Lilypad Therapy

Literature Review

To better inform myself on the field this application would be used in I conducted a literature review. I first researched collaborative work and documentation in healthcare, later narrowing the scope of my research to focus on these topics in the context of human computer interaction and ABA therapy.

Insights

• The information the therapists work with is highly contextual and must be viewed and understood as a whole for each child.
• A digital application must mimic current work practices.
• Any digital solution cannot, and should not, be expected to fully replace paper.

Ethnographic Fieldwork

I was trained as and have worked as a therapist at the clinic providing therapy services to clients once a week. Embedding myself in this community allowed me to better understand their current practices.

Insights

• Therapists need a system that is easy to parse through and yet still contains a large amount of information. This needs to be easy to view and understand within tight time constraints.

Design Opportunities

• An application could reduce prep time by presenting the needed information in a specific order to make it easier/faster to absorb and understand.
• An application could reduce time spent recording data by automating some tasks.

First Focus Group

I recruited employees from the clinic for a focus group where we discussed their wants and needs for the app. I asked participants to write ideas on sticky notes that they would then place on a large piece of paper organized by topic.

I sketched some initial designs for an iPad application. These were based on the ideas generated during the focus group and based on my observations and experience in the field.

I also sketched out a workflow for the setup work a therapist must do for a session. I made this application's flow follow the general workflow of therapists at the clinic. To help mimic current work practices, I created digital versions of real life tools like the note cards used by the therapists.

Second Focus Group & Usability Testing

I created two sets of wireframes based on my sketches and added basic interactions. I led a second focus group with some of the participants from the first focus group. Here, the participants interacted with both sets of wireframes as they would if they were preparing for a therapy session. While testing the prototype and afterwards, participants were asked to think aloud and give feedback on the flow and features included.

Pre-Session Setup Version A

Pre-Session Setup Version B

Insights

• Therapists feel the "Quick Info" section will help them prepare to work with a client quicker.
• The "Alert" pop-up is highly valued by therapists as they feel it will reduce errors and miscommunication on a care team.

Interviews

I created an interview protocol for therapists, behavioral consultants, and management at the clinic to explore how they all might use a data collection app and discover what features they find most important. I conducted 8 interviews total.

Insights

• The current presentation of a child's information can be overwhelming and hard to read and understand in a limited amount of time. To provide the best care possible, therapists must understand a large portion of this information to have a holistic understanding of the child and their treatment plan.
• Because of location and time constraints, consultants may not be able to access and update these plans as frequently as needed, which could be detrimental to a child's progress.

Design Opportunities

• Allow for remote viewing and usage of the application so that consultants may more frequently review and update a child's information. Consultants should be able access necessary data from anywhere, not just at the clinic.

Surveys

I created a UX requirements document and we presented a list of the requirements in a random order to employees at the clinic. The participants were asked to read through the list and rank each requirement in terms of priority, and to tell us if they felt any requirements were missing or unnecessary.

Insights

• Survey participants highly value a client "dashboard".
• Participants feel it is important for the app to enable more communication between consultants and therapists.

Key Takeaways

• Automate tasks where possible to reduce workload on therapists.
• Therapists need the ability to access all of a child’s information, but don’t always need to see all of it at once. We need to find a way to organize this information digitally. The therapists used a binder to store a child’s information, so I wondered to what extent the app should mimic the binders.
• The client highly values features that enhance asynchronous communication within a child's care team.