GOOGLE ARIA CASE STUDY
ROLE: LEAD UX+UI DESIGNER
CLIENT: Google Aria (UX Academy Project)
TIMELINE: 80 HOURS OVER 8 WEEKS
PROJECT OVERVIEW:
Developed by Alphabet, Google Aria, has been looking to invest and improve Healthcare. The healthcare industry is being revolutionized by wearable technologies. Google Aria’s wearable technology allows users to track their vitals and other signs that could contribute to being at risk. The technology is able to track blood glucose, medication, insulin, meals, activity, weight, and more.
CHALLENGE:
Design an app that helps people monitor and manage their diabetes. The app has to be in line with Material Design3 and other Google apps.
PROJECT GOALS:
- Design an Android mobile app that helps users monitor and manage their diabetes. The app should be in line with Material Design3 and other Google apps
- Design a logo for Google Aria that is also in line with the Google family
RESEARCH
MARKET RESEARCH
Starting off this project I did a lot of research because I was not educated on diabetes at all. I know people that have diabetes but I didn't know anything about it. I created a Research Plan to help determine my research goals, research questions, assumptions, and which research methods I would conduct. I spent a lot of time conducting secondary research because I had very little knowledge of the topic. Then I did a Competitive Analysis to determine the strengths and weaknesses of different competitors.
USER INTERVIEWS
Using a list of questions I created from my interview guide that I had prepped and ready. I had two sets of questions, one for diabetes and the other for caregivers of diabetics. I asked participants these to gain more insight on their experience and to learn more about the topic. I interviewed 4 participants, that included 3 females and 1 male, ages 28-33. The interviews were remote via Skype and Zoom.
SYNTHESIS + DEFINING
EMPATHY MAP
After collecting my research findings from my user interviews I created an Empathy Map. While doing so I looked for specific patterns and similarities to uncover insights and user needs.
USER PERSONA
Using the pains and gains from my Empathy Map I created a User Persona. These helped me create the goals and frustrations for my User Persona. Data from my user interviews and research also helped when making my persona.
INTERACTION DESIGN
SITEMAP
After using a product roadmap to prioritize which features were most important by goal to be included in the app I created a sitemap. The sitemap helped me to visualize the navigation system of the app and make sure it made sense.
LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
I created low-fidelity wireframe sketches of the screens for the key user flows that I had mapped out. By doing this it helped me get my ideas down on paper and envision how the designs would look before moving them to digital form.
TASKFLOW
Using the sitemap I created scenarios to create the task flow. These showed multiple ways users could interact with the Google Aria app. By creating the task flow it helped me think through the scenarios and screens I would be creating for the prototype.
MIDFIDELITY WIREFRAMES
I used my low-fidelity sketches as a reference to create mid-fidelity wireframes.
UI KIT & LOGO
HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
Before starting my high-fidelity wireframes I created UI requirements to help prioritize requirements for each screen. Using my mid-fidelity sketches as a blueprint I was able to quickly put the finishing touches on the design.
PROTOTYPE
I used my high-fidelity wireframes to create a prototype using Invision. Using this prototype I had users test the scenarios from my task flow I created.
USABILITY TESTING
Test Objectives:
- Test the usability and functionality of the app as the users navigate through it
- Observe and identify any confusion and pain points users face
- Identify any inconsistencies or missing elements
- Observe features users are drawn to
I created a usability test plan before conducting my usability tests. My usability test plan consisted of my test objectives, goals, and details. I had the participants go through 3 tasks in the prototype after reading them different scenarios. The goal was to see how they reacted and if they were able to successfully complete the tasks. While participants navigated through the prototype I carefully observed and recorded so that I could take notes later after our session.
INSIGHTS + RECOMMENDATIONS
Using the notes taken after the usability testing I created an affinity map. I used digital post-its in different colors for each participant. I grouped together similar patterns. I broke down successes, problems, observations/feedback, and comments from participants. This helped me find insights and recommendations for my design.
ITERATIONS
While watching users go through the prototype I noticed a few changes I needed to make. Based on the recommendations I changed a few hotspots in the prototype, changed the Dashboard screen, and made a few other small changes.
PROJECT TAKEAWAYS
This project was very challenging for me because I was not educated on diabetes. Everything I thought I knew about diabetes was wrong. Having diabetes and maintaining itis extremely hard. Getting to hear the participants' stories was very interesting and gave me a new outlook and appreciation for them.
NEXT STEPS
With more time I would complete the food/calorie tracker, insights (reports and graphs), and the explore section: medical advice, recipes, and community into the app.