Redesign of the desktop app of
Therapeutic Module for SEDENA
Role: Junior UX Designer Task: Redesigning a desktop app for psychologic therapy Duration: 8 weeks
What's this project about?
The Therapeutic Module is a desktop application tailored for military therapists, addressing a spectrum of challenges from workplace dynamics to domestic issues. Integrating VR technology and heart rate monitoring, this tool immerses patients in realistic scenarios, guiding them through appropriate responses and behaviors.
Key Features:
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User Management: Efficiently create and manage user profiles to personalize therapy sessions.
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VR Integration: Compatibility with VR devices for immersive therapeutic experiences.
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Interactive Scenarios: Engage patients with dynamic VR simulations that replicate real-life situations.
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Heart Rate Monitoring: Track and analyze physiological responses to enhance therapy outcomes.
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Versatile Therapeutic Approaches: Support for diverse methodologies to cater to various types of violence.
The biggest issue
The Therapeutic Module is a desktop application tailored for military therapists, addressing a spectrum of challenges from workplace dynamics to domestic issues. Integrating VR technology and heart rate monitoring, this tool immerses patients in realistic scenarios, guiding them through appropriate responses and behaviors.
Looking back at the old design
When reviewing the old design, it became apparent that the emphasis was primarily on visual aesthetics, aiming to resemble a game rather than prioritizing user experience. This approach neglected fundamental design principles, resulting in confusion regarding each step of the process.
Consequently, the team identified a critical need to completely re-architect the product with a strong focus on adhering to established design patterns. At this point, the decision was made to base the UI of the product on Microsoft’s Fluent Design System. This shift ensures a more intuitive user interface that not only improves usability but also aligns with recognized standards in user experience design.
Creating the Mockups
As I mentioned earlier, I was responsible for creating the high-fidelity mockups, which presented a significant challenge due to ongoing iterations driven by new requirements and feedback from various teams. While the project lead iterated on the design based on these inputs, my role was to bring these iterations to life using the appropriate UI components, ensuring that the evolving design reflected the latest specifications and user needs. This dynamic process required flexibility and close collaboration to deliver a polished and functional UI design.
How many data viz options are there!?
Exploring various data visualization options for tracking heart rate and comparing progress across different sessions was a key responsibility assigned to me. After evaluating and presenting several alternatives, the product team ultimately chose line charts. This decision created a point of friction as my design lead advocated for grouped bar charts, arguing they might better display comparisons of minimum, maximum, and average heart rates. However, in alignment with the product team's decision, we proceeded with implementing line charts for this functionality.
I now have to present?
As part of my training my design lead tasked me with presenting the designs, so we rehearsed how to lead a presentation with stakeholders where he help me fix various mistakes like defining an agenda and sticking to it, or creating an actual presentation. This helped me understand the product even more because now I was the one answering questions.
Full on documentation
One of my final tasks was to create comprehensive documentation aimed at facilitating the front-end development of the app. This documentation primarily focused on detailing the anatomy of each component and specifying their interaction behaviors. It was a significant undertaking due to the diversity of components, each requiring precise documentation of their unique behaviors and layouts.
Through this task, I gained deep expertise in Microsoft’s design language and behaviors, ensuring that the development team could accurately implement the design with fidelity to the established guidelines and user expectations.
My part regarding accessibility
I took on the critical responsibility of converting the designs into dark mode, which was a crucial aspect of ensuring accessibility. As we based our design on Microsoft’s Fluent Design System, I immersed myself in studying their approach to color usage and the transition from light to dark themes. This involved understanding how Microsoft applies color theory and design principles to create a seamless and visually appealing dark mode experience.
By leveraging this knowledge, I meticulously adapted our design elements to maintain consistency and readability in dark mode, enhancing accessibility for all users. This task required careful consideration of contrast ratios, color saturation, and usability under different lighting conditions to achieve an effective and user-friendly dark mode implementation.
What are my takeaways
This project was my first experience with such a large-scale endeavor. As a junior designer, I felt a significant sense of responsibility, impact, and visibility throughout. While I didn’t have expertise in every area, I was consistently guided by my lead designer, which enabled me to deliver each task to the best of my ability.
Handling these responsibilities made me fully appreciate the complexities involved in designing a complete application. Although I wasn’t involved in every step of the process, I took ownership of numerous aspects of the project, contributing actively to its success.
Realizing my next steps
Looking ahead, my focus will be on monitoring the implementation of the design and addressing QA tickets to ensure the final product closely aligns with the intended design.
Additionally, I've been tasked with studying various books on design and information architecture for my upcoming project. This will be my primary focus moving forward as I prepare to enhance my skills and knowledge in these areas.