Health Tracker App
The purpose of this project was to create an information architecture strategy for an app idea of my own.
What is the Health Tracker app?
The Health Tracker mobile app connects people who are struggling to stick to healthy eating, physical exercise, and/or smoking or alcohol abstinence.
The application allows users to connect with their medical providers for dietary and exercise advice, and for monitoring labs. A user’s progress is measured by daily logs of food/alcohol intake, physical activity, smoking, and lab values.
Users earn virtual “awards” for their progress and goals they achieve, which are tailored to their medical history and profile. The application features a feed for users to see what “awards” their friends on the app are earning and to post ones they earn.
Different aspects of the app ultimately hold the user accountable to stay motivated to reduce their disease risk and improve their health. It also creates a sense of community and support for the users.
The application will be funded by health insurance companies, and is profitable for them as it will help reduce costs for medications, hospital stays, and doctor visits. Users may also pay a subscription fee for more features of the application to be unlocked.
Information Architecture Strategy Report
Executive Summary
I am working with Health Tracker to make recommendations on the application’s information architecture. The Health Tracker application is complex and has the potential to help so many people struggling to meet their health goals. Because it is complex, it is imperative that it be designed to encourage usability, functionality, and findability, molding a better experience for its users.
Creating an information architecture strategy is the optimal way to achieve this in that we can start from the ground up and develop an effective framework for which the application’s content can be built on. An information architecture strategy will also play a significant role in helping Health Tracker achieve its mission and vision.
Our strategic recommendations include, but are not limited to:
Creating a simple, four-section navigation menu and access to account personalization, which will not only ease findability within the application, but will also provide users with the knowledge and resources necessary to meet their health goals as the content within the application will be tailored to them individually.
Creating a straight-forward search system for users to search and browse for health professionals within their network to consult for credible health advice and non-urgent concerns. Within the health professional search system, I also recommend a content template for each health professional's information to be added to and maintained.
Employing a clear and simple content template for users to share goals achieved and “awards'' earned on the “Share with Friends” feed. The ease of use and creation of this user-generated content will instill a sense of community and motivation among our audience. This sense of community and motivation ultimately encourages the accomplishment of goals.
These recommendations and the architectural strategies discussed in this document will help Health Tracker create a community of individuals who feel empowered to take control of their health and be successful in doing so.
Audiences, Mission, and Vision
The Health Tracker application’s mission and values are as follows: We aim to empower and inspire people to live healthier, happier lives. Health Tracker’s goal is to help people gain control over their health by providing them with the knowledge and resources necessary to accomplish their health goals. Our primary focus is helping people meet their health goals by tracking their progress and motivating them throughout the process.
Health Tracker’s target audience is people who want to improve their health and achieve health goals. These people may be struggling to do so without the application because they could not find factual, individualized information for them or could not stay motivated enough to meet their goals.
User Research Plan
The purpose of our user research is to better understand our target audiences by researching their behaviors, experiences, and ideas. I will use this information to form an information architecture strategy for the application.
Our goal is to interview 10-12 participants who have a history of tracking their health and fitness in the past, whether via tracking technologies or not. It is important to analyze users of Health Tracker’s competitors, but I will also choose some participants who do not have a history of using health and fitness tracking technologies at all.
I aim to gather participants from a variety of age groups including 25-35, 35-45, and 45-60 years old so as to cover multiple audience segments.
The primary stakeholders of the application are the users (or patients in some cases), clinicians associated with these users, and families or caregivers of these users.
In our user research interviews, I plan to test potential hypotheses, which include:
People who have tracked their health using technology or another method of the sort in the past find them useful for logging purposes, but are not personalized to their needs enough to help them succeed.
Many people will pay for a health tracking tool or wearable if they have paid for one in the past.
Previous attempts to reach health goals failed because the goals were not SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, or time-bound).
Previous attempts to reach health goals failed because these people were not tracking their results and went through it alone.
