Personalized Guide is a solution for Moving Forward Family Services as a guide tool for post-secondary international students to be guided to the appropriate mental health resources according to their circumstances, such as financial barriers or stigma surrounding mental health services.
This is a group project, and my group members are Midhat, Cheryl, Jae Eun, and our mentor is Justin Lau. I was responsible for ideating, prototyping, client interview, user research, usability testing and final video editing. For every step, we discussed as a team and made decisions together, which made us collaborate efficiently.
Moving Forward offers free short-term and affordable long-term counselling options to underserved communities across Canada via in-person, telephone, and online platforms. They provide judgment-free environment where you can get the help you need no matter your age, race, identified gender, financial situation, or location. "Moving Forward has put together a diverse team of people who care. While we all have different backgrounds and experiences, we are united at Moving Forward to provide accessible counselling to underserved communities. Gary started Moving Forward because he saw that people needed support where they didn't have to fill out multiple 'checkboxes' to be eligible for help and then wait months or years if they made it past the eligibility criteria. Gary also identified the need for early intervention and prevention. If this is a greater priority for our society, we may not have to invest so much money into support on the other end of the spectrum, such as policing, corrections, or long-term hospitalization."
- Client Interview
We identified what makes Moving Forward distinctive from other organizations during the client interview with Gary - the CEO of Moving Forward, where he said that the company offer:
1. free or low-cost counselling options to anyone across Canada without any criteria,
2. and their clients do not need to be in a particular catchment area or financial situation, or be at a certain age or have a specific family type to receive the service.
- Client's Goal
During the interview, Gary (Moving Forward CEO) mentioned that he would like to reach out to post-secondary, international students who are experiencing mental health problems but lacking financial support. Therefore, we set our target group as post-secondary international students.
Key Process
- Client's Paint Points
We then looked at some pain points we discussed during the interview with Gary and catogorized them into different topics. We then started using the 'How Might We' statement to furthur analize the pain point and the problem statement.
We then looked at some pain points we discussed during the interview and we decided to focus on the outreach problem, where the potential clients are not aware of Moving Forward’s counselling programs despite their benefits they would get from counselling, considering that they are experiencing’ language barriers, long waitlist, and stigma toward seeking mental health support.
Problem Statements Organized after the client Interview. How Might We Statements.
- Final Problem Statement
- How might we help post-secondary international students to reach out to mental health resources effectively?
So after considering the research and the potential client’s situation, we came out with our final research question: How might we help post-secondary international students to reach out to mental health resources effectively?
- User Research
I conducted qualitative research and interviewed five post-secondary international students and asked them questions regarding their mental health issues and their opinions on the current mental health services provided, as images above demonstrated. I coded the qualitative results of five participants into themes and analyzed them. Additionally, I grouped the results into categories to facilitate the identification of popular trends and perceptions among the most targeted user group.
User Research Interview Results Coding.
- Secondary Research on our Targeted User Group
Due to time constraints, we were only able to interview five participants, and I was concerned that the results might not be very representative. To address this, I conducted secondary research on our target user group, seeking existing literature that shed light on how our targeted user group might feel and think.
The results of the secondary research were consistent with the qualitative findings. Firstly, there is a pressing need for mental health resources among students, particularly in this era. The research indicated that 66% of students lack awareness of mental health issues, 26.8% experience a lack of time to access mental health resources, and 75% reported negative mental health experiences. However, we also discovered that the younger generation may prefer "instant communication" and the use of new technology to access resources or establish initial contact with healthcare professionals, rather than opting for in-person interactions. Although students may recognize the need for mental health resources, they may hesitate or lack the time to seek help due to the absence of an "instant communication" channel to initiate the counseling onboarding process. To delve deeper into a scenario that Moving Forward's prospective client may face, we created a persona and a user empathy map.
Secondary Research on our Targeted User Group.
User Empathy Map & User Persona.
- Finalize Idea
- A personalized guide which is a Guide Tool for post-secondary international students who may prefer an online system to get onboard the programs, rather than phone calls or sending in intake forms.
