PatientsLikeMe usability study for mobile app

Designing a new app is like designing a car. Your engineer and designer may have done a flawless job, but nothing matters until the person actually steps into the driver’s seat and test-drives the product. So when it came time for us to launch the first pass at our new mobile app, called PLM Connect, that’s exactly what we did. We invited a handful of members to come into the PatientsLikeMe office and test-drive the app.

Alex (ITalkToTheWind), a PatientsLikeMe community member, took some extra time to share about her experiences testing the app in an interview. One of the features, InstantMe, is a tool on the PatientsLikeMe website that’s a simple way to track and share how you’re doing. In this first pass of the app, and since she’s become a member in 2010, Alex has posted more than 1500 (!) InstantMe updates. Not only was she extremely helpful with her feedback, but she also brought in the artwork she’s created based on her InstantMe entries. Everyone on the PatientsLikeMe team was honored that Alex brought her art into the office for us to see, and we wanted to share it with the rest of the community, too. Here’s her story: 

Alex, what was it like doing the usability testing?
It was great to come down to the PatientsLikeMe headquarters to give my personal feedback on the first pass at PLM Connect.

I update my InstantMe every day, so I’ve been very eager for an application I can use while I am away from my computer so my charts can be as accurate as possible. Throughout testing the beta application, I got to dictate my thought process step by step with the engineering team. I communicated different ways to improve the application’s features, programming and design to make it more user-friendly and to have it operate more smoothly.

I also got to tell the team what my personal wants would be for a PatientsLikeMe application. Since I am an artist, it was great to be able to talk about how the design could compliment the different functions of the application. I mentioned how important it is to carry over the community and support aspect that is available at the main site over to the application. Overall, I was trying to think about the entire diversity of conditions in the community and how they could benefit using the application, and how to make it as easy to use as possible.

How do you use InstantMe on PatientsLikeMe?
I’ve been using InstantMe religiously to keep track of my moods for five years now, since I was diagnosed with my primary condition and began my treatment process. I basically see everything I’ve accumulated through my InstantMe as a diary of my life for the past 5 years.

It is very important to me to see how my treatments, symptoms, and life events all correlate with my moods to understand what is or isn’t currently working, and what has or hasn’t worked in the past, especially in a visual way. I’ve been able to keep track of absolutely everything I’ve tried to treat my conditions including medication, herbal supplements, vitamins, diets, different therapists and therapeutic approaches, exercise, lifestyle changes and meditation.

InstantMe also gives you the option to explain “Why” you are experiencing your mood, which has been crucial to me in reflecting on the moments that seemed so difficult at the time.

Another interesting part of that feature is reviewing how my automatic thoughts have changed through my treatment process, which is also really important for someone who suffers from mood swings like I do. I react differently now to difficult life events and can see how I’ve been better able cope with stress over the five years. It’s really nice to see how far I’ve come. 

Will you share a little about your InstantMe artwork?
My work is about the disconnect that occurs with one’s experiences and personal identity over time. I make paintings and drawings using my InstantMe mood logs, and other PatientsLikeMe charts by transferring them onto a physical material such as a wooden panel or paper.

I correlate the text from the InstantMe’s to remember why I was feeling good, bad or neutral and paint symbols to represent that time period, or draw the mood logs themselves into a painted environment or memory in which I was experiencing that mood.

It’s a lot about trying to gain a connection with these fleeting moments and my shifting identity over time and learning to accept them … the process of creating the artwork itself helps me cope with my condition.

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