This project is a collaboration with CreateAbility, Inc., a company dedicated to creating technology for individuals with brain trauma, enhancing their independence. Many of these individuals face challenges in decision-making. The company aims to address this by developing an app, but they are uncertain about where to begin. Therefore, our team undertook the entire project, covering research, design, and user testing. This comprehensive approach aimed to provide CreateAbility, Inc. with insights and a tangible vision for a potential product.
We conducted medical research to comprehend the impact of brain trauma on people's decision-making. Additionally, we interviewed medical experts to gain insights into their perspectives and identify common issues. Our research involved interview and diary study with individuals affected by brain trauma. The primary goal of the interview was to understand the challenges they face. It emerged that many individuals develop the habit of scheduling events and activities as a strategy to overcome decision-making challenges. Subsequently, the diary study aimed to delve deeper into their behavior and challenges related to scheduling and planning.
These two personas represent the participants in our project. We discovered that it's not only seniors, as traditionally assumed, who need attention; younger adults who play a crucial role in taking care of their family members also need attention. Both personas share the common challenge of memory deficits, significantly impacting their daily schedules and potentially causing others to question their abilities and decision-making.
I came up with several ideas for scheduling and ways in which other family members can provide assistance while promoting independence. The symptoms of brain trauma can fluctuate over time, with periods of increased independent ability and others where independence may be more challenging. Balancing these variations is a significant challenge thinking the design of supportive solutions.
Most individuals tend to schedule their daily routines, often involving recurring tasks. As a result, the design facilitates the effortless scheduling of repetitive tasks. The inclusion of icons further enhances user experience, making it easier for individuals to locate tasks they have scheduled previously.
We designed the chat function into the app to allow users to receive schedules from others, ensuring they won't forget important tasks. Additionally, if users are unfamiliar with scheduling, their family members can assist them remotely.
Due to their memory deficit, individuals often check their schedules. We designed a widget that allows frequent access to their schedule and includes shortcuts to contacts based on scheduled events. This way, if they need assistance, they can quickly and easily contact the relevant individuals.
This design enables them to monitor their emotions, crucial for those who may not realize they've been depressed for a while. The feature accommodates forgetfulness, offering a convenient way for individuals to record emotions during frequent schedule checks.
We conducted pilot-testing with additional participants to assess the effectiveness of our designs in enhancing daily life. Remarkably, 80% of the participants expressed a positive response to our designs. Some participants suggested improvements in accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. While they personally did not face this issue, their friends or acquaintances with visual impairments could benefit from enhanced accessibility features.
The online testing sessions posed challenges as participants, at times, kept their cameras off, hindering our direct observation of behaviors and interactions. This limitation impacted our ability to capture important cues such as confusion or dislikes, which may have gone unnoticed or unexpressed.
Recognizing the need for improved visual impairment support in our design, we conducted user research and analyzed accessibility features in other products. This effort is geared towards refining our design to cater to a broader range of users with diverse accessibility needs