I began exploring potential solutions, including options such as a daily diary to assist clients, a Discord bot for resource management, a web forum to foster community engagement, refining social media posts, a location-based therapy app, and an artistic therapy sharing platform. These ideas provide an overview of the brainstorming process. Furthermore, I annotated these concepts to enhance comprehension among our team members. To facilitate effective communication and discussions, I even created initial drafts, visible in the right corner.
So the final solution came out to be a personalized guide which is a Guide Tool for post-secondary international students who may prefer an online system to get onboard the programs, rather than phone calls or sending in intake forms. We made sure that this Guide would do an intake function, such as assessing barriers (financial, cultural, linguistic), Assessing needs and providing resources for mental health resources based on their barriers and needs. It also directly asks intake questions which will help the Moving Forward company identify their needs better.
Ideations & Effort and Impact Matrix.
- User case and User Stories
I created a use case which offers a more comprehensive description of the interactions within the personalized guide system, encompassing the engagement between users and the client. It also outlines how the client can effectively expand its outreach to a wider user base within the personalized guide system.
Our team has reached a consensus on the main features, and together we have listed them out. Following that, I have generated user stories for each main feature to maintain a user-centric approach and remain focused on users and their needs during the development process. Our ultimate goal is to deliver high-value products that effectively address the needs of our users. I have prioritized and mapped the user stories based on their importance. Additionally, I have created a detailed flowchart to visually illustrate the process. By organizing the user stories and utilizing the flowchart, I aim to provide a clear representation of the project's workflow and ensure that the most crucial aspects are addressed effectively.
User case development, user Stories mapping, and user flow chart.
- Usability Testing
Before we came up with the final prototype, I conducted the usability testing with ten respondents, asking them how they felt about their prototype. We gave the participants the scenario and tasks to execute according to that scenario.
Then I use affinity diagram to map the feedback into positive, neutral, and negative categories and with key themes regarding the issues.
I noticed that one of the significant negative feedbacks was too much text to consume at the initial glance. Based on this feedback, I reduced the amount of text and increased the font size to enhance readability. Instead of listing the entire text on one page, we made a part of the text viewable by hovering the mouse. Another critical feedback I received was that the client intake process might look too intrusive, as our prototype needed to clearly indicate why the users were providing personal information. As a result, I clearly distinguished between the pages that need client registration and those that do not. Based on the feedback that client registration may not be required for the entire information displayed in our prototype, I modified our user flow diagram and re-arranged the connection from and to the client registration page.
Usability Testing Scenario and Questionnaires & Affinity Diagram.
- Accessibility, Feasibility, Benefits and Impacts
Overall, our solution, ‘Personalized Guide,’ can be an alternative first point of contact for potential, especially young clients, who may be fearful of calling in Moving Forward. It proactively approaches the clients and asks questions, guiding them through the intake process and resources.
It tracks the intake process, remedies outreach issues, and Simplifies the intake process, as it does not require phone calls or emails, which remedies succession issues. Personalized Guide is also readable and accessible. We organized and simplified the text so that it is more readable and accessible for screen readers for people with vision impairment, as well as seniors with limited vision, and people with hearing impairment who do not want to call. It also does not have spatial requirements, as it is online, suitable for people with mobility issues. As the Personalized Guide is not an additional mobile or website application but rather additional webpages to an existing Moving Forward website, it can be sent off to external organizations or individuals who may be interested in getting onboard as a website link. They would not need to install an application to view this solution but click that link.
Because some of the tool's functionality already exists in the intake form, it would likely take a few weeks to put each part of the components together visually and functionally, depending on solutions that allow for what we are proposing. We believe Personalized Guide’ can be an alternative first point of contact for potential, especially young clients, who may fear calling in Moving Forward. This can be a starting point for exploring the question of ‘can the social services first point-of-contact (typically done in-person) be transferred to a digital space.’