Architectural Strategies and Approaches with Wireframes
Figure 1: “Share with Friends” Page
The default initial page when users open the app. The “Share with Friends” page acts as a sharing platform for users to engage with their “friends” on the application by posting their milestones earned, and “liking” or “commenting” on their friends’ posts.
A. Users share awards earned with friends along with a caption
B. Friends can “like” and “comment” on their friend’s posts
C. Form of user-generated content maintained with a basic content template and community guidelines
D. Simple navigation menu with 4 sections (“Ask a Professional,” “Daily Logs,” “Share,” “Awards”). Main navigation labels are exposed in tablet view
Figure 1: “Share with Friends” Page
Figure 2: “Ask a Professional” Page
This is the initial screen when users open the “Ask a Pro” section, which allows users to ask a professional non-urgent medical, nutrition, or lab-related questions.
A. Users can search for a health professional by their name or specialty in the search bar
B. Users can browse the top specialty categories for a health professional by clicking on one of the tiles
C. Users can always return to open conversations at any point during the search and browsing process
Figure 2: "Ask a Professional" Page
Figure 3: Search Results
(after point A or B in Figure 2)
A. In this example, search results are displayed after a user has searched for the specialty “Heart Health.” Users can tap the “back” arrow to return to the screen in Figure 2
B. Search results contain the health professional’s name, location, and link to more information (“More Info” leads to screen in Figure 5)
C. Users can tap the “alphabetize” icon to have results sorted in forward or reverse alphabetical order
D. Users can tap the “filter” icon to filter results by location (see Figure 4)
Figure 3: Search Results
Figure 4: Pop-Up Filter Box
After the “filter” icon has been tapped (from Figure 3)
A. Drag location bubble to desired mile radius from user
B. “Exit” out of pop-up filter box
C. “Clear All” clears filters
Figure 4: Pop-Up Filter Box
Figure 5: “More Info” on the Health Professional
(after point B in Figure 3)
Content type for content template on health professional information
A. Content template includes guidelines for short bio and specialty description, to be written by health professional and reviewed/maintained by editors
B. Content template will allow health professional to add a headshot
C. Users can ask the professional a non-urgent medical or nutrition-related question, or ask the professional to review their lab results
Figure 5: "More Info" on the Health Professional
Figure 6: “Daily Logs” Page
The “Daily Logs” section will allow users to upload and log their exercise, diet, smoking, labs, etc. These logs will be customizable for the user depending on their goals.
A. Users can tap on any of the tiles to log self-reported data
B. Option to add a new log type. Logs are editable based on user’s health goals
C. Users can move forward or backward in the daily calendar; the default is today’s date
Figure 6: "Daily Logs" Page
Figure 7: “Awards” Page
A. Awards the user has earned are indicated in white, while the awards they are close to earning are indicated in grey
B. Users can tap on the “settings” icon to personalize their goals
C. Users can access their personal account by tapping the “user profile” icon.
Figure 7: "Awards" Page
Content Management
There are several content types in the Health Tracker application. Much of the application includes user-generated content, but all content will be moderated and maintained to uphold community and company guidelines.
One of the content types is the information provided on each health professional, which will be written by the health professional themselves in coordination with writers on staff. The health professionals working together with the application will provide details on their professional history and specialty, and writers will help construct the content according to content template guidelines. This content will be reviewed and maintained by editors on staff in conjunction with the health professionals and updated as needed.
Another content type in the Health Tracker application is the health and nutrition tips, which will be written by health practitioners. Again, this content will be reviewed and maintained by editors before publishing and periodically.
Users can generate content in the form of captions to go with the awards they earned for reaching milestones. These can be posted into a feed shared with their friends on the application. These posts will be made consistent with ready-to-use templates and images for each reward that was earned. Editors on staff will review posts to be in compliance with community guidelines.
As users log exercise, nutrition intake, labs, etc. into the “Daily Logs” section of the application, data infographics will auto-populate into the application for users to view and visualize their progress. This is another form of user-generated content, but will require no extra work from the users. All data infographics will be coded on the back-end by developers.