PROBLEM
Career professionals - especially those in healthcare - must master a vast and dynamic vocabulary of terminology and technical language. Traditional study strategies (e.g., flashcards, dictionaries) are not appropriate for busy professionals. Web searches are impersonal and easily forgotten.
GOAL
ROLE
Usability designer/researcher
TIMELINE
One month
TOOLS
- Wireframing
- Prototyping
- Competitive analysis
- User research
- Usability testing
PROJECT PLAN
Research
Competitive analysis User research Personas
Design
Information architecture Wireframes Low fidelity prototype
Evaluation
Usability testing Usability testing report
Research
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Quizlet
Flashcards
StudyBlue
Competitive analysis of vocabulary learning apps suggested integrating the following key design goals:
USER INTERVIEWS AND SURVEYS
In user interviews and surveys, health science professionals described the challenge of learning terminology at work. Most indicated the lack of any system for doing so.
"I just google and hope to remember." -medical student, 34 y/o
USER PERSONA AND JOB STORIES
Design
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
WIREFRAMES AND PROTOTYPES
USABILITY TESTING
Leah
34 y/o female Nurse practitioner in Florida (USA)
Diane
67 y/o female Ob/gyn in Tennessee (USA)
Brooks
37 y/o male Nurse and hospital admin in Florida
Stefanie
42 y/o female University professor in Florida
Whitney
36 y/o female Health policy specialist in Tennessee
You can view the full usability test report, testing plan and notes below.
Retrospective
As a student project in a brand new field, this was 100% a learning opportunity and mostly a lot of fun.
GOOD
THE CHALLENGES
THE LESSONS
Looking ahead and next steps
I would love to continue with this project.
The next steps would be the following:
- design and test mid and high-fidelity prototypes
- consult with a cognitive scientist for deeper understanding of associative learning (the principle of learning informing this app)
- research technical feasibility of 'wish-list' functionalities, such as custom visualizations generated for users based on their unique associative networks
- Branding (logo design)