However, we understand that more user testing needs to be done, especially with the young post-secondary students and service providers who may refer them to Moving Forward; this will make better foundations for research on whether Personalized Guide is an effective tool to simplify service onboarding process and ultimately solve outreach problem. Also, to be implemented in the real environment, Personalized Guide will need a development team to identify website back-end details and incorporate the design decisions.
Solution. Benefits. Feasibility. Impacts.
- Final Prototype
Prototype Video - from beginning to seek resources.
Prototype Video - from beginning to seek resources.
Prototype Video - Seeking Counselling Services.
Prototype Video - Counselling.
Prototype Video - Emergency Exit for Returning Users.
Prototype Video - Emergency Exit.
Difficulties and Solutions
- Time Management
We only had a week to finish this project, so time management was one of the difficulties. Working on a project with such a short timeline can be demanding, as we must balance quality with speed. Our team must be highly efficient, from ideation to prototyping to testing. To meet the deadline, our team may have to make some tough decisions regarding the features and functionalities they can implement, which may result in a less robust product.
I scheduled a calendar for our first meeting, outlining all the deadlines for each step. Additionally, I regularly checked the progress with my teammates to ensure we were staying on track and not running out of time. I also scheduled regular client checkups to meet with our client and gain constant feedback, ensuring our client is happy with the current solutions. During these meetings, I explained all our features, processes, and the reasons behind decisions to our client.
- Usability Testing Within Short Time Frame
- Difficulty regarding recurting participants under a tight timeline
Usability testing is an essential part of the UI/UX design process, as it provides valuable feedback on how users interact with a product. However, recruiting participants for usability testing can be a challenging task, especially for a project with a short timeline like ours.
One difficulty in recruiting participants is finding individuals who match the target audience for our product. It's important to recruit individuals who represent the product's user base, as their feedback will be the most valuable in improving the product's usability. Luckily, our target group is post-secondary students. Therefore, we ended up asking our friends and classmates to do the usability testing.
- Difficulty regarding engaging participants
Another challenge in usability testing is ensuring that participants are engaged and motivated throughout the process. Participants may lose interest or become fatigued, which can affect the quality of their feedback. We try to keep participants engaged and motivated by providing clear instructions, creating real scenarios, offering incentives, and varying the testing methods.
- Difficulty regarding limited rounds of usability testing under a tight timeline
Furthermore, due to time constraints, we were unable to conduct multiple rounds of testing to ensure the product meets the needs and expectations. If we had more time, we would definitely conduct more rounds of testing, as usability testing is not a one-time event but an iterative process. We wish to incorporate more usability testing feedback into the design process.
Takeaways
- User Empathy
User research is critical for understanding the target audience: Conducting user research, such as user empathy mapping and persona, can help designers gain insights into the needs and pain points of the target audience. This information can be used to inform design decisions and create a more user-centric product.
- The Importance of Usibility Testing
Usability testing is crucial for improving the product: Testing the product with real users provides valuable feedback on how well it works and how it can be improved. Iterative testing and feedback can lead to a more refined and practical design. We were glad we refined our final prototype according to the results of usability testing, which helped our design to meet users' goals better.
- Client Feedback and Checkups
Client feedback is essential for meeting project goals: It's crucial to involve the client throughout the design process, from ideation to usability testing, to ensure that the final product meets their expectations and goals. We made sure to check up with the client at almost every stage and created some initial illustrations to express our solutions better to ensure that we were on the right track and met their expectations.
- The use of Affinity Diagram
Affinity diagramming can help organize user research data: Affinity diagramming is a valuable tool for organizing user research data and identifying patterns and themes. We use the affinity diagram to organize our feedback from usability testing participants, which helps us gain a deeper understanding of the user's needs and preferences.
- Brainstorm as many ideas as possible
Ideation is an essential part of the design process: It's important to brainstorm multiple ideas and explore different approaches before settling on a final design. This can lead to more innovative and effective solutions. We ideated a lot of ideas which helped us a lot to finalize our final solution.
