The Problem:

The problem space that I am investigating is to solve the inconvenience of finding a last-minute medical appointment nearby as it is time-consuming to call multiple medical offices to inquire about availability. If the patient’s preferred appointment date/time is not available, they will have to review their schedule before confirming - this will result in a callback and possibly losing the appointment date/time given - a cycle that could happen multiple times before confirming their appointment. 

According a survey conducted by Suzie Blaszkiewicz, Online booking options can get you more clients:

Click here to see full project proposal

The Process:

The approach was to understand the biggest frustrations of the current booking experience and to validate my assumptions. Along with secondary research, I also developed a project strategy guide that consists of a product vision board and a value proposition canvas.

I then conducted interviews focused on the current booking experience for massage therapy, physiotherapy and chiropractic services in Downtown, Vancouver. I believe an all-in-one platform would be beneficial beyond massage therapy, physiotherapy and chiropractic services, I focused on developing a product that focused on services that working individuals may be covered for under their employment benefits plan and with time constraints for when to use the benefits, the demand for last minute appointments at the end of the year would improve the current booking experience.

Click here to see full process report

Although there are many businesses that only take appointments by phone, medical offices are moving towards an online approach. Through my interviews and survey, the general consensus shows that they would prefer if there was an online platform when it comes to booking. The pain points of calling in for appointments are that often the business hours conflict with work hours, the long hold period to speak to someone and not being able to cross reference with customer’s schedules which usually results in a call back. 

Customers want the freedom of booking on their own time, whether it be after work, in between meetings or right before bed. They would benefit from a digital product that includes business hours, reviews, available appointments and being able to book appointments directly. It would eliminate the manual effort of having to use a search engine to find offices and then navigating to read reviews and then browse individual websites for more information. On top of that, they have to either call the office to book an appointment or if they are lucky, the office will have an online booking system.

Persona Mapping:

While doing this process, developing personas is a crucial step in the design experience as it helps paint a picture to tell the story and to both carefully and accurately understand the target user. It provides a perspective of who the users are, what their goals are and their biggest pain points.

After conducting the user interviews, I proceeded with developing two personas that would fit the user for my app.

“As I get older, I try to make sure that I’m healthy and feeling my best so I see my chiropractor on a regular basis but they only make appointments by phone and I’m usually working during their office hours!” - Alexa

“Working downtown has its perks but a huge downfall is driving and catching the traffic jam. I try to see a registered massage therapists regularly to help the tension in my back but my usual RMT is in North Vancouver and it takes forever to drive there from downtown during rush hour so I don’t bother going unless it’s really bad.” - Josh

Experience Mapping:

After developing the personas, I created an experience map and mapped out the journey that Alexa would go through if she was booking a new chiropractic appointment. The experience map helped me stay focus on the user because it outlines the emotions of our user throughout the entire process. Although the task is booking, all the in between steps also trigger emotions and those feelings/emotions that need to be taken into consideration because they affect the entire experience.

After completing the experience map, I found that there were more opportunities where a user has a negative feeling than I originally thought, this allowed me to to narrow down and focus on those specific steps when designing my the task flow.

Sketching on pen and paper allowed me to put my thoughts into a visual. It also helped me realize that the original flow I developed did not make sense and was confusing. I pivoted and I went into my low fidelity digital wireframes with a different screen flow that focused on the filter screen.

After sketching, I created a low fidelity wireframe to start testing. I wanted to ensure that I test early to receive feedback and iterate sooner rather than later - which paid off because there was a lot of feedback regarding the version 2 wireframe.

The most common feedback was:

• The structure of information was a bit confusing since the results were in a zig-zag structure instead of left aligned so it was hard on the eyes to gage which office information was for where.

• The location range selection on the filter screen wasn’t intuitive, users weren’t sure how to adjust the range for an appropriate distance range so they suggested that an automatic location detection or the ability to enter an address.

• The hours range on the filter page was confusing because users weren’t sure what hours meant. Users asked if it was for how long their appointment is? or is it business hours? or how long it takes to get to there?

Going into my revisions, I wanted to focus mainly on designing a filter page that captured all the relevant information, not more, not less. It was important to design the filter page without having to scroll because the information that the user needs to input should not be overwhelming for them. After my second round of user testing - most of the feedback was positive however there were a few opportunities

The opportunities:

• Users were not sure what “ASAP” meant - it took some time for them to think about it and determine it was for today. Their initial thoughts were when is ASAP? Is it in 10 minutes? 2 hours? today?

• Since users have to enter in an address on the filter screen, why aren’t the results already filtered by distance? The feedback was that it is redundant to have to sort by distance.

• The clinic detail screen is great however at a glance, it felt like the user had to select a doctor first before an appointment.

• There is a lot of unused real estate, the information could be structured to not be so narrowed towards the centre.

  See full user testing document

From the 2 user testing rounds, I compiled all the feedback and insights into a user testing output document and developed them into high fidelity wireframes. I then started to look for inspiration and explore the mood I wanted to convey to users. After many attempts of doing A/B testing between colour palettes, I proceeded into a high fidelity prototype with a blue and white colour palette with a hint of peach.

Task: Alexa would like to book a massage therapy appointment with a massage clinic close to work with the highest reviews, for today.

Branding was the most difficult part for me. I wanted the app to be inviting, intuitive and easy to use yet I wanted my brand to reflect that the app is fast and efficient. It was difficult to find the fine line of choosing a colour palette and logo that was both soft (welcoming, friendly) and strong (quick, can do it all). My branding went through many, many, many iterations (below) for the logo, wordmark and app icon until I found a balance for the feel I was looking to convey.

Some adjectives that my brand embodies are: efficient, effortless, accessible, fast and simple. 

My brand is more free than constrained. My brand is more big than small.
My brand is more efficient than time consuming. My brand is more give than take. 
My brand is more calm than wild. My brand is more fast than slow.
My brand is more generous than stingy. My brand is more joy than grief.
My brand is more easy than difficult. My brand is more friend than stranger.

Click here to see brand development & UI library

Learnings & Conclusion

With the 8-week timeline, I am extremely proud of what I was able to accomplish with schedj. Although there were many moments of difficulty, uncertainty and frustration, getting through each step has made me realize how much I have learned, not only about UX design, but about myself and my creative side. I was challenged beyond what I thought was possible to design and create within a limited timeframe but the positive responses through user testing proves that hard work pays off!

Learnings from this project:

• User testing is so valuable (I think it is one of the most important steps out of the entire process) - the user testing rounds helped keep me on track and to stay focused on the user - it was very difficult to not get attached to what I thought was good for the user.

• Start sketching with paper & pen because it’s a quick and easy way to get started on the design without getting carried away on Sketch or Figma with the smaller details.

• Ask for feedback and share your process - it is likely that others around will give you ideas that you’ve never thought about.

• Time management is everything. with multiple deliverables and timelines, it is crucial to manage your time to ensure that the deliverable at hand is not only completed, but also be a quality submission.

• Have fun , enjoy the journey, and be proud of your work!