Usability Tests

DearlyCare (formerly HealthAims) background and usability research goals

BACKGROUND & INTRODUCTION TO PARTICIPANTS
DearlyCare is a helpful app designed to make life easier for family caregivers. It keeps everything organized in one place—appointments, contact details for medical providers, and even prescriptions. This app isn’t just about managing care; it’s also about connection. DearlyCare encourages care receivers to stay involved with their caregivers through engaging health articles, exercise tips, and an easy-to-use "Check-In" feature. With Check-In, staying in touch is quick and hassle-free. Whether you're supporting a loved one or keeping things on track, DearlyCare is here to lend a hand.

USABILITY STUDY GOALS
This usability study aims to explore how easily new users can learn to navigate both the caregiving and care-receiving sides of the app. We're looking to see if users understand the app’s purpose, its benefits, and how to get started with essential features. We’ll observe and measure how well users can:

  • Understand the app's introduction and main caregiver screen.
  • Have a caregiver create a Getting Started account
  • Set up family information during onboarding.
  • Use care receiver features like the search function and the "Check-In" tool.

Scenarios

Ask your participants to play the role of your personas to test your design usability.

CAREGIVER

1. You have just successfully created a DearlyCare account but have not entered any personal family information. Now, you want to get started using the services DearlyCare promised! Using the Caregiver Central screen, determine what organizational steps follow after creating an account and undertake that task.

2. Moving forward several weeks in time, you have entered all the important family medical information into DearlyCare.

You are a DearlyCare expert!

You are accompanying your mother, Victoria, to an appointment with a new doctor for her. The doctor has questions about your mother’s current medications. Using DearlyCare, you look up your mother’s medication list on your smartphone.

CARE RECEIVER

Now, step into the role of the care receiver! I’ll give you two scenarios with activities. Imagine yourself as a retiree with chronic health conditions—active but needing occasional reminders for hydration and medication. 
Think aloud as you navigate the app, sharing your thoughts and feelings. Remember, we’re testing the app, not you!

1. You and your daughter, Jane, have set up a time to chat each day. Now, you can use DearlyCare to do that and save yourself some steps. How do you check in with Jane using DearlyCare?

2. Your daughter, Jane, set up the DearlyCare app on your mobile phone. She told you the app has many nice exercises and health tips videos.

But Jane is too busy to help you access the videos in person.

You want to try to figure it out yourself! What do you do?

Test Participants

match the demographic of over 45 years old

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
In person
Jeff
Male
56-65
Program Manager

Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024
remote
Karin
Female
45-65
High School Science Teacher

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024
In person
Frank
Male
66-75
Retired Therapist

Friday, Nov. 22, 2024
Remote
Eliot
Male
66-75
Electrical Engineer

Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024
In person
Vicky
Female
56-65
Art Teacher

Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024
In person
Yvonne
Female
56-65
Retired Artist

TEST SUMMARY

  • Two (2) Remote interviews
  • Four (4)  In-Person

TOOLS

  • Otter.ai
  • Zoom
  • Reflector 4

NOTES

  • Negatives: Poor WI-FI interfered with software
  • Positives: Otter.ai always worked and recorded.

Test Results

participant quotations, observations & errors

POSITIVE QUOTES

[About Medication List] Very easy, okay? And would be very helpful with our relatives in Ohio, like, I, like, I don't know all the things they take. They take a lot of things, right? That would be very helpful, especially because you always have your phone with you, and if there's a medical emergency, you don't have to, like, grab their pill bag,

I liked it as a big thing to reach out for support and build connections right up at the front there. I also like that, yeah, it's, it's, it's more informative, less you're going to do stuff. It appears to be guiding people to information and things.

In fact, my lab works were delivered to my iPhone and not my cardiologist. So I handed him my iPhone and he read my lab work on my phone

NEGATIVE QUOTES

So that's why I feel like somehow any information that's my medical information, that's private I if I don't have to put it out there, or access it, or tap into it, to activate it, because it's already there, I know, but if I don't have to activate it, then I don't.

I think I don't know how I wouldn't think of an elderly person as very tech and wanting to see a text. I'm not sure if they would trust a message, okay, but that's different.

My initial reaction is not exactly sure what I'm supposed to do with it. [DearlyCare]

OBSERVATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS

Admits to using larger screen fonts and other accessibility services

6 out of 6

Distracted by CTA buttons on Caregiver and Care Receiver Central screen

5 out of 6

Hesitant to instantly create Care Receiver Account/Aversion to surprising Care Receivers

5 out of 6

Getting Started (onboarding) is difficult to find on Caregiver screen

4 out of 6

Concerned about definitions of Care Receivers

4 out of 6

Care Receiver Check-In button not easy to find or understand

3 out of 6

Unable to anticipate the functionality of the icons on the bottom

3 out of 6

ERRORS BY PARTICIPANTS

Did not find "Ask a Question" icon on the top

6 out of 6

“Getting Started” not found

6 out of 6

Did not select "HealthAims” title to get back to main Caregiver screen

5 out of 6

Tried to select wrong button for
Check-In user flow

4 out of 6

Did not understand purpose of “HealthAims” on first glance

4 out of 6

Problems clicking on Check-In Names and Arrows

3 out of 6

Took a long time to find Check-In button

2 out of 6