build an outline of a potential business model and product solution.
I made a few user personas from the previous website's information that would be able to show the value proposition that I could refer back to throughout the construction of the app. I want to think big, be innovative, and to embrace the usability of the new website and app as if I was a user.
Next, I created a mid-fidelity version of these wireframes in Adobe XD, a clickable prototype, and asked a few family members, friends, and a couple of strangers on the street.
Prototype
I wanted to create a prototype the would reflect the way patients feel about the specialists and nurses of the hospital, "Just Amazing". After receiving some notable feedback on the look of the screens, I used Adobe XD to make changes, present a high-fidelity functional app the stakeholders and staff members could play around with.
Test
Our Usability Testing is straightforward. We keep the process simple and short. We ask 10 visitors in the waiting room to "Check out our new app and let us know what you think". I was able to refine what users were finding useful, and completely change up what they didn’t react well to.
Final Product
The final version was released and it is being tracked with analytics. We found out that people are engaging more with features like department information, the map, and career pages. This confirmed visitors and patients are more mobile and on the go today than ever before. By adapting to their needs allows us to serve our community better and efficiently. We created a way for people to honor their preferences, and improve the experience when using the app. Over the months to come, we continued to make updates as requested.
