Type U

Diabetes Management App for Diabetes Kids' Family

01/ Overview

Led an end-to-end design process and launched the app successfully

Worked in a dynamic environment where I wore multiple hats
As a Product Designer at Apphatchery, a healthcare startup focused on developing patient-centered mobile apps, I was the sole designer responsible for ensuring project success. My role required wearing multiple hats, from conducting in-depth user research at hospitals—engaging directly with patients and doctors to understand their needs—to executing usability tests that validated and refined our designs. I actively collaborated with various stakeholders to align our design outcomes with business objectives.
Team
2 Developers
1 PM
1 Designer (myself)
Timeline
12 months
May 2022 - May 2023
Tool
Figma
Adobe Creative Suite
Miro
Webflow

02/ Achievement

helped numerous families of newly diagnosed diabetic children effectively manage their child's care

After the launch, I collaborated with PM to track user activities and colloected survey from users. The app gained popularity among parents and was highly recommended by diabetes educators.

Satisfaction Rate

95%

Success Rate of insulin dosing counting

98%

03/ Design Highlights

A more interactive and accessible approach to learning diabetes management

Traditional teaching materials like handbooks, slides, and paper cheat sheets can be daunting. In contrast, TypeU offers a more interactive, lightweight, and illustration-based approach that simplifies the learning process. This method helps parents more easily and efficiently digest and master the necessary knowledge to manage their child's diabetes effectively.
001
Learn knowledge anytime anywhere
Lightweighted digital handbook
Content enhanced with visuals and videos helps patients better understand the material. Additionally, patients can search for specific keywords to quickly find relevant content.
002
Be prepared for what to learn
Clear orientation guidance
Designed to acquaint patients with the educational content they will learn, orientation also introduces the medical team and provides emotional support.
003
Confident about insulin counting
Ensure accurate insulin dosing
An easy method for calculating insulin doses for food intake and high blood sugar, allowing parents to double-check their calculations .
004
Self-check about whay you learned
Quiz after each chapter
It is designed to help educators assess patients' understanding of the content and provide support accordingly.
005
Master diatebes management in one app
Rich resource for reference
Designed to offer additional resources, including app recommendations, food diaries, and community support.

04/ Background

Parents are required to learn diabetes management in short time

At Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), parents whose children have been diagnosed with diabetes are required to attend a two-day diabetes management class. The goal of this class is to educate parents on how to effectively care for their child after being discharged from the hospital.

Diabetes educators find it challenging to teach emotional parents

The existing tool is a web-based application developed by engineers without considering user experience. While it has been utilized by Tesla installers, it is not suitable for new installers who are unfamiliar with Tesla products.

Pain Point 1

Parents are emotional

Families are often highly emotional and overwhelmed when their children are diagnosed with diabetes, making it difficult to effectively educate them during this time.

Pain Point 2

Inefficient teaching tools

The handbook we are using has overlapped content, repetition, and way too many details. They need more interactive and simpler materials

05/ Research

Interviewed with 4 diabetes educators to understand their needs

We organized several online and offline meetings with4diabetes educators to have in-depth conversations to learn more details about their teaching points.

Conducted observations to gain a deeper insight

I participated in the class at the hospital, observing and engaging with families to better comprehend their performance and explore effective diabetes education strategies.

Apps available on the market fall short of fulfilling parent's need

Educators often suggest numerous apps to patients, yet many express dissatisfaction with the lack of features and poor user experience. To address this, I carried out a thorough competitive analysis of these apps, aiming to identify their shortcomings and potential design opportunities.

The problems were categorized into four distinct aspects

Guided by the results of my research, I employed an affinity wall to organize and analyze all the information, leading to the categorization of issues into four distinct types.
01 diabetes educators find it is hard to check whether parent understand the content or not
Diverse parental backgrounds and a reluctance to engage make it difficult to gauge understanding, necessitating more interactive tools for diabetes educators.
02 Parents discover that certain topics are more challenging to comprehend than others
Parents reflect that it is hard to remember the content after class. And they think insulin dose counting and nutrition management are difficult to understand.
03 Current teaching materials are out-dated and text-heavy
The current handbook has many out-dated information and is text-heavy. Besides, there are many other paper materials to hand out which can be a burden for parents.
04 apps in the market don't support insulin dose dosing calculation
Recommended apps can support data recording and carbs calculations. But not a single apps can calculate insulin dosing.

