Double Diamond Strategy
The Double Diamond Strategy is an iterative process used to discover and define the potential problem and develop an initial solution.
Step 1: Discover Potential Problems
Initial secondary research revealed the problems experienced while searching for a mental health therapist, in general and specifically in the target market of Germany, to be:
Figuring out what is a suitable therapy:
A person may have symptoms of a mental health disorder but no direction as to what therapy may be suitable from the broad range of therapies available.
Knowing how best to consult a therapist:
A person needs to figure out if a therapist is suitable for them: What questions need to be asked of the therapist? What symptom details need to be shared, if at all? What's the most effective approach: to message, call or schedule online? etc.
Finding a therapist who has availability:
Due to high demand, a successful search for a suitable therapist with availability can take months in Germany.
Step 2: Define the Problem
People with first-time mental health difficulties need a way to access professional guidance asap, because they need to identify a therapy from the vast range available that is best suited to their symptoms and find and book a trial session with potentially suitable therapists who are currently taking on new clients.
We will know this to be true when we see how many are using the web app to seek expert guidance and find and book trial sessions with therapists e.g., web app impressions, expert session booking, conversion to therapist booking.
Step 3: Develop Potential Solution
A personalized triage web app service, through which the user can have their symptoms assessed by an expert, be informed of suitable therapies and then be enabled to contact relevant and available therapists.
Competitor Analysis
A competitor analysis was conducted to ascertain to what extent the problem was being resolved or not by existing digital product and service solutions.
SWOT analyses were conducted on the main competitors, and subsequently updated with market developments. The highlights are as follows:
Main Competitor:
psychotherapist search directory for Germany
Strength & Threat:
9,800 listed therapists
Weaknesses:
no search management process;
no appointment scheduler:
very limited marketing
Opportunity:
search management process;
appointment scheduler;
marketing strategy
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Future Competitor:
healthcare professional appointment scheduling tool
Strength & Threat:
online appointment scheduler
Weakness:
low number of mental health therapists listed
Opportunity:
develop niche area of market and gain critical mass before mainstream service gains foothold
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New Direct Competitor:
worldwide search directory for mental health therapists
*launched during project
Strengths & Threats:
online appointment scheduler;
next-day availability; user friendly
Weakness:
low local therapist listing & availability
Opportunity:
not just private fee paying, but those covered by public health insurance
Conclusion
In April 2021, it was concluded that no competitor appeared to be solving the problem of users efficiently identifying suitable and available therapists.
Germany was considered to be a very conservative market. The main competitor, therapie.de., offered extensive information on psychotherapy and a traditional search directory, but with no real-time availability status or appointment scheduling service.
Competitor & Market Updates
Two subsequent competitor developments had to be later factored into the design solution process.
New Competitor Launched
A new direct competitor, 'It's Complicated' was launched in Spring 2021 that offers next-day online appointments from local therapists in Germany. 'It's Complicated' has the potential to be a main competitor in the specialized field of mental health therapy, if sufficient numbers of therapists are incentivized to sign-up.
Surge in uptake and use of Doctolib
By June 2021, the market had rapidly changed: Doctolib had been downloaded extensively in Spring 2021 for the scheduling of Covid-19 vaccinations. The app was being subsequently used to schedule other healthcare appointments. Its popular uptake could fast change user expectations towards online appointment scheduling being the norm, with therapists following suit and signing up faster than otherwise thought in this hitherto conservative market.
UX Analysis
A UX analysis was conducted on betterhelp, an innovative web app that provides online therapy to English speakers across the globe, thereby providing ideas for a solution for the German speaking market.
The app proved noteworthy for product development, having a clear purpose, logical layout and easy navigation. Above all, it automatically assigned a therapist, with whom it was very easy and quick to interact with and arrange an appointment.
However, there was room for improvement in onboarding, sign-up and the most notably the therapist-matching process. The matched therapist did not meet the stipulated requirements. Short term user buy-in and matching efficiency seems to be prioritized over longer term suitability, effectiveness and return on investment. An approach that offers choice of therapist may receive higher ratings, recommendations and be more sustainable in the long term.
Affinity Mapping
Affinity Mapping can enable a better understanding of and empathy for users, by systematically collating their needs and pain points to guide the design solution.
Three user interviews were planned and conducted among those within the target age range (18-40 year olds) who had experience of seeking therapists in Berlin.
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The interview scripts were analyzed and important comments were noted on post-its, with the color of the post-it denoting the interviewee. The post-its were then clustered into common themes.
Conclusion
All were dissatisfied. There was a consensus that it is a long and difficult process to find a suitable therapist, validating the need for an efficient search and consultation solution.
Online appointment scheduling was the preferred solution and is therefore prioritized. Calling and messaging were also fundamental requirements, with preference varying by user and the scenario.
Uptake of the expert consultation service was unlikely to be paid for and would depend on the guarantee of a suitable therapist with immediate availability. As an initial solution, the practical feasibility of contracting a range of therapists in sufficient numbers to deliver such a guarantee was questionable. Therefore, the solution of an expert consultation service was withdrawn. The solution re-focused on easing the search and contact process.
Reflection
Upon reflection, the conclusions of the User Interviews and Affinity Mapping process confirmed the problem statement but an amendment to the proposed solution would be required, as highlighted in green:
A personalized triage therapist search and connect app service through which the user can have their symptoms assessed by an expert, be informed of the range of the most suitable therapies and then be able to efficiently seek out therapists offering those therapies who are currently taking on new clients, and immediately schedule an appointment.
Business Requirements
The business requirements were outlined to align stakeholders on the function, purpose and intended users of the proposed web app, and the possible resource investment required to build it. A high delivery schedule spanning the first 10 weeks of design was drawn up.
