Designing software for the end-user is much more than deciding the shape or the colour of a button. In contemporary design, user interface design goes hand in hand with the user experience – essentially, what is the easiest way possible in and around the system for the user. At the end of the day, no matter how many systems are adopted and implemented, no matter how many services are available via digital pathways, it is the end-users who will decide whether the digital services available will be put to use. The two critical factors that determine this are: What do these specific users need? and, how can we make what they need as accessible and effortless as possible?
Designing for healthcare has an added layer of complexity. Healthcare platforms and apps are not aimed at a niche, digitally advanced crowd; they need to be accessible to as many people as possible – augmenting inequalities in healthcare is not an option. In this case, accessibility applies both to making an interface usable by people with the widest possible range of abilities as well as their level of digital literacy. Designing software that will be used by both healthcare professionals and patients alike requires a three-dimensional approach – in-depth understanding of the two groups’ different needs and a seamless combination of the two appropriate digital flows.
At Visiba, our Product Development begins with identifying the needs of our end-users. For this reason, we work with a diverse panel of patients, who pitch in with recommendations and validate our designs. It continues with adapting the design to these needs, validating it with actual patients and applying it to our product. In this video, two of our UX designers responsible for the patient apps, Simon Leppänen and Sofia Pernbert, paint the full picture of what it means to design for the end-user, how the process looks like at Visiba and the patient panel, and what tangible value it provides for patients.
