Overview

Did you know 1 in 10 people have Type 2 diabetes? People who come from a family with Type 2 diabetes are prone to developing it. Those who are diagnosed with diabetes find it difficult to introduce a new activity into their daily routine while changing their diet. I’ve noticed a family member who was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, struggling to take their medications on-time, properly diet and exercise daily.

Accountable is a mobile application that strives to help Type 2 diabetics stay accountable for their medications, healthy meals and daily exercise. The goal for Accountable is to reduce the medications for diabetics and encourage the users to live an active life.

People Problem

“As a 55 year old Type 2 diabetic, I find it hard keeping up with my daily exercise, watching my diet and taking my medications at the right time. Because it’s not part of my daily routine, it makes me feel like I’m not taking responsibility for my health. I want a product that can help me stay accountable and stay healthy.”

Brainstorming broad and bold ideas:

I started my brainstorming by figuring out all the possible solutions to the People Problem.

1. Something that’s engraved into a user’s life as a “normal routine”

2. Partner with companies such as Fitbit to alert the user to do their daily exercise

   • Time can be set and if the user doesn’t reach that goal. It’ll buzz until the user starts walking, jogging or running.

3. An app that requires your gender, age, weight, and medication information to analyze what exercise and diet the user should go on

   • Suggest different types of meals and exercises based on their age and severity of diabetes

Some questions to keep in mind:

1. Are Type 2 diabetics capable of reducing and/or eliminating their medications completely?

2. How can Accountable be a product for all the Type 2 diabetics in the world?

User Interview

I interviewed a doctor and a diabetic. Here are a couple key points from my user interviews:

1. Doctor said, “Diet and exercise is [the] key for a diabetic.”

2. Diabetic said, “Sometimes I forget to take my medicine so I end up taking it later.”

The user interviews educated me on what the some of the struggles were as a Type 2 diabetics. Also, there were some professional advice given from the doctor.

Narrowing and combining ideas:

Ideas:

1. Exercise

   • Give walking routes for the user to exercise the full amount they’re encouraged to

   • Suggest hiking trails for the user to change up their exercising routine

2. Food

   • Help the user to have portion control and eat healthier meals

   • Understand what are the best foods for Diabetics

3. Medication

   • Daily reminders to take their morning and night medications

   • Keeping track if they took their medication for the day

Who is the User?

Accountable users are people who have Type 2 diabetes and need a little help staying on track. They can use this mobile application to have the accountability for their meals, exercises and medications. Accountable target audiences are 45 years and older, male and/or female and Type 2 diabetic.

I started to place all the important features for the user together to create an optimal Accountable user. By creating a persona, it will help me visualize the user flow.

Accountable User

Meet Bertha, 58 year old recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Wireframes

I started this phase by sketching with a pencil and paper to get a general idea of how Accountable was going to look. Before working on the visual and content design, I wanted to have the basic structure of Accountable done.

Low Fidelity Design

I used Sketch to design and present my flow for Accountable. During this prototype phase, I was very unsure about my flow and translating my thoughts to designs.

Usability Testing

During my usability testing, I asked my participants to walk me through Accountable by explaining what they would do on each screen. Then I was given feedback from the participants.

Some of the trending issues were:

1. not all the medications were on the list

2. exercise screens were confusing

3. want to be alerted when medication needs a refill

Some of the potential solutions were:

1. adjusting the medication list

2. keeping track of the daily exercise

3. reminding users to get a refill for their medications

High Fidelity Design

Join Us

Personalizing your account will help Accountable to find the perfect exercises and diet for you. It’s important to be specific with your AM & PM medications so Accountable can remind you to take the correct medication at the right time. Let’s fight the diabetes together!

Activity

Getting into a routine exercising isn’t an easy task for anyone. Accountable wants to help you get into the rhythm of staying active every day. It’ll alert those who need a little extra help and push. You got this!

Food

Track your protein, carbohydrates and vegetable intakes after a meal to see your healthy diet progress. Accountable wants to help you maintain a healthy diet. Let’s do it together!

Medicine

Remembering when to take your morning and/or night medication can be difficult. Accountable will alert you whenever you need take your morning and night medicine. You’ll also be alerted when it is time for a medication refill. You can do it!

Takeaways

Accountable was a challenging project because I knew the functions that I wanted in this mobile application. I didn’t know how to translate my thoughts into design. Eventually I was able to design with a help of another designer. Some of my future steps for Accountable are:

1. Figuring out the most accurate way to calculate protein, carbs and veggies for the user

2. Any incentives Accountable can give to the user for being consistent and active