Willow

Helping caregivers prioritize patient care, one robot at a time.

INTRODUCTION

Willow is a mobile app that helps caregivers prioritize patient interactions by delegating routine janitorial tasks to automated robots. By freeing up the time normally spent cleaning, caregivers can dedicate more time in providing attentive, high-quality care.

Team

1 Product Design Lead (me)
1 Researcher
4 Engineers
1 Project Manager
1 Product Manager

My Role

Product Design
Visual Design
User Research

Context

MHCI+D Graduate School Project
Entrepreneurship

Timeline

Jan - Mar 2024

My Contributions

I was the primary Product Designer for Willow, guiding our project through the design process from research to developer handoff. I was tasked with designing the robot’s accompanying mobile app to bridge the Human-Computer Interaction gap between caregivers and robots.

Interaction Design

I created customer journey maps, user flows, and information architecture to guide designs, specifically the speak-to-chat and task suggestions flow.

Visual Design

I led all facets of designing the mobile app’s interface, including reusable components, colors, typography, and layout.

Rapid Prototyping

I rapidly iterated low-high fidelity prototypes based on feedback to ensure they were intuitive and met user needs.

User Research

I spearheaded user research, leading user interviews and 2 rounds of usability testing to directly inform design decisions.

SOLUTION OVERVIEW

Problem Space

The United States is facing a senior care crisis, where the population of aging adults is rising and care services are struggling to meet their growing demands.

As a result, caregivers are inundated with unrelated tasks that pull them away from their primary responsibility: spending quality time with residents.

Final Designs

01
Suggested Tasks
Willow uses AI to suggest tasks based on the robot’s data, reducing caregiver time spent managing administrative work so they can focus on patient care.
02
Task Management
Caregivers will utilize the mobile app to schedule the robot’s janitorial tasks in advance, allowing them to offload work that reduces time spent with residents.

The robots will be pre-programmed with skills that are relevant in assisted living facilities, such as:

  • Cleaning
  • Trash Collection
  • Supply Delivery & Retrieval
  • Sanitizing Surfaces
  • Vacuum
  • Laundry
03
On-Demand Interruptions
Caregivers can use a speak-to-chat feature to quickly override the robot’s current task with urgent requests, allowing their time with residents to remain uninterrupted in the case of non-resident emergencies.
RESEARCH

Methodologies

I employed multiple user research methods to visualize the magnitude of staffing shortages nationwide, understand the day-to-day responsibilities of caregivers, and identify actors trying to tackle the same issue.

Desk Research
7 articles
User Interviews
4 caregivers
2 facility managers
Competitive Analysis
5 market solutions

Primary Research Questions

01
What does the day-to-day of a caregiver in an assisted living facility look like?
02
How do staffing shortages influence the experiences and responsibilities of care staff?
03
What initiatives are in place to address the challenges care staff face in understaffed facilities?
Research Plan  ➚

Competitive Analysis

After conducting a competitive analysis, I determined that none of current solutions on the market sufficiently addressed our user group or context. However, they each had qualities that could collaboratively address our identified problem space.

Key Research Insights

01 Facilities are facing shortages despite offering financial incentives.

96% of these facilities are facing staffing shortages, even with 90% offering increased wages.

96% facilities facing staffing shortages
90% offering increased wages
02 Staff report leaving critical tasks unfinished during shifts, the most frequently missed being comforting & talking to residents.

Percentage (%) of Registered Nurses (RNs) who report being unable to complete necessary care tasks due to lack of time or resources.

03 Caregivers’ desires align with management’s value proposition in wanting increased quality time with residents.

Facilities’ current allocation of caregiver time is ~65% resident facing, falling short of their goal of 90%.

DESIGN PROCESS

How might we equip short-staffed assisted living facilities with the support they need to increase their caregivers’ ability to spend quality time with residents?

Dual-value proposition for caregivers and management staff:
For Caregivers (Users)
  • Increase job satisfaction, potentially leading to lower turnover rates
    ‍
  • Perform tasks aligned with job responsibilities and training
For Management (Business)
  • Ability to meet value proposition for caregiver time spent with residents
    ‍
  • Promote human-facing service
    ‍
  • Avoid recruiting and overtime fees

Brainstorming Concepts

With the research findings in mind, I led our team through a brainstorming session. I established 3 design principles that met both our course requirements and user needs:
01
Empowers caregivers by centering them at the core of our experience design
02
Technically feasible to implement, design falls within our engineering capabilities
03
Financially viable, with a clear path towards sustainable growth & ROI

Chosen Design Concept - Autonomous Robots

While we knew we were using robots to offload caregivers’ workload, I collaborated with our engineers and product team to understand our constraints and goals to determine its primary capabilities. Here are its 3 major components:
Autonomous Robots
Complete janitorial tasks to offload caregivers so they can spend more time with patients
Digital Checklist
Manage & streamline cleaning tasks to ensure nothing is missed
Automated Task Updates
Provides automated updates on robot's progress task list

Mapping the User Experience Roadmap

I employed multiple UX design methods to identify touchpoints for intervention, prioritize features needs based on feasibility, organize content to maximize ease of use, and optimize the user’s path towards accomplishing their goal. This process ensures our design concept is user-centered and optimized for a cohesive, satisfying user experience.

