Mindoula

Objective

Mindoula® is a behavioral health management company that identifies, engages, and serves populations with complex behavioral health, medical, and social challenges. By using technology to “scale the human connection,” Mindoula helps health plans, health systems, hospitals, and provider groups extend their reach and achieve their value-based service delivery goals.

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As part of my graduate studies thesis at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) MPS UX/UI Program, I worked closely with Mindoula to reimagine and redesign their existing app. For HIPAA compliant communication with their members, Mindoula utilizes an app that provides 24/7 tech-enabled support via their chat messenger. The goal was to redesign their existing app by applying best practices solutions for human-centered design in order to address the challenges and needs of their Care Extenders/Care Managers.

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Design Solution

For the redesign of the Mindoula app, I applied the following methodologies and best practices for human-centered design:
 

• Understanding Mindoula’s Users: Stakeholder/user interviews

• Identifying key competitors: Desktop research

• Analyzing existing app: Product analysis, heuristic review

• Key findings: New vision

• Developing a strategy based on research findings: Defining personas and user journeys

• Designing an interface solution: Wireframes, prototyping

• Conducting usability testing: User testing/user feedback

• Solutions and Insights to key findings: Iterate designs based on user input

• Sharing final results and insights: Additional recommendations shared with client

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Results

The preliminary research conducted from users and stakeholders alike informed the design thinking behind the personas and user journeys, which were essential before designing the wireframes. Defining personas allowed my client to truly empathize and differentiate between their business goals and their user’s needs. The findings, to their surprise, were remarkably different and humbling for them. They discovered in the process how little they understood who their users were, and why it was so important to follow them in user journeys (first) before designing or even launching a product. More importantly, there was a level of learning and educating that needed to happen for my client to get buy-in into the many concepts involved in human-centered design and why it is so important to follow these methodologies for successful outcomes in product development.

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The insights collected from the usability tests allowed for a more polished prototype and significantly more valuable user experience for Care Managers. Because time and team collaboration were important strategies in assisting their members, sending assessments, scheduling calls, and getting notifications immediately were undeniably valuable tools, as per their remarks. Based on the ratings given and tasks accomplished, users were “thrilled” about the ease of use of the app and how many new tools they would have available in order to better manage the relationship with their members.

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