PillBug Pill Reminder - User Research & Competitive Audit
Background
As part of the Google UX Certification course, I undertook a comprehensive user study to enhance my capstone project, a pill reminder application called PillBug. The goal was to apply user experience research methodologies learned during the course to identify user needs, pain points, and opportunities for improvement. This study involved identifying participants, conducting interviews and usability tests, analyzing data, and developing user personas. In addition to the user study, I conducted a competitive audit and report to analyze existing solutions and identify areas where PillBug could offer unique value. The following outlines the step-by-step process and insights gained, demonstrating my ability to conduct user-centered research and apply those findings.
Click to view the full presentation, which includes personas, user stories, journey maps, competitive audits, and more.
Identifying study participants
Older adults: Family members taking multiple daily medications.
Caregivers: Friends managing medication schedules for others.
Chronic condition patients: Individuals requiring consistent medication adherence.
General users: People taking occasional medications or supplements.
Recruitment process
I contacted potential participants via phone calls, emails, and social media messages, explaining the project's importance.
Preliminary screening made sure participants met certain criteria, such as a passing familiarity with mobile applications. It also helped ensure that a diverse group of participants was represented from different age groups, genders, and backgrounds.
Scheduling Interviews: I coordinated convenient interview times to accommodate participants' schedules.
Interviews
I conducted user interviews focusing on participants' experiences and needs related to medication management. The interviews were designed to be more conversational, and help participants feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences. The goal was to understand participants' current medication management practices, challenges and needs.
Some of the questions included:
"Can you tell me a little about yourself and your daily routine?"
"What tools or methods do you use to remember to take your medication?"
"Can you describe a time when you missed a dose? What happened?"
"Have you used any other pill reminder apps or tools? If so, what did you like or dislike about them?"
"How would you prefer to be notified about taking your medication (e.g., sound, vibration, visual alert)?"
Empathize
Based on the interview data, I created empathy maps to visualize what users say, think, do, and feel. This helped in capturing a holistic view of the users' experiences and identifying common patterns and unique needs.
By understanding users' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, the empathy map highlighted key areas to focus on. The next steps I took were to:
Identify common characteristics
Define user attributes and develop three personas.
Timothy, a retired teacher with Parkinson’s.
Donna, an children’s book author and Timothy’s wife and caretaker.
Maria, a nurse currently undergoing IVF.
If I were to return to this project I would also strongly consider adding two more personas - a doctor or medical professional who needs to monitor medication intake for multiple patients, and a young child or pre-teen who needs to take medications or vitamins at school or daycare without their parents present.
Create user stories, journey maps, and identify goals. Several screenshots of these slides can be found on this page, and the link to the full presentation can be found here.
Competitive Audit
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape and identify opportunities for PillBug, I conducted a competitive audit of four existing pill reminder applications: Max: Pill Reminder, Apple Health, Pill Reminder - All-in-One, and MediSafe.
I compared the strengths and weaknesses of each app, noting common features and unique offerings. Then, I compiled a detailed report summarizing the findings, highlighting key takeaways, and providing actionable recommendations for PillBug. This analysis helped identify gaps in the market and opportunities to differentiate the app.
By performing this competitive audit, I gained valuable insights into the current market and user expectations, guiding the development and refinement of the PillBug app to better meet user needs and stand out in the competitive landscape.
