MoodSensing

Empowering Healthcare with Real-Time Mood Tracking

Duration

3 months

Skills

UX research

UX/UI design

Prototyping

Interaction design

Usability testing

Research Methods

Interview

Affinity map

Usability test

Tools

Figma

Adobe XD

Zeplin

Platform

Android

iOS

Overview

This project focuses on enhancing an existing mobile healthcare application, MoodSensing, which tracks bipolar disorder patients by detecting mental health crises, providing educational resources, and collecting both physiological and emotional data. Developed in collaboration with hospitals, the app offers real-time patient status updates for healthcare professionals. Our goal is to improve the user interface, introduce new features, and optimize the overall user experience to better support mental health professionals in managing and tracking patient conditions.

Challenges

Task Standardization

Create consistent workflows across all task pages for easier navigation

Unified Visual Design

Ensure a cohesive visual style for a seamless user experience

Boost User Engagement

Use gamification features to boost user interaction and motivation

Collaborative Expertise

Bridge nursing and tech expertise to meet healthcare needs

Background

With the rise in bipolar disorder cases, tracking patients' moods is essential for healthcare professionals to provide timely treatment. MoodSensing was designed for this purpose, but poor user experience and a disorganized interface reduced patient engagement. Hospitals partnered with our team to redesign the app, improving both the user experience and visual design.

Process

Empathize

Collect insights from users and professionals

Define

Identify key user challenges and craft problem statements

Design

Build wireframes and prototypes for better usability

Test

Run usability tests and refine the app based on feedback

Research

I conducted user interviews to uncover pain points and user needs during the app's operation. This helped us identify key areas for improvement and better understand the challenges faced by the patients.

Interview

One-on-one interview is a good way to thoroughly understand the key challenges and needs of the users.

Affinity Map

The affinity map groups user feedback into key themes, revealing patterns in challenges and needs. This helped identify improvements for the app’s interface and functionality.

Problem Define

The original app had numerous usability issues and did not effectively support the workflow, including the following:

Problem 1

Inconsistent Interface & Layout

“Something that looks like a button but isn’t a button causes confusion because it doesn’t respond when pressed.”

“Floating objects obstruct objects below, making the screen cluttered.”

“The main screen has too much information, including several sections, making it difficult to know where to start operating.”

“The interface and workflow are different from the usual usage habits. I feel frustrated when using the app…”

Problem 2

Unclear Operating Path & Lack of Input Checks

“Allowing submission without filling in necessary information may cause incorrect data interpretation.”

“The emotional spectrum is arranged vertically, which requires significant eye movement.”

“The screen shows both video recording and emotional icons simultaneously without any clear indication of which to operate first, causing confusion.”

Problem 3

Unclear Function Separation

“The Daily Mood and Get-up/Bedtime are placed on the same page, but are submitted separately, which causes confusion about the data submitted.”

“I missed the fact that this page has two tasks!”

“The icon for Daily Mood does not change according to the sliding value, which is not so intuitive.”

“The Get-up/Bedtime section are presented in two separate tabs of the same section, and I always forget to fill out one of them.”

Problem 4

Lack of Clear Feedback on Task Completion

“The list of achievements is too long, making it difficult for me to quickly determine the current status.”

“The Daily Tasks section occupy too much space on the screen.”

“The way icons are displayed makes it unclear whether a task has been completed or not.”

“The font size of text and numbers are the same, requiring careful attention to determine the current score.”

Ideation

Based on the identified user needs, I explored various design ideas incorporating gamification elements to enhance user engagement. I sketched multiple concepts and selected the most promising version for further development.

Design

During the design phase, I focused on creating an intuitive and user-friendly experience by refining the user flow, developing wireframes, and building interactive prototypes. A comprehensive style guide was also established to ensure consistency in the app's visual and interactive elements.

User Flow

To ensure smooth navigation and ease of use, I developed a clear user flow that outlines key interactions within the MoodSensing app. This helped identify the most intuitive paths for users to track their moods and access related features.

Wireframe

The wireframes visually outlined the interface and helped organize components effectively. They enabled quick iteration based on usability test feedback.

Prototype

I created interactive mockups to test and validate the design, ensuring functionality aligns with user needs.

Highlight 1

Standardized Entry Pages

To avoid displaying too much information on a single page and to provide clear entry points for each task, I have categorized each task and created dedicated entry pages before entering the task page. This standardizes the recording behavior and creates a clear user flow with a simple interface. Users can easily identify each behavior during the operation and develop usage habits accordingly.

Highlight 2

Gamification for Habit Formation

Users’ daily records are the most critical factors for medical staff to track patients through this app. Therefore, I have turned daily records into a plant-growing game and added reminder functions to motivate users to record in a fun way, increase their willingness to fill in the form, and thereby develop a habit of daily recording.

Highlight 3

Intuitive Interfaces with a Unified Visual Style

I separate „Daily Mood“ and „Wake Up/Bedtime“ into two different pages so that users can enter and submit the information separately, which is more in line with the logical operation. The icons change according to the image changes, directly reflecting the degree of mood, which is more likely to resonate with users.

Highlight 4

Quick Links to Other Task Pages

We integrate daily accomplishments into the task board section, allowing users to clearly see completed and unfinished tasks and quickly link to the corresponding task page. We also put the achievements at the top, clicking on which will display a pop-up window showing the current status, giving users a sense of accomplishment and inspiring them to achieve their goals.

Evaluation

In this section, I detail the evaluation process conducted to assess the app’s usability and effectiveness. Through user testing and feedback collection, I identify key areas for improvement, ensuring that the final product meets the needs and expectations of its users.

Usability Test

I conducted usability test with five representative users to evaluate the overall experience of the app. The tests were conducted face-to-face.

Design Refinements

Based on the results and feedback gathered from the usability test, I made several adjustments to the design of the MoodSensing app. These iterations aimed to enhance usability and improve user experience by addressing specific pain points identified during testing. Key adjustments included:

Enhance Navigation

Add clear instructions to help novels navigate and assist long-time users in recalling features

Streamlined Question Layout

Reduce the number of questions per page for easier completion and quicker adjustments

Consolidate Function Pages

Integrating similar functions will provide a cohesive overview and eliminate redundancy

Enhance Accessibility

Image design should not be based on general knowledge due to various sleeping habits

Familiar Voices Motivation

Incorporating familiar voices will enhance user engagement and encourage recording

Multi-language Support

Introduce a switchable language option for a more accessible app experience

Takeaway

This project is both special and meaningful to me. It was my first time leading a design, and I was deeply involved in every stage of the process, gaining valuable experience and problem-solving skills across different levels. The app supports people with bipolar disorder by helping them track their emotions for real-time medical adjustments while incorporating gamification to enhance motivation and engagement. I believe the demand for such solutions will continue to grow, and this redesign is just the beginning. Even if I leave the company in the future, the team will keep refining the product to support more patients, ease the workload of medical staff, and make a positive impact on society.

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