Streamlined their difficulties in each phase

I utilized a user journey map to reconstruct the entire process, spanning four critical phases from initial diagnosis to hospital discharge. Each phase is marked by significant pain points.
Phase
Learning Content
pain Points
Pre-education
Register for the class
1. There is gap between treatment and diabetes education
2. Parents have no clue what the education is and what they are going to learn
First day
Learn the fundamentals of diabetes, how to calculate nutrients and insulin dosages
1. Parents are overwhelmed by getting too many materials
2. Educator has no way to check if parents understood
3. Nutrition and insulin calculations are hard for parents
Second day
Learn diabetes self-management
1. Parents have lots of confusions about how to treat high/low blood sugar situation
2. Parents don't know how to discharge from hospital
Post-education
Take care of their kid independently
1. Parents don’t know when to call the doctor
2. Parents have too much knowledge to digest

How might we enhance the educational experience to help parents easily absorb the information and also provide emotional support?

06/ Define & ideation

Streamlined their difficulties in each phase

I utilized a user journey map to reconstruct the entire process, spanning four critical phases from initial diagnosis to hospital discharge. Each phase is marked by significant pain points.
06 Define

target users can be mainly catergorized in to 3 types

Data-Obsessed Family: This family wants to keep their child's blood sugar stable and seeks detailed information to help prevent any major ups or downs.
Flustered Family
: With many misunderstandings about diabetes, this family is looking for clear instructions to help them correctly calculate insulin doses for their child.
Alternative Caregiver Family: This family needs easy-to-understand materials like cheat sheets to help other caregivers, like grandparents, quickly learn how to manage their child’s diabetes.

Streamlined their difficulties in each phase

I utilized a user journey map to reconstruct the entire process, spanning four critical phases from initial diagnosis to hospital discharge. Each phase is marked by significant pain points.
Phase
Pain Points
Solutions
Pre-education
Register for the class
1. There is gap between treatment and diabetes education
2. Parents have no clue what the education is and what they are going to learn
First day
Learn the fundamentals of diabetes, how to calculate nutrients and insulin dosages
1. Parents are overwhelmed by getting too many materials
2. Educator has no way to check if parents understood
3. Nutrition and insulin calculations are hard for parents
Second day
Learn diabetes self-management
1. Parents have lots of confusions about how to treat high/low blood sugar situation
2. Parents don't know how to discharge from hospital
Post-education
Take care of their kid independently
1. Parents don’t know when to call the doctor
2. Parents have too much knowledge to digest
06 Ideate

Brainstorm design solutions based on a future journey map

Through discussions with stakeholders, I gained an understanding of the constraints and business objectives. I then developed a future journey map to showcase all potential solutions, narrowing them down to the most feasible options.
Phase
Major pain points
Solutions
Pre-education
1. There is gap between treatment and diabetes education
2. Parents have no clue what the education is and what they are going to learn
Create an orientation section that guide the parent what they are going to learn and give parents encouragement
First day
1. Parents are overwhelmed by getting too many materials
2. Educator has no way to check if parents are understood
3. Nutrition and insulin calculations are hard for parents
1. Revamp the paper material into a digital version
2. Create quiz to check if parents understand the content
3. Create a digital insulin calculator
Second day
1. Parents have lots of confusions about how to treat high/low blood sugar situation
2. Parents don't know how to discharge from hospital
1. Use visuals and videos to aid parent understand
2. Display time schedule to parent in advance
Post-education
1. Parents don’t know when to call  the doctor
2. Parents have too much knowledge to digest
1. Create bookmark and note features to help parents revise the content
2. Provide resources for educators and diabetes communities

finalized with 5 Key Features

By integrating insights from the future journey map with stakeholder needs, I identified five key features for the app.
Digital handbook
Provide learning content similar to what parents are taught in classes, incorporating videos and visuals. Enhance the experience with features for note-taking and bookmarking.
Orientation
Offer a structured education schedule to inform parents about upcoming lessons and include motivational quotes from previous families to provide emotional support and encouragement
Quiz
Include quizzes at the end of each chapter to enable diabetes educators to assess parents' understanding of the material and provide tailored feedback
Resources
Provide information on recommended apps, popular recipes, comprehensive food lists, and community resources for additional support and guidance

Streamlined their difficulties in each phase

I utilized a user journey map to reconstruct the entire process, spanning four critical phases from initial diagnosis to hospital discharge. Each phase is marked by significant pain points.
Digital handbook
Incorporate videos and visuals, and support with features for note-taking and bookmarking.
Digital handbook
Incorporate videos and visuals, and support with features for note-taking and bookmarking.
Digital handbook
Incorporate videos and visuals, and support with features for note-taking and bookmarking.

