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MentorCare Companion

A mentorship platform designed to link aspiring caregivers with professionals, cultivating a lively community. Engineered for seamless pairing, it facilitates dynamic exchanges of knowledge and expertise, fostering a collaborative atmosphere within the caregiving community.

  • Brief

  • Diary Studies 

  • Secondary Research

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  • Exploratory Interviews

  • Stimuli Activity

  • Themes & Insights

  • HMW Statements

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  • Brainstorming

  • Prototyping

  • User Look Interviews

  • Ideation

  • Final Prototype

  • Reflection

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For our project, our foremost challenge centered on understanding the multifaceted struggles encountered by caregivers in tending to both their loved ones and their own mental well-being. 

 

My primary role was design research which extended across the design process, culminating in the development of the final prototype for our innovative app.

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  • Conducted thorough research and initial synthesis based on previous diary studies         and recorded in-home interviews to gather valuable insights and tensions                                                                               

  • Identified  3 main tension points between caregivers and dependents:                                                                                                                                                                                                                

  1. Caregivers tend to overlook their mental health amidst the challenges of caregiving.                                      

  2. Caregivers want to excel but face obstacles due to inadequate information, skills, and experience.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

  3. Caregivers seek a record and documentation of health-related information and incidents for effective caregiving.

Understanding the Market

Our team led secondary research in existing caregiver market platforms and built upon our initial synthesis in order to establish three distinct groups that encapsulated our findings.

Managing Appointment

& Information Apps

Self-Care Apps for Caregivers

Medical Appointments

& Information Apps

Following our secondary research, we conducted 4 remote interviews as part of our exploratory research

to deepen our understanding of insights, identify recurring themes, and formulate "how might we" (HMW) statements. The utilization of a stimulus activity was instrumental in eliciting valuable insights.

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Stimulus Activity

Developing Themes & HMW's

From our exploratory interviews, we gathered valuable insights and identified 5 key themes which led to the formulation of our HMW statements.

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1. Caregivers lack personal time, underscoring the need for efficient scheduling solutions.

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2. Limited access to caregiving resources highlights the demand for better tools               and information.

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3. Caregivers face a lack of information from the healthcare system, necessitating  improved support structures.

 

4. Caregivers desire an app that links healthcare appointments and information for streamlined management.

 

5. Caregivers seek more control, emphasizing the importance of proactive information     and structured support networks.

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Initial (HMW) Statements

Before initiating the prototyping phase, our team engaged in a brainstorming session and design requirement pyramid to generate ideas that address our identified themes and HMW statements.

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I don’t want to reapply deodorant throughout the day_ however, I need to feel protected th

Prototyping Brainstorming

Design Requirements Pyramid 

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Developing Prototypes

Following our brainstorming session, our team selected 3 prototypes. We then conducted 4 remote user-look interviews to review the efficacy of our chosen prototypes. We assessed a pros and cons analysis for each prototype, leading to the selection of our final prototype.

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Prototype #1: Conversation Card Game

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Prototype #2: Mentorship ComSystem

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Prototype #3: AI Portal for Personalized Caregiving Information

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Pros and Cons Analysis

After interviews and analysis, our team has determined Prototype #2 as the optimal choice: the      Mentorship Companion System. We have conceptualized and crafted a higher-fidelity prototype version of the application system, effectively highlighting its functionality and advanced features.

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Match mentor-mentee pairings based on diverse backgrounds 

Multiple connections allowed for mentors and mentees

Mentees can select from a range of mentor suggestions

Trial period for pairs to assess compatibility

Mentor Matching System Overview

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Suggested Question: This feature derived from Prototype #1: the Conversation Card Game.

Status Indicator: A status bubble to convey the mentee's current emotional state and enable them to communicate their feelings, facilitating the mentor's awareness and provision of additional support .

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Status Bubble: Indicates mentee's daily feelings, aiding mentors in providing timely support

Chat box prompts for engaging conversations, including addressing more challenging topics

Messaging Feature for Asynchronous Communication

Reflection

Throughout this project, I acquired valuable skills in navigating and leveraging existing research as pivotal stepping stones and a foundational layer for addressing the challenges we set out to overcome. The process highlighted the significance of communication and empathy in understanding our target audience, unraveling deeper issues, and discerning their genuine needs. 

Next Steps

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1. Conduct comprehensive research and integrate trauma considerations into the research process, ensuring a sensitive and empathetic approach that accounts for potential emotional challenges during the study.

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2. Delve into the intricacies of mentor and mentee system requirements, discerning and addressing their distinctive needs for optimal functionality.

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3. Investigate the far-reaching impact of the mentor system across diverse user groups, acknowledging and adapting to unique considerations within each demographic.

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