Overview
Cognoa is a company focused on early-intervention pediatric behavioral health.
Their machine-learning platform provides a way for parents to submit a questionnaire and videos of their young children to medical professionals at Stanford as a first step to identify behavioral disorders like Autism, ADHA and anxiety. They also provide access to digital therapeutics to positively impact the behavioral health and unique developmental growth children.
I was asked to help Cognoa create the first user experience for their iPhone app. To accomplish this, I spent time in Palo Alto with their CEO and Product Team to uncover their vision for the app.
They had a a few months to submit something to the App store, giving me two months before handing off designs to the development team. I quickly set to work. My first step after talking to the team was turning their research into personas and journey maps.
One persona that I made based on common feedback received during user research.
Customer Journey Roadmap for the persona above. I made multiple roadmaps based on different personas.
Equipped with the knowledge of the hurdles that needed to be overcome by our customers, I began to think about how to address them with the app's UI and messaging within.
Addressing the issue of trust
I researched best UX practices for instilling trust in a customer. I was operating in a best-case-scenario with Cognoa because they truly were a trustworthy company. The mission to help parents help their children was embedded in everything the company did. Customer data was never sold, they were never billed for anything without their permission, there were no sneaky subscription models, and the company partnered with one of the leading medical providers in the nation.
My job was to convey all of this information with clear, easy to read messaging both within the app and on the website. I read the Privacy Policy closely, and made clear how it impacted the user in the app interface wherever it was appropriate.
Safe sign up
The mobile sign up screen makes clear that though it’s an option to sign up through social media apps, user’s information will not be posted or sold to those networks.
I also wanted to be certain to drive home the point that the everyone involved in the app, from the board of directors to the clinicians evaluating the videos requested of our users, were trustworthy, educated, caring people.
Animated modal
Shows both professional credentials…
..and a more personal quote
from Cognoa’s board of advisors.
Addressing the issue of anxiety
Parents actively investigating their child's possible developmental delays are anxious. I needed to do everything possible to reduce this anxiety. A virtual safe space for parents to approach their child’s health care from was needed. I settled on a soothing color palate and an approachable font. I shot photos of real families and applied soft overlays to avoid distraction. I worked to make all of the language throughout the app clear but gentle. I knew that it was also important to be considerate of the user's limited time. I made sure no requests of them were unexpected.
Addressing the issue of time (or lack thereof)
Setting expectations
I made sure to front load the app with information about what to expect after signing up from the amount of time it would take to what they would receive after submitting information about their child.
User Journey Mapping
I mapped out the various flows that users would need to go through before finalizing the design of the app. I ran through this with multiple stakeholders to make sure we were considering all flows and scenarios possible. Once this was finalized, I made high fidelity visuals for review and handoff to the development team.
Communicating difficult information.
When a parent scores a certain number of points due to signs indicating their child may be at risk for developmental delays, there is an internal trigger set off at the end of the questionnaire. This is not visible to the user.
The prompt implores the parent to upload videos of their child so that a clinician can evaluate that video for signs of developmental delay.
I made sure to apply a high level of care to this portion of the user experience to alleviate anxiety. I applied a soft color palette and created calls to action to learn more before proceeding with the video upload phase of the experience.
Lots of important information in a little space.
When a parent elects to learn more about the video upload process, they will be taken to a screen explaining security measures, what they can expect to receive, and when they can expect to receive it. If they elect to start the video evaluation, they will be prompted to turn their device 90 degrees to start the video recording and uploading process. I spent lots of time making sure the copy was written as clearly and concisely as possible.
Once the parent agrees to take a video of their child, I wanted to make the video taking and process as positive and straightforward as possible. I made sure to make the time required, type of video desired, and three most important things to show were highlighted on the upload screens. We used the native app upload process, then allowed parents to review the video if they’d like to, retake the video if they’d like, or simply submit the video.
The final screen in the upload flow repeats what the user should expect and when they should expect it. It also creates an opportunity to contact customer support with any questions. The home button is also clearly displayed to allow the user to navigate back to their dashboard, where they will be able to find messages, results, add another child, and have another way to contact support.
I presented, reviewed, and iterated on my designs with a product team. After that, they were submitted to the mobile development team, and the first version of Cognoa’s first mobile app launched. App scores were consistently high, reviews from customers were overwhelmingly positive, and the team reported positive feedback.