07/ Prototype & Iteration

Design Phase 1
Wireframe

Develop logical user flows and prioritize key features

During the wireframing phase, I conducted two rounds of rapid user testing through online surveys. After analyzing the feedback, I determined the design focus and implemented significant changes.

Feedback indicated that the orientation was extremely helpful for users, prompting me to refine the user flow for the orientation. I added specific content and presented it to educators for validation.

Determined the inputs and user flow for the insulin calculator

The survey results indicated that parents are looking for a tool to assist with insulin dose calculations, validating the need for an insulin calculator.  Key inputs include total carbs and current blood sugar, which are required for every calculation, while the carb ratio varies between day and night. Target blood sugar and correction factors typically remain constant. Based on these insights, I collaborated with educators to design the user flow and determine the format and layout for each input of the insulin calculator.
Design Phase 2
Hi-Fi design

Conducted in person usability test using prototype

By scanning the QR code, parents can interact with the prototype. I gave them specific tasks, recorded their actions, and asked follow-up questions to gather feedback on the design.

The 4 tasks are:
(1) Can you describe the schedule for the second day of orientation? Is it similar to what was covered in the initial education session?
(2) Can you locate the email address for your nurse, Jane, in case of an emergency?
(3) Please navigate through Chapter One, 'Diabetes Basics,'  How would you find all content related to the word 'insulin'? Do you find this function easy to use? In what situations would you use it, and what specific terms would you search for?
(4) Calculate the insulin dose needed for eating 60 grams of carbohydrates with a blood sugar level of 150. After receiving the result, what would your next steps be? Do you find the calculator easy or difficult to use?

Adjusted the visuals to align with the client's brand identity

To ensure consistency with our client's existing products, I created a new visual style based on the design system references from our client.

Enhanced the insulin calculator to allow users to focus on one task per page for better usability

For Task 5, three out of five users were unable to calculate the correct result, citing the calculator’s complexity due to an excess of elements. To address this, I implemented three major improvements.
One Step at one page
Users reported that the interface was complex due to an overload of elements. To simplify the user experience, I segmented the functionality into two distinct pages.
Mirror the format of formulas
Users experienced confusion regarding what data to input into the system. To address this issue, I redesigned the calculator interface to mirror the format of the formulas taught in their classes
Separate result page
Separated the input and result pages to simplify the interface and enhance readability, ensuring that users can easily navigate and interpret the information presented

Enhanced the clarity of the quiz for better user comprehension

The quiz features both single and multi-choice questions. Users were confused by the multi-choice format due to unclear indications and were also unaware of their progress throughout the quiz. To resolve these issues, I implemented three key improvements.
09 Branding

Brainstorming the app name with diabetes educators

I developed an app named Brainstorm in collaboration with diabetes educators, designed to engage all stakeholders in expressing their care by contributing to the design process.

The collaborative effort led to a universally loved name, TypeU, emphasizing that no matter what type of diabetes you have, it is you that is our priority.

Created marketing materials to effectively promote the app

During the launch phase, I created marketing materials, including two sets of app screenshots for the App Store and Google Play that highlight key features. I also designed a promotional flyer distributed at hospitals to raise awareness of our app.

08/ Prototype & Iteration

TypeU gained popularity among both parents and diabetes educators

TypeU has become the official teaching tool for diabetes educators. We conducted a survey to assess user experiences with the app and received numerous positive feedbacks.

Satisfaction rate

95%

Success rate of insulin dosing counting

98%

-CHOA’s diabetes educator

“ The app is incredible, it makes the teaching more efficient and engaing.”

-Parent

“I use the app daily! I feel more confident about calculating insulin dosages with the help of the insulin calculator."

-Parent

“I was stressed at first, but this app has helped me smoothly transition during the initial months. I learned a lot! ”

11 Retrospect

Solutions

During multiple brainstorming sessions and whiteboard discussions, we thoroughly covered all edge cases and developed appropriate solutions. I also built trust and strong relationships with our product managers, software engineers, and other designers. Additionally, I quickly acquired substantial professional knowledge about electricity and clean energy.

09/ Other Projects

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I have a diverse portfolio which contains different types of projects. See more if you are interested!
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OverviewAchievementDesign HighlightsBackgroundResearchDefine & IdeationPrototype & IterationOutcome