Messaging App
Feature Updates
Based on user feedback and research, messaging features were re-designed from one-way caregiver updates to multi-way communication between caregivers, patients, and family members.
The Process
Research
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User feedback on the existing product came from in-person interviews at childrens' hospitals, emails, and phone interviews.
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These communications started a series of defining, designing, and testing sessions that led to further iterations where I was the principle UX/UI designer.
Defining
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Once initial research, wireframes, and testing were completed, multiple requirements for the new features were drafted.
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These requirements were referred to and refined while designing the app's shift from a "one-way" communication app to a multi-way communication design.
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Caregivers, patients, and family members could now respond and interact with each other on a secure app containing protected health information (PHI).
Designing, Prototyping, Validating
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New features of the design included adding a "Chat" tab along with an "Updates" tab that users could select.
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For the new chat feature, a list of participants was included, sent and read receipts were added, and error states (e.g. "Not Delivered") and toasters were designed.
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For caregivers, a patient list was created where they could quickly add an update, remove a patient, view patient information, or select a patient to initiate or continue a messaging session.
Adding Tabs for App Update
After meetings with the product and developer teams about what would be possible in the given timeframe, the original header was given both Updates and Chat tabs for easily selecting between the new features.
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Header on Full Welcome Screen
-New tabs for multi-way communication
-Increased screen space for smaller phones
Multi-Way Communication
The new multi-way communication feature would add similar chat features to popular chat apps in use today, but this would take place on a secure server since protected health information (PHI) would be a top concern for hospitals.
Toaster Messages
Multiple toaster messages were designed based on user feedback/research and team discussions. Toasters ranges from a new chat alert to notifying that that the camera needs to be still while scanning a patient's bracelet to notifying 911 if there's an emergency because a caregiver may not immediately respond to a chat.
Default Chat View
The default chat view included the Updates and Chat tabs to easily switch between, a list of participants in the chat (primarily for caregivers to know who is receiving the messages), which was expandable/collapsable, sent and read receipts, and the names for participants sending the messages.
Error States
Multiple errors states were designed in-line with best practices for chat apps. There were failure to send notifications, failure to add participant based on insufficient information, and failure to load based on wifi signal or server errors.
Chat Disabled
The ability to disable the chat was a direct "ask" by caregivers who might find themselves overwhelmed with chat messages and questions from family members, and some caregivers might be just be giving a one-time notification/update with no need to continue an ongoing chat.
SMS Family Invite Flow
Another factor that was considered during cross-functional team meetings was the possibility that a family member might have multiple invites due to more than one family member in the hospital at a time. Each particular invite would have it's own flow for adding a patient (i.e. a family member) to an individual's list on the app.
Remove Patient from List Flow
There was a lot of discussion between developers, product, and myself (UX) about manually and automatically removing patients from a caregivers list. If a patient was discharged from a hospital we settled on a 180-day period for keeping the patient listed; however, a caregiver could manually remove the patient from the given list. The manual removal could be especially useful for caregivers who might only be making a one-time update and who wouldn't need to have an ongoing chat with the patient/family members. Many screens were designed for this flow (below).
Partial Swipe Left - Remove
Modeled after existing messaging apps and best practices, a left swipe feature for removing patients was designed for this release.
Partial Swipe Left - Hide Alerts
Also modeled after existing messaging apps, the Hide Alerts feature was included in this release.
Full Swipe Left - Remove
The full left swipe was additionally added to the previous options of partial swiping and tapping.
Confirmation Modal
Multiple modals were created for various flows, but below is an example of a confirmation modal designed for the patient-removal flow.
Build & Release
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Daily and weekly meetings were held with developers and the product manager about the new designs and to ensure all work was on schedule based on the estimations meetings.
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The new app features are expected to release in Q3 of 2024.