Personas
Personas were created to make the end user central to the design process. User interviews and affinity maps informed the two personas that were created.
User Journeys
Journey maps visualize the mental models, emotional challenges, and tasks a persona goes through while trying to achieve their goal. Pain points are indicated and opportunities are identified to resolve them.
Design solutions proposed included a bulk mail-out option for Alina and a wide range of search variables for Mark.
User Flows
User flows were then created to show the pages a persona must interact with to complete the tasks and achieve their objectives.
Focusing on Alina as an example, three user flows were outlined:
Peer Critique
A query was raised as to why a variety of contact options were included in User Flow #2, instead of separate user flows for each. This was done because the choice may be determined by the users' scenario e.g., messaging out of office hours, calling only when in a quiet and private space, contact options offered by a therapist etc.
General Reflection
Upon further reflection, the bulk mail-out option proposed in the user journey was dropped. Facilitating mass mailouts might constitute spam for therapists, and result in a backlash against the service.
On the contrary, the web app needs to encourage buy-in from therapists: the app will require therapists to sign-up and submit up-to-date profile data, at least.
Therapist users' needs would ideally be explored in the same process and taken into account parallel to therapist-seeker users' needs. However, due to time and cost restrictions, the extension of the project to include therapists was not feasible.
Sitemap
Ahead of the design stage, a sitemap was drawn up to outline the hierarchy of the web app. To test the logic of the initial sitemap, a card sorting exercise was conducted among five people with experience of seeking therapy online. Minor labelling edits were required for clarity. The logic of the main sections was confirmed: account, search and therapeutic information. The structure of the sitemap would be iterated multiple times during the wireframing and prototyping process, in particular as a result of usability testing, before arriving at the current version:
Preference Test
A preference test was conducted to ascertain the preference for one of two versions of the home screen in general, and their unique differentiating features specifically. The results lead to greater clarity in the design of 'call to action' buttons. It also raised the importance of accessibility considerations, in this case the size of text links to accommodate larger than average thumb size.
UI Design
Design principles guided the UI design, in particular unity, balance, proportion, hierarchy and emphasis. Gestalt principles ensured common forms were used, similar content was grouped together and they complied with the laws of continuation and common fate in their layout.
Emotion was also factored into the design, most notably in the choice of color scheme, the use of a gamified quiz and the design of rewarding interactions.
The design was collaborative, with peer critiques sought and resolutions to issues applied. Notable revisions include the change of the app name to therapEase and selection of more soothing fonts and colors:
Design Language System
A design language system was created to ensure consistency in color, language, tone of voice, typography, iconography, common UI elements, grids and layouts. Assets and components were saved.
This forms part of the standard practice to hand over a summary of research, wireframes, sitemap, style guide and all assets in multiple sizes, saved and labelled in a commonly agreed and consistent format.
Reflection
Listening to and observing users determined the product design direction and iterations. Peer critiques and collaborative design were crucial to honing it. Altogether this ensured the product works with human nature rather than against it. This is reflected in the key insights applied and future hypotheses derived in the process:
Insights
Show not Tell
Users wanted to dive straight into the app and search for a therapist. They were frustrated by the long onboarding and unwilling to consider signing up until they had tested the depth, quality and personal relevance of its content. Therefore, onboarding was replaced with a one-liner ‘looking for a therapist?’ and an immediate search field on the homepage.
Personalize Quickly
Despite the search scenario set to them in the usability test, users were determined to click on the interactive, personalized content of the quiz . Gaining an understanding of their own needs in a gamified context and then how to meet them was most appealing. In response, the quiz was raised to the top of page to encourage immediate engagement and a personalized experience.
Make Life Easier
The product’s main user benefit of easing the process of finding a therapist was delivered in both the product name, therapEase, and its clear and calm style. This was complimented upon in later tests.
Be Localised
Affordability was utmost for local testers; they wanted to search for therapists that are available on public health insurance. That and availability was first and foremost in their minds. These options were added and moved upfront in the search fields.
Be Relatable
Users wanted information on therapists that they could relate to: the sense of the person from their photo; the distance of the therapist’s practice from their home; the reviews given by others. They could not make instinctive decisions based on postcode and professional details. Therefore, therapist profile cards were updated to be directly relatable to users.
Only after all that, Share the Details
Users wanted to immerse themselves in the web app and were confused as to the purpose and benefits of the account and its features being presented upfront in onboarding. Therefore, account sign-up prompts appear at more intuitive points e.g., when trying to message a therapist. The text on the sign-up page is concise, purposeful and action orientated. Detailed onboarding was provided after account sign-up, focusing on the exact features immediately to hand.
Be Responsive to Changing Circumstances
Users' expectations and behavior changed remarkably between research phases. Users went from either calling or emailing a therapist to expecting to be able to immediately schedule an appointment online. This was due to the widespread downloading of the Doctolib app in order to book a vaccine. As a result, many research participants had switched their expectations to booking appointments with healthcare professionals online. Therapists will need to follow suite, with a rapid shift from a conservative to progressive appointment scheduling disposition now expected.
Future Hypothesis
Problem
Users want to schedule online first and foremost and that is not yet available across the range of mental health therapists.
Solution
Press ahead with immediately creating appointment scheduling wireframes and engaging with both developers and therapists to ascertain the cost, timing and how best to secure therapist buy-in to a scheduling tool.
Predicted Result
An appointment scheduling app tailored to the unique nature of the mental health sector
Validation
A three-pronged process is proposed:
- Explore therapists' scheduling behaviors, their attitudes and motivations, and gauge potential uptake.
- Research the backend requirements and the software demands on therapists
- Create appointment scheduling wireframes
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