A 16 week long research study into the workplace mental health care space.
The service is focused on improving individual self-awareness and then helping individuals improve their lifestyles through better self-management.
__Overview
16 week thesis internship
Initially, this Quan project aimed to help users with starting and maintaining well-being habits. However, along the journey with Quan, this aim shifted and became more about providing users with the right tools at the right time to aid their well-being journey in the areas that need it the most.
Quan wanted me to identify and understand how people create and sustain habits by performing user research and academic research for behavioral design.
ROLE
UX Researcher and Designer
TEAM
Product Design Team
TOOLS
__Company Background
Quan was founded in March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the world needs a solution that can help people with their well-being. They realised that there is a growing market for preventative wellbeing solutions, and they argue that wellbeing is critical to success and to avoid burnouts.
__Problem statement
Workplace mental health interventions often fail to meet individual needs, leading to disengagement and underuse. Quan sought to create a digital platform that empowers users to improve their well-being across five dimensions: Mind, Body, Meaning, Self-Fulfillment, and Social Connectedness. The challenge was to design an intuitive system that motivates users to adopt healthier habits and sustain them long-term.
__Solution Summary
I designed a well-being platform for Quan that provides personalised tools and guidance to help users manage their mental health effectively. By applying design thinking and user-centered research, I created a system that balances simplicity and functionality, allowing users to focus on their personal growth with minimal effort.
Before
After
__The Process
I used the Desing Thinking Process used by the Interactive Desing Foundation. Starting with the empathising phase and followed by the defining and ideating phase. Finally, the prototyping and testing phase. This process is rarely a straight line and can go on forever. It was especially challenging to use this process with Quan as they worked with a 2-week scrum model and monthly Demos.
Naturally, I would have started research and design for mobile-first, but due to the work context of this solution and time limitation, Quan decided to start with a desktop solution. For this challenge, I started with desk research, user interviews and some ideation sessions. I also made sure to look through the data already researched and provided by the company. I cross-referenced my findings with relevant theories I learned during my studies.
After I defined the problem, I used the insights to create 6 design principles and 12 user stories. This was only the beginning of constant loop between ideating, prototyping, testing and defining until I got to my final solution and the end of my internship.
__Research Set-up
Research Questions
Main:
How might we create an intuitive system that facilitates and motivates the user to work on their well-being
with Quan?
Sub-Questions:
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What makes a system intuitive? How can I apply that to Quan's "Journey"?
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What do the users expect from a well-being system? What do they already use? What kind of tools do users expect Quan to provide?
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What kind of tool and/or functionalities should Quan provide that can motivate