Overview
There are many children in the U.S. that have spent a night or many nights in the hospital. Eating in the hospital for children can be somewhat challenging. There are multiple reasons for that, but I’d like to address one of those challenges…simply just ordering food.
Problem
Ordering food for your child while they're admitted in the hospital can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
My thoughts on this problem
Currently, in some hospitals you can only order by phone. In others, you have to make selections on a paper menu and hope it doesn't get lost. I want to provide patients (children) and caregivers with an opportunity to order their meals online with online which will reduce time in ordering and errors.
Time to gather information
As a caregiver/father, I have experience with ordering meals while my child has been admitted in the hospital. I can personally attest to the issues of time and errors with ordering meals over the phone.
I wanted to know if there was a need for an online ordering app. I created a qualitative research plan to find out. I ran 30 minute in-person semi-structured interviews with five participants.
The next step in resolving this problem is to synthesize all of the data that I've gathered during my research. The results from my 30 minute in-person semi-structured interviews gave me a good amount of data. I created an affinity diagram based on those interviews.
My research goal
I want to validate my belief that patients (children) and caregivers would like a better way to order meals (room service) while they’re in the hospital. Would ordering meals online be acceptable to all? Is there a need for this type of ordering service? Could this bring value to their lives? I’m looking forward to learning more throughout this process.
Interview questions
Have you ordered meals from within the hospital room before?
Have you ordered meals as a patient (child) or caregiver?
How was your experience ordering via the phone?
Were there any issues with your order?
Have you experienced a time when you did not receive your meal?
Have you experienced receiving an order that was not correct?
3. Would this be a useful feature for you?
Gathering and making sense of the data
The next step in resolving this problem is to synthesize all of the data that I've gathered during my research. The results from my 30 minute in-person semi-structured interviews gave me a good amount of data. I created an affinity diagram based on those interviews.
Research notes
Affinity map
I created a research report that can be used along with my research. It also afforded me the ability to keep the needs of patients and caregivers at the forefront of the design. Below are three key findings from my research. I've also included my recommendations for addressing each of those findings within the design. View the full Research Report.
Key Finding #2
All 5 participants are currently not able to order meals online. The patient and caregivers I interviewed are only able to order over the phone.
Recommendation #2
Design an app that seamlessly walks the patient or caregiver one step at a time through the ordering process. Give them the option to choose a meal type to order and include imagery as reference for each meal item.
Key Finding #3
One of the problems that was mentioned multiple times was the issue of either missing meals or receiving the wrong meals.
Recommendation #3
Provide an on-screen order summary and order confirmation after successfully completing an order. Display the patient name and room number on the order summary. Also, display the order number on the confirmation screen.
While brainstorming and sketching I decided to visualize the flow for patients and caregivers. I wanted to streamline the process and create one simple flow. Therefore, I chose to only focus on ordering from one category...breakfast.
Early sketches
Based on the problem statement I needed to design an app that not only provided caregivers and patients with the ability to order food online, but to also do it quickly and with minimal errors. I took this opportunity to began sketching ideas with pencil and paper.
I thought about the different ways to create the best flow with patients/caregivers in mind. I wanted to guide them from one screen to the next, all while accomplishing their goal of ordering a meal. I sketched a flow that brings the patient/caregiver from the log in screen to completing an order.
Testing my wireframes
For the next step I chose to create a wireframe (1st iteration) with Adobe XD. I took the information from my pencil and paper sketches and created the same flow for ordering breakfast. The first screen provides a patient/caregiver with the opportunity to either log in or sign up for an account. After a choice is made a selection of meal types (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) are displayed.
2nd wireframe iteration
I created a second wireframe with a few more details added into it. After the breakfast meal selection I added a link to provide an opportunity to order lunch or dinner directly from the breakfast menu. I included a "Featured" item just to provide a glimpse at an item from the menu. Testing using Lookback gave me confidence that I was on the right track with the design.
Bring on the final UI
After testing the 2nd iteration of the wireframe, I moved on to designing my first high-fidelity prototype of the app. The user flow of ordering breakfast is still the single most important part of the design. It remains at the forefront of what I'm attempting to accomplish (quick and error free orders). I wanted the design to be informal and relaxed. I chose colors that matched my idea of the app and who it was meant for. I added imagery for the menu items which increases the comfort level even beyond what you see with paper menus.
I designed this app with one goal in mind. Provide patients and caregivers with the ability to order meals while admitted in the hospital. Sounds simple enough, however the app needed to be attractive and functional with a user-centered approach.
Learnings
Continue to sketch out ideas using paper and pencil. I've realized that it is quicker and cheaper to start out this way. I'm not mentally tied to ideas that may not meet the project goals. If an idea doesn't work, it gets thrown out and I can quickly move on to the next idea.
One of the big takeaways I have from this project is to think about accessibility earlier in the project. Design with accessibility in mind from the beginning. This will reduce the amount of time during iterations while addressing those concerns.