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Don't Mind Me OCD
A mental wellbeing app for long-term OCD management
Role:
UX design
Duration:
8 months
Skills:
Research
User experience
Wireframing
Prototyping
Usability testing
A/B preference testing
Tools:
OptimalSort
Balsamiq
Figma, Adobe XD
UsabilityHub
Fiverr, Pixlr
Context
Context
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Many people with OCD recognize their behaviour is excessive or unreasonable but the distress caused cannot be resolved by logic or reasoning
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The condition can cause frustration and conflict in familial relationships. A well meaning relative can accidentally exacerbate OCD symptoms.
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The World Health Organization ranks OCD as one of the 10 most handicapping conditions by lost income and decreased quality of life
Problem Statement
Families and friends of people living with OCD need a way to learn about the condition and how to support their loved ones constructively whilst practicing self-care, because this will improve the mental health of all people involved.
We will know this to be true when we the metrics reflect the app is successfully being installed and used by 200 people within the first 6 months of release.
The Design Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Competitive analysis
SMART objectives
User stories
Interviews
Affinity mapping
User personas
User journeys
User flows
Card sorting
Site maps
Low-fi wireframes
Mid-fi wireframes
Test / Reiterate
Usability tests
A/B preference tests
Reiterations
Final Mock-up
UI style guide
Clickable prototype
1. DISCOVER
1. Discover
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed key objectives and marketing profiles, as well as created SWOT profiles and a UX analysis for two key competitors: 'nOCD' and 'InnerHour'.
Below, I focus on the SWOT analysis for 'nOCD'
SWOT analysis
Strengths
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Lock app ability: data privacy
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Emphasis on therapy specifically for OCD (meets gaps in generic therapy)
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Free ERP and mindfulness therapy (via insurance partners)
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Info and resources via blog
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Self-guided ERP in ‘tools’
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SOS buttons for different OCD types: advice by psychologists
Weaknesses
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Misused unmoderated forums (reassurance seeking compulsions)
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Video therapy unavailable outside US
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Reportedly crashes on Samsung S10
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Cluttered UI experience
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Therapists scheduled on separate site: cannot be viewed on app nor be sent to personal calendar.
Opportunities
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No online therapy outside US
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nOCD is specifically for people with OCD: gap in the market to provide self-care for loved ones emotionally affected i.e. family and friends who support those with OCD
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No education platforms for family members, who have a big role
Threats
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Hundreds of competing mental health apps for mindfulness (Headspace, Lojong, Calm...)
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Direct competitor private mental health apps incl.: Shine, ePsyClinic
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In person ERP / medication remains gold standard treatment
Here are a few key examples of user stories that emerged
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As an existing user, I want the app to recognize my info so that I needn't re-type my personal details every time I log in.
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As a user with a relative suffering from severe ‘harm OCD’, I want to easily see where I can find resources on this OCD subset, so that I learn more about it.
User Stories
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As an emotionally burnt-out user, I want the menu to have unambiguous and simple signage, so that I do not experience any frustrations when using the app for respite.
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As a user who is confused by relative’s OCD symptoms, I want to see a list of the types of OCD and information on these, so I can understand my loved one better.
User Interviews
Interviews took place with two people who have OCD, one family member and one healthcare professional. Recordings were transcribed, labelled and organised into an affinity map
Affinity Map
Key Insights:
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People with OCD find it traumatic , even though they are seen to be driving it: Miscommunication between partners and families is common
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People want resources: information and directories
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People do not bother with desktop platforms in stressful circumstances on the go
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Interviewees with OCD were aware their OCD is not rational but bargaining with them makes them feel more isolated
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Loved ones expressed the need for guidance in how to respond in helpful ways
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Interviewees want something simple to use since they'd use it at low points
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People with OCD can find meditation / advice to ‘clear their mind’ unhelpful and need options that keep them busy
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Loved ones often need a means to manage their own frustrations and anger
2. DEFINE
2. Define
User Personas
Throughout my work, I referred back to Lauren, who has OCD as well as Mark, a family member of someone with OCD. Below I focus on Lauren.
User Journeys & User Flows
Having developed my personas, I worked on considering their emotional journeys and practical navigation through the app features
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Information Architecture
Card Sorting
5 volunteers were presented with 7 pre-determined categories and asked to organise 20 cards into their most intuitive categories.
Site Mapping
Card sorting informed my navigational structure. For instance, the distinction between ‘My Health info’ and ‘My OCD management’ was unclear. Signposting was amended to reflect that OCD specific features of the app are separate from logging meds & appointments.
3. Ideate
Low to mid fidelity Wireframing
Homepage
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
Logged compulsions page
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3
4. Testing
Usability Tests
I handled the data for usability tests using a rainbow spreadsheet.
This helped me to visually identify how frequently an issue occurred and the severity of each.
Reiterations
Below I illustrate some key changes informed by the usability tests
Homepage
Test participants overlooked the OCD SOS button at the bottom of the page.
They were also intimidated by the red colour of SOS button: without an explanation of what this button did people were reluctant to press it.
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People wanted separate areas for family: “It would creep me out if they could log my OCD”. (Drop down option to switch)
Family area
SOS Button
Simple vector images desired. Boxes different widths OR the same, lined up.
UI issues
Logged Compulsions Page
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Accessibility
During usability tests, it became clear that the text on the visual 'Behaviour Map' was too small to be accessible.
This format of behaviour mapping was not viable and limited users to only a few logged compulsions.
In the solution, the same OCD cycles are still represented, but individually in a list. This also gives the user the ability to log as many incidences of compulsions as they like.
If the user wishes to see higher levels of detail, they can tap on the card, without being overwhelmed with small text.
5. Final Mockup
UI Style Guide
Reflections
Designing for both people living with a condition and for their families added a new level of complexity in terms of user needs, data privacy, shared and unshared features and information architecture. In future, I would treat this as two separate apps and research both areas independently of each other before finally bringing them together.
Clickable prototype
Feel free to explore the app below
Photo credit: Unsplash and Adobe Stock
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