POST SEVEN: FINAL STRETCH

Leading up to the final presentation at Premera, we spent the first of our last three weeks performing usability tests on fellow members of our cohort to finalize our design. We completed five tests in total, with five different evaluators, each providing valuable insight into ways in which we could improve our process flow and interface design.

After making these changes, we began creating a digital mockup of our design. This was also an incredibly iterative process, undergoing many critiques and changes along the way.

Our first digital mockup was given feedback of being too corporate and boring, having strayed from our initial hip and DIY style prototype. Thus, we changed our typeface to the casually cool and simple Lato, and adjusted our colors and graphics to elicit a younger, more fun application experience. Additionally, we changed our application name to "Pronto!" and designed an icon for our application:

Aside from the design work we completed, we also shot a medium fidelity prototype video, and began working on our final report. We pulled together research from earlier in the quarter, continued developing a user experience flow diagram, and began creating updated infographics of our research frameworks, one such example is shown below.

We still have a great deal to accomplish before final presentations at Premera on the 11th, and although we sometimes disagree on design choices and other similar decisions, we all agree that this project has been a tremendous learning experience!

POST SIX: SCENARIOS + DIAGRAMS

During week six, we first developed specific scenarios and tested our current model by creating swim lane diagrams. By doing so, flaws in our system were exposed, allowing us to make important modifications to our design. One such modification is the addition of a camera or picture function in our chat design, so that users are able to share valuable photographic information with the professional aiding them from afar.

We then tested our design through a usability test, which also provided some very important insight into ways in which our design could be improved. For instance, we learned that calendar integration, and thus the ability to set appointment reminders, is a valuable feature that would benefit many users.

After modifying our design, we developed a high level flow diagram to illustrate our application's process for the user.

We then organized each step of the process, and planned out every screen of our design in great detail.

Lastly, we modified our paper prototype to perform additional usability tests in order to further improve our design before creating a final digital mockup. Several small adjustments were made during this iterative process.

POST 5: PROTOTYPING CONTINUATION AND PRESENTATION

Week 5 consisted of continual production of our paper prototype and wireframes in preparation for the presentation on Thursday 11/13. Because of Brian as a new addition to the team, we were able to divide the tasks of creating presentation material, digital wireframes and paper prototyping among our team members, each with expertise in these aspects. As a result, we assigned the following tasks:

Brian: Slide Design
Rick: Digital Wireframing
Lauren + Garrick: Paper Prototype

Because of the presentation format, we decided that it would be effective to represent our paper prototype with a stop-motion video. In addition, because of the flexibility we had in the different presentation  methods at our disposal, we decided to represent one potential user path via the paper prototype while showing the other path via wireframes. This would give the client two different perspectives on how we envisioned the design to be. 

Not only was the experience of creating a paper prototype a creative avenue that would successfully portray our design, but we thought the process as a whole was much more enjoyable. It took the team a couple of iterations to perfect the prototypes since we needed to take into consideration different user scenarios and how they would interact with certain screens. Adding back buttons as well as color choices to highlight certain actions were some of the main alterations throughout the process.

For the wireframes, we decided to take a more realistic approach to designing an interface that would appease the client and their potential choices in aesthetics. We continued to use the overall design structure throughout both mediums, but we made some considerations to the digital version that we did not for the paper due to the nature of the different mediums. 

Finally for the slides, we took into account the content that Karen presented us during a design lecture and looked to create content that was sparse in words yet powerful in meaning. What resulted is slides that not only were visually appealing and stimulating but provided a proper informational structure that allowed us to guide our audience to the motivation, execution, and opportunities of our design.

Following the presentation, the group talked about the next step in the process: developing personas/scenarios that would exemplify different use cases of our design. In the beginning weeks of the project, the group did some initial case study about the different types of scenarios that would facilitate the use of a medical care search tool. This led to the creation of our research frameworks and thus gave us insight into the initial design. As such, we continued to refine these scenarios and tried to make changes to the ideology and structure of our design.

POST FOUR: PROTOTYPES, WIREFRAMES, AND A NEW TEAM MEMBER!

This week, Team Seven was fortunate enough to gain an additional team member: Brian Studwell! Brian has already been a tremendous asset to the team; we're very fortunate to have four creative minds working together on this project.

Along with the rearranging of teams, each group was assigned one concept, out of the previously suggested six, to further ideate and explore. We were assigned Concept #1: "I Need A Doctor Now" application. 