Customer Journey Map
MoSCoW Feature Prioritization Matrix
Information Architecture
User Flows
Link  ➚
Link  ➚
Link  ➚
Link  ➚

Low-Mid Fidelity Wireframes

I created low fidelity wireframes to serve as the basis for the first round of usability testing.
LOW-FIDELITY, TASK SCHEDULING FLOW
MID-FIDELITY, TASK SCHEDULING FLOW
USABILITY TESTING

Round 1 - User Feedback & Design Iterations

After creating wireframes, I conducted 2 rounds of usability testing to observe how users engage with the mobile app and identify opportunities for improvement. In the first round, I sought feedback to uncover whether the app made it easy for users to manage and offload tasks for the robot to complete in the context of their workspaces.
Key Takeaway: Disconnect with Caregiver Workflows
01     Users need to be able to override regularly scheduled tasks with urgent tasks.
None of the caregivers knew how to quickly interrupt Willow to request assistance with urgent, high-priority tasks.
Improved Iteration: Provide speak-to-chat feature that allows Willow to switch tasks to prioritize urgency over routine tasks.
02     Users want real-time updates on Willow’s location and task progress.
All participants expressed a desire to know Willow’s whereabouts & progress on assigned tasks without having to track it down.
Improved Iteration: Add progress markers to each assigned task, in-app and push notifications, and a location tracker to provide instant updates on status and wherabouts.
03      Users need help managing their workload so tasks aren't left incomplete.
2/3 participants reiterated struggles to complete tasks due to hectic work schedules, often leaving them forgotten and unfinished.
Improved Iteration: Provide automated task suggestions using data-driven insights from Willow’s previous schedules to recommend facility-specific tasks.

Round 2 - User Feedback & Design Iterations

I rapidly iterated the mid-fidelity mockups based on user feedback into high-fidelity prototypes. I created a usability test plan to gather authentic feedback and identify pain points that would not be apparent in low-fidelity prototypes (ie. visual hierarchy, micro-interactions, unclear iconography) before investing resources into development.

These were my design goals: 
01
Enable users to easily schedule & offload tasks for robot to complete
02
Enable users to quickly input urgent requests
03
Provide context regarding robot’s progress & whereabouts at a glance

04

Prevent tasks from being forgotten about & left undone
Usability Test Plan  ➚
Key Takeaway: Misalignment with User Expectations
01       Users need intuitive navigation to access key features and achieve their goals efficiently.
None of the caregivers knew how to quickly interrupt Willow to request assistance with urgent, high-priority tasks.
Improved Iteration: Reorganize the app's navigation menu to prioritize main features to streamline decision-making. Move application’s secondary features to top right corner of screen to make it less cluttered.
02      Users found the ability to add or modify tasks to be vague.
Most participants struggled to use the 'add a task' button due to its small size, and all were unsure if they could modify existing tasks.
Improved Iteration: Prioritize making scheduling tasks a central element in the nav bar for better visibility and thumb accessibility. Add a meatball menu next to each task to clearly indicate they can be modified.
03       Users expected the task page to follow a calendar format.
Participants were confused by the repetition of information on the home page and expected a more organized, time-based view of the tasks.
Improved Iteration: Add hour markers to the left of each task and a dotted line to show the user's current position in the agenda. Include start and end times for tasks to provide a clear, time-based overview at a glance

High-Fidelity Mockups

SUGGESTED TASKS
TASK MANAGEMENT
ON-DEMAND INTERRUPTIONS

Visual Style Guide

I created the app’s visual style guide to streamline our workflow and ensure consistency through reusable components and standardized patterns.
REFLECTION

Measuring Success

Ideally, I would like to test the robot’s operational efficiency and its impact on caregivers’ workloads. By measuring how much time the robot saves compared to manual cleaning and how much time care staff can redirect towards essential activities due to the robot's integration into their workflow, we can make informed decisions on future iterations.

Next Steps

Conduct usability tests in 1-2 local facilities through Wizard of Oz techniques to gauge how it meshes into facility workflows. This allows us to gain valuable feedback and refine the product roadmap before investing time and resources into fully developing the software and hardware component of our design.
Assess multi-user needs, such as how the app would enable multiple staff members to login and manage the robot's schedule. The current MVP assumes 1 account per robot, however multi-user accounts can enhance communication and transparency. While further research and testing will determine if this adjustment is necessary, here's a rough sketch of a shared portal that allows multiple users to manage the robot's schedule collaboratively:

Additional Considerations

Since the robot will be operating in a space where vulnerable residents live, it's important that it should not be intimidating or frightening - especially for elderly residents who may have cognitive impairments. The robot should be designed to be quiet, gentle in its movements, and non-disruptive to avoid upsetting residents. It can be designed to engage with residents in future iterations in a non-intrusive way (ie. playing calm music while cleaning or saying hello in the presence of residents).

Key Learnings

Involve your Engineers & PMs Early
Early collaboration minimizes late-stage revisions because we can understand technical limitations, define business goals, and address potential challenges early on.
Embracing Ambiguity leads to Growth
During this project, I encountered several design requests that pushed me outside my comfort zone, requiring me to learn advanced Figma features on the fly. Despite limited prior experience, I embraced the ambiguity by breaking down the challenges into manageable steps, seeking out resources, and iterating until the desired results were achieved. This experience strengthened my ability to adapt quickly, get scrappy, compromise with stakeholders, and deliver impactful designs under evolving requirements and limited resources.

Project Impact

After finalizing our idea, we visited one of the facilities were spoke to early on to conduct market research to evaluate our design intervention & assess service demand.

After speaking with an associate executive director, we learned they were willing to pay for & try our product if it were available.