re.fit App.

In the beginning, my role was to get the design process started. I isolated and defined the core problem I wanted to address. I also defined, based on limited evidence, what a possible solution might look like.

Problem Statement

re.fit app users need a way to create a working system of them, doctors, and therapists to support their rehabilitation process because they want it to be as effective and efficient as possible.
We know this is true when we see that not only patients, but also doctors and therapists use the app to share information, communicate with each other, and create personalized training plans.

Hypothesis Statement

We believe that by creating a medical record to capture and share patient-related information, as well as a training guide to create and schedule personalized exercises for our users, we will achieve reducing the need for appointments with physicians and therapists, more efficient use of those appointments, and faster overall recovery.

I then defined a research goal, recruited participants and created a script for the user interviews. After conducting the interviews, the task was to analyze them. I organized, explored, and clustered the collected data. To illustrate the insights, I used affinity mapping.

Based on the qualitative attitudinal data I collected, I was able to identify 4 main topic areas. These formed the basis for the development of the various features.

User interviews are a valuable explorative research method to gather a lot of information at the beginning of a project. However, preparation, execution and analysis require a lot of time. And the quality of the data is significantly influenced by the moderation of the interviews. This should not be leading, but one must also not lose the thread.

Finally, to give the insights a face, I created user personas.

Based on the data obtained from the user research, I decided to create 3 user personas. These represent the target groups of the application.

After I created the first sitemap based on my previous research results, I asked users to test the information architecture. For this purpose, I used the card sorting, a participatory design method used to evaluate or generate ideas for the information architecture.

Based on the quantitative attitudinal data I collected, I have decided to merge the Symptom Tracker and the Medical Record. Tracking symptoms is henceforth a function of the Medical Record feature.

The way information is arranged within an application has a significant impact on the usability. What may seem logical to the designer is not necessarily true for the user. In my case, card sorting was very helpful. In the future, I would also do closed card sorting after the first iteration.

Now the task was to visualize the data and ideas collected so far. For this purpose, I increased the fidelity of the wireframes over time, up to mockups. The following illustrations show the development of the design based on one function of the application, which is create a symptom record.

After I connected the wireframes to a clickable prototype I did a usability testing. This technique is used to evaluate the utility and usability of a prototype or live product.

Usability testing showed that users had problems with the community feature. Most found it difficult to connect with other users because they didn't understand the logic. As a result, I split the content into two tabs and enabled the create a connection feature using both the FAB button and the search function.

Users also had problems with the navigation. The bottom navigation bar was not easy to use, especially for elderly users. Consequently, I integrated a Navigation Drawer, which can be opened via the menu icon in the upper left corner.

To test my prototype with real people was an incredible experience. First, because moderating such usability tests is very demanding. A structured script is a real gamechanger. Second, because you get tons of input. Both about how participants use the application and what they say about it. It takes a lot of time to process the data, determine measures and implement them.

As can be seen from the before and after screens above, after the usability testing I also revised the design in terms of the Principles of Design. I applied the Material Design Guidelines and created a design language system.