COVID NOW - a virus tracking app
providing clear, accurate information to eliminate misinformation on COVID-19
With so much information about COVID- 19, we often find ourselves overwhelmed and anxious about what to believe in, or where we can find accurate information.
We found that there is a need for a clear, simple, but efficient way of conveying ALL relevant information, leaving users informed and educated about this topic.
project duration
3 weeks
teammates
David Hoang
role
project manager
ui/ux designer
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Too many different sources of information & news that are inaccurate or without proper citation.
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Sources are biased (propaganda, politically motivated, sparking fear, fake news, click-bait titles)
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Too much information that is not well organized which leads to overwhelming/cognitive overload
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Sources are vague in how to prevent the spread of the virus
current problems
design objective
to eliminate concerns and stress about misinformation by providing clear, accurate & timely information and health resources to users
user research
We started out our project by investigating our user's problems by sending out surveys. Separating our questions into categories such as demographics, personal stance, user's problem, how has the Coronavirus affected them, where they get their news from, etc. We collected over 100 responses with free response in order to get a well-rounded understanding of our users
this is Peter, a 25 year-old students from Orange County, CA
Background information:
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Peter had a job but just got laid off. He is currently unemployed and doing online school
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He gets his news from social media platforms such as Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter
Pain points:
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Emotionally impacted (anxiety from uncertainty about the future, not having a job)
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A lot of news sources online are misinformed, there is no clear source of where the data is coming from, titles of articles are often clickbait
Desired outcomes:
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For everyone to be well informed
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Less anxious
and this is Melissa, a 56 year-old mother
Background information:
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Working mom who is now working from home, is taking care of two kids
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Melissa gets her news mainly from social media and messaging platforms like WeChat, Kakaotalk, from her friends, and from TV.
Pain points:
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Financial concerns, worried about her business
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Bored because she has to stay at home
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But she is scared to go outside to buy groceries because she is scared of the high risk of transmission, causing her stress
Goals:
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Being able to share the information with her WeChat friends ;-)
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Having notifications or live updates on cases where she lives so she can be informed straight away
Desired outcomes:
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For people to realize the seriousness of the situation
proposed solution
Problems pinpointed
How the solution addresses the problem
1. Have a centralized app with information only from official government sources such as the CDC.
2. Have articles that are up - to - date, informative, with clear citations that educate readers.
3. Having different tabs/ pages that contain relevant information for that page. For example, a page dedicated to resources that can help users during the pandemic.
1. Too many different sources of information & news that are inaccurate or without proper citation.
2. Sources are biased (propaganda, politically motivated, sparking fear, fake news, click-bait titles)
3. Too much information that is not well organized which leads to overwhelming/cognitive overload
4. A informative section that contains self- diagnose questionnaire, symptom comparison chart for similar symptoms such as the flu and the common cold, resources on how to prevent the spread of the virus.
low fidelity prototype
4. Sources are vague in how to prevent the spread of the virus
high fidelity prototype
We wanted to create a layout that was not too complicated and overwhelms the user, but still delivers the necessary information. We conducted a beta testing with some users.
The home page contained a little bit of an overview of the app, including a snippet of news, a live tracking feature, nearby resources, and information on how to effectively self-quarantine.
The news page contains global news, national (US) news and local news. Users can have the option to read the news that they really want to keep up with, especially since we don't want them to be overwhelmed with information.
This page provides detailed information on the risk level of each age group. It was important to provide information on not only those who are at high risk, but also what others can do to help minimize the spread of the virus. All of our information is cited from the CDC official website.
We prioritized resources such as notification for free meals, nearby testing facilities, and nearby confirmed cases. We wanted this page to help those who are heavily affected by COVID- 19 to alleviate the stress from users.
Redesign purpose:
1) Highlight important resources first, for those who need them.
2) Having a graph was an inaccurate display of information,
3) A map is more intuitive to use. The map has more impact on users, since it shows daily cases where they live. This makes user more uneasy, but more cautious when they go outside and reminds them to be safer.
After testing, we realized that the prototype had a lot of distracting features, making it really difficult for users to navigate. There were "too much color", and "too much text." This was kind of disappointing because the whole point of our design was to make it easier for people to navigate facts about the pandemic. In addition, we found that a lot of folks were not interested in the news section, but rather on nearby resources. So we tried to redesign our prototype so that it is simple, clear and only convey important information.
A/B testing and our failures!
what we have learned, and moving forward
I really want to be able to test our product and refine it even more after our first testing phase. However, that will have to wait until the pandemic is over :) but here are some thoughts that I had while working on this project!
Even though it was only a personal project, it took a month to complete the entire process. It was definitely a challenge thinking of the overall goal at the beginning and dividing it into steps so that my teammates can easily follow. The process also included learning prototyping skills and teaching others when they don't have any experiences at all. However, we overcame those challenges by communicating with each other and having weekly Zoom meetings! I also really care about this topic and I'm sure it has affected whoever is reading this as well. Overall, I'm really proud of this project and what I have accomplished, which is learning to manage a team and create a product that I am really proud of.
