Erasmus MC
The challenge
How can we simplify fluid balance tracking for both patients and nurses?
The solution
An app that helps patients with fluid restrictions monitor their daily water intake.
Team
Merel van Ooijen, UX/UI designer
Laura Bos, UX/UI designer
Ola Niedzielska, UX/UI designer
Stevie Lulofs, Developer
Caspar Bosch, Developer
Disciplines
UX research
UX design
UI design
Responsibilities
UX research
Wireframing
Prototyping
Testing
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Projects phases
1
Connect
Identifying problems
Formulate design question
Observations at Erasmus MC
Specify target group
Desk research
Expert interviews
Cultural probe
Persona’s
2
Concept
Brainstorm ideas
Develop solutions
Pitch solutions
Select & improve solution
3
Create
Design guidelines
Wireframes
Design system
High-fidelity prototypes
Testing
Pitch solution
Refine design
Research
Key insights on
current situation
After user testing and personally navigating the PAWW-application flow, I found multiple usability challenges. The design needed to be more intuitive, less overwhelming, and optimized for mobile users.
Fluid restriction
Patients with fluid restrictions are most susceptible to incorrect data input.
Quick and familiar
Healthcare professionals need a product that is easy to adopt with minimal onboarding time, as they have limited spare time to train patients.
Paper-based tracking
Data is currently recorded on paper, but it’s often lost or inaccurately transferred between shifts. This makes it difficult to track down errors when incorrect data is passed along.
Research
Getting to know
the users
We conducted a cultural probe where we self-imposed a fluid restriction for a week, tracking the amounts of fluids we consumed and how we felt throughout the day. This first hand experience, combined with interviews with experts, provided valuable insights into user behaviors and challenges. Based on this research, I created personas that reflected both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
Tracking my daily fluid intake with ‘Mijn Eetmeter’ app
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Negative persona
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Positive persona
Testing
Combining
solutions
After pitching three concepts to the client, they shared that their target audience primarily uses mobile devices and expressed a preference for concept 2, which included speech-to-text technology. Taking these insights into account, we decided to combine concepts 2 and 3. This with the goal of making the solution more accessible to a wider range of users.
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Solution 1: Smart containers with sensors to measure drinks and food.
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Solution 2: A smartwatch with speech-to-text technology.
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Solution 3: A mobile app with object recognition technology that scans products to determine moisture content.
Testing high-fid Figma prototype
Designing
Building a
dynamic
prototype
Together with Laura, I created a dynamic Figma prototype using variables to react to different input methods. The animations I added made the app more interactive, such as showing the water level rise in response to input. This gave users a clearer indication on their water intake.
Figma prototype flow
Prototyping dynamic water levels in Figma
The final product
Health app to
monitor daily
water intake
The prototype generated excitement from the client, who praised the professional design and functionality of the HydroTrack app. With three input methods, the app is accessible to a wide range of users. They were especially impressed by the speech-to-text feature and are considering it for future development.
What did I learn?
“To not shy away from expanding my design expertise by trying out software capabilities like variables”
