Digital health is transforming the way people access, manage, and improve their health and well-being. But to deliver on its promise of better outcomes, lower costs, and more convenience, digital health solutions need to optimize user experience and usability. How can they do that? Here are some tips and best practices to consider.
Before designing or developing any digital health solution, you need to understand who your users are, what their goals and challenges are, and how they interact with technology. User research, personas, scenarios, and journey maps can help you identify and prioritize their needs, preferences, and expectations. This will help you create a solution that is relevant, useful, and engaging for your target audience.
And stratify your users so you may prioritize which ones you can get some quick results / wins. Spend a bit extra resources toward them. Showing some early success motivate everyone.
User experience and usability are not just about aesthetics or functionality. They are also about consistency, accessibility, and reliability. To ensure that your digital health solution meets these criteria, you should follow established design principles and standards, such as the ISO 9241-210 or the NISTIR 8259. These frameworks provide guidance on how to design for human-centredness, usability, interoperability, security, and privacy.
And don’t forget literacy. Design for those that can’t read or don’t read well. Use the power of voice recognition. Let them provide you real time feedback on your design before your design is finished.
User experience and usability are not static or fixed. They evolve and change over time, as users' needs, behaviours, and preferences change. That's why you need to test and iterate your digital health solution throughout its lifecycle, from prototyping to deployment to maintenance. User testing, feedback, and analytics can help you evaluate and improve your solution's performance, functionality, and satisfaction. You should also involve users in the testing and iteration process, as they are the best source of insights and suggestions.
Just getting a user started is a big win. Don’t forget to ask about the “why” around their experience. Why did you get involved with this experience in The first place? That’s. Wet valuable insight that is repeatable.
User experience and usability are not only about how your digital health solution works, but also about how it delivers value to your users and stakeholders. You need to align your solution's features, benefits, and outcomes with your value proposition, which is the unique value that you offer to your customers or partners. Your value proposition should be clear, compelling, and differentiated from your competitors. It should also be communicated effectively and consistently across your solution's interface, content, and marketing.
The value of persistence to your product can be exponential. If the user is electing to connect, is this your best opportunity to increase their persistence? A piece of that might be interacting without friends that have similar issues / interest. Ala “Words with Friends”
User experience and usability are not isolated or independent. They are influenced and inspired by other digital health solutions, as well as by other industries and domains. You can learn from best practices and examples of how other digital health solutions have optimized their user experience and usability, such as by using gamification, personalization, social interaction, or behaviour change techniques. You can also look outside the digital health sector, and see how other fields, such as e-commerce, education, or entertainment, have created user-friendly and user-centric solutions.
It’s ok to allow, even enable, users to drag and drop their other digital favorites into yours. Sort of like a favorites bar at the top of a browser.
User experience and usability are not final or definitive. They are dynamic and adaptive, as technology, markets, and regulations change. You need to keep innovating and adapting your digital health solution to meet the changing needs and expectations of your users and stakeholders. You should also monitor and anticipate the emerging trends and opportunities in the digital health landscape, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, or virtual reality, and see how they can enhance or transform your user experience and usability.