We were given feedback that the urgent (non-emergency) medical care market is not only an incredibly costly endeavor for all parties involved, but is also an area that has yet to be explored. By creating a resource through which customers experiencing illness or injury can be connected with a doctor immediately or can speak to a nurse about their symptoms, we hope to reduce the number of emergency room visits. A successful application would not only save time and money, but also provide medical assistance in a manner that is quick, efficient, and easy-to-use.

Because of the urgent nature of our application, we felt that a mobile app would be the most ideal form to explore. We decided that a digital wireframe would be an excellent way to present our idea, and intend to create a paper prototype video as well. We believe that this particular application can be relatively light-hearted in comparison to other health related apps, and strive to create an incredibly pleasant and somewhat playful experience for users, similar to applications like Lyft, Seamless, and Uber. 

Much of the time spent with the group consisted of formulating workflows of how the app would function based on the two options we have decided to approach: talking to a nurse or finding a provider immediately. The group split up duties which included model the paper prototype, wireframing and slide deck preparation. 

POST THREE: IDEATION BEGINS

POST THREE:

IDEATION BEGINS

After focusing on research for two straight weeks, the class began to focus on ideation and creating ideas from some of the themes identified during our research. We decided to continue along the path of inquiry that involved thinking about scenarios and how they can impact how a user experience will differ. We are quite relieved and excited that are insight into scenarios was unique among the other topics presented in the class on Tuesday October 28th. We felt that the Premera team enjoyed our different perspective as well. 

On the following Thursday, we met with our partner team to brainstorm and discuss further some initial ideas we had about our respective topics of interest. Much of the discussion in the brainstorm was broad since both teams had interests in somewhat different areas and while we felt that we achieved some level of progress with a discussion of our first idea, the rest of the time was somewhat lost in generalities. However, we did achieve a workflow that would be very effective in using to create the rest of our ideas.

The next day, we met up as a team to further brainstorm about scenarios, employing the brainstorming techniques that we developed the day before. The six scenarios that we chose to focus on were users needing a doctor as soon as possible, users with new family additions, users suffering from chronic injuries or illnesses, users with mental health conflicts, users new to health insurance, and non-English speaking users. Our workflow consisted of first identifying and building upon the factors of consideration for providers, which was initially highlighted in our previous research. Next, we began brainstorming of some features that would like to see that incorporates these factors. Then, we created a timeline of interaction between the user and the tool while trying to integrate these features, some of which were somewhat outlandish, with the overall user experience in mind. Upon developing the frameworks for our six scenarios, we split up the sketching duties among the members and began collaborating on developing concise storyboards.

I think at this stage of the process that our ideas and sketches convey concepts that are not only unique but involve different technologies user experience techniques. Hopefully, the insurance team will feel the same way.

POST TWO: RESEARCH CONTINUED

POST TWO:

RESEARCH CONTINUED

During class on Thursday, after seeing our classmate's presentations and receiving feedback from a member of the Premera team, we decided to shift the focus of our secondary research to analyzing systems used by other service providers. We further discussed what factors we thought based on our secondary research would be beneficial to users as they enter a service tool (e.g. Premera, Yelp, AirBnB, etc.). We compiled a list of 15 factors that specifically affect a patients experience with finding a doctor and medical experiences in general. We also compiled a list of several unique scenarios that a user would be in when faced with finding a doctor.

To create a visual representation of the ideal experience that we ultimately want to create, we formulated a 2x2 matrix that compares individualized experiences with those that are generalized, and convenient experiences (minimal amount of clicks) with those that are inconvenient (more clicks). We placed the current Premera website in the inconvenient and generalized quadrant, with the goal of creating a new Premera online experience that would rank as both convenient and individualized.

Additionally, we created a grid-like framework to specify a need-based hierarchy of provider characteristics based on different scenarios. Our X-axis contained scenarios such as moving to a new city, pregnancy, and experiencing new symptoms, while our Y-axis contained considerations such as treatment philosophy, location, and cost of treatment.

Finally, we decided to readdress for our problem/opportunity/hypothesis to incorporate our new findings as well as tie-in our two research frameworks. We feel that integrating a user interface that provides convenient and individualized experience will make it easier for users to gain the information they want and find appropriate providers with the least amount of effort.

POST ONE: SECONDARY RESEARCH

During a meeting on October 17th, we looked into and referenced the information that was given by the Premera team and deliberated on what details we needed more clarification on. 

The meeting began with an establishment of a general knowledge base of health care in the United States and a basic understanding of Obama Care. We thought this was an effective base point, since not all of the members of the team were familiar with how the current health care system functioned in the United States. 

We then logged on www.premera.com to simulate an experience with working with the current Find-A-Doctor functionality and to gain a fundamental understanding of what Premera had currently implemented to their system. We learned of some of its features, examined some of the information present to the users, and discussed of introductory methods of improving the experience. 

Our team was very interested in the interactions between doctors, Premera, and its customers, and how and what information could be accessed between the three entities. In addition, we were intrigued with other types of rating-based infrastructure that are used on websites such as Yelp and Reddit, and how we could integrate such a system for the Find-A-Doctor application. During this process, we also cross-referenced with other health insurance companies to gauge how different their experiences were. 

In crafting these questions, we focused mostly on the user experience and what a potential user has access to and is experience throughout the process of finding a doctor in various situations.

For our first assignment, we were instructed to craft five questions we came across during our research:

QUESTION ONE:  Post-Obama Care, does Premera still work with businesses and corporations as customers? Or solely with individuals? 

QUESTION TWO:  What client information can currently be accessed by a client’s online account? What client information could potentially be accessed moving forward? 

QUESTION THREE: What are your thoughts on premera.com + social media integration? 

QUESTION FOUR: What information does Premera receive from doctors, and what does a doctor’s online account with premera.com currently look like? In your opinion, do doctors seem interested in increasing their involvement? 

QUESTION FIVE: How exactly are service prices calculated? With knowledge of a customer’s network and plan, combined with price information from a doctor, shouldn’t costs be predetermined and thus readily available to the customer?

As well as five new learnings:

LEARNING ONE: Rating systems can be unreliable unless there is a large subset of data that can give an accurate representation. For example, if there are only 3 or 4 reviews, they tend to be either very positive or very negative, which is not helpful. Rating/Review systems need to have enough data supporting them to negate outliers.

LEARNING TWO: Wait times with a family physicians on average were three weeks and up to two months in certain cities. With the advent of Obama Care, many suspect this wait time to increase further since there will be more individuals with health care. 

LEARNING THREE: 3/5ths on users looking for providers online were "somewhat" or "very" important to their understanding and inquiry of providers. Important factors to locating the right provider, accepting health insurance (95%), a convenient office location (95%), years of experience (92%), being part of a trusted group (81%), being referred by word of mouth (85%), and referral from another physician (81%) were all more important to selecting a physician than an online rating.

LEARNING FOUR: Users are interested in knowing more about their doctors/costs/etc. so they can make more informed decisions. The reduction of time spent on finding the right doctors could also reduce the amount of visits and overall confusion with communication between insurance companies and providers. However, it can also affect how certain medical operations such as surgeries and other high risk procedures are handled or decided because users are more informed.

LEARNING FIVE: In 2011, an average of $703 was paid out of pocket for health care among people with some health care expenses. However, the median out-of-pocket amount was notably lower ($237). This means that there is a large deviation between the amount of out of pocket expense paid by a health care customer. Obviously health care plans depend on many factors including class and the type of plan available to a customer but there seems to be great variety in cost between individuals which may be a turnoff for some.

And, lastly, a problem + opportunity + hypothesis we hope to further explore:

PROBLEM: Bringing incentive to patients to rate doctors and their experiences with nurses, wait times, offices, etc. 

OPPORTUNITY: Introduce a system to reward customers for rating doctors on premera.com (i.e. earn points for each review and receive benefits when pre-determined milestones are reached). 

HYPOTHESIS: By introducing a reward system, customers will be more likely to rate and review their experiences with doctors on premera.com.

The main problem space that we would like to direct the most attention to is find an easy and usable way of connecting users with each other as well as their doctors and insurance representatives; we believe that utilizing some kind of social networking mechanism can improve how users learn about providers. 

There are some concerns, however, that include how effective this type of system will be since much of the subject matter is sensitive and may deter users from communicating with each other. We realize that protecting one's confidentiality is of great importance of users in this problem space. 

With this problem and hypothesis, we target users that are either new to Premera or have changed their plan in some fashion to warrant looking for a new doctor. We surmise that with contributing reviews from other Premera customers, users will be more informed with making a choice and thus reducing the likelihood of dissatisfaction.