The TELL-Tool, originally a research project, is a digital resource designed to support families in informing children about their donor gamete or embryo origins, promoting their psychological and emotional well-being.
Problem Statement
The TELL-Tool which was originally a web-based platform, faced challenges with limited customization, poor navigation, and lack of mobile accessibility. Our team of 4 was tasked with transforming the tool into a mobile-friendly solution by conducting research, gathering user insights, and identifying key features, all while maintaining its core mission to foster healthy family conversations about donor origins.
Project Phases
Design Process
Research Goals
The goal of this research was to understand how parents interact with the TELL-Tool, identify usability challenges, and explore their expectations for a mobile version. I aimed to assess user experience and satisfaction with the current platform, identify opportunities for personalization, and understand the specific needs of different user demographics. Additionally, I sought to gather insights on how the tool could be optimized for both web and mobile use to better support parents in discussing genetic origins with their children.
Research Methods
Qualitative User Research: Conducted in-depth interviews with parents to understand their experiences and identify pain points. Gather insights to inform design improvements.
Usability Testing: Performed usability testing with 4 parents to evaluate the current wireframe. Analyzed how users interact with the tool and identify any usability issues.
Competitive Analysis: Analyzed direct competitors like and indirect tools such as counseling services. Identified features and design strategies that can enhance the tool.
Affinity Diagramming, Journey Mapping, Personas and Storyboarding: Synthesized qualitative data from interviews to create personas, journey maps, and storyboards, showing key needs, user flows to inform design decisions.
Key Research Findings
100% of participants found the navigation confusing and expressed difficulty using the portal/dashboard/menu. All participants felt lost at some point during their interaction with the tool.
75% of participants mentioned that the next and back buttons were not intuitive and did not appear clickable at first glance.
50% of participants expressed frustration with verbose content on the introduction pages, saying they would likely skip reading it.
Design Solution
Solution 1: Personalization Elements
User Profiles
Customized Course based on demographics
Ability to edit preferences and profile details
Solution 2: Enhanced Navigation
Floating Navigation Bar
Easy access to recent pages on home page
Learning module navigation
Ability to trace back
Solution 3: Resources and Progress Tracking
Resources Page for extra resources
Ability to chat with advisors and/or other parents (permission controlled)
Practice Section to ease nerves
Design Iterations
Key Performance Indicators
Constraints
Participants had to be referred by the client due to strict confidentiality agreements.
All interview questions required client approval to avoid overlap with existing research.
Limited flexibility in recruitment and communication with interviewees.
Limitations with sharing specific information during interviews that play a key role in the research.
Limitations with implementing certain functionality and features.
Privacy concerns.
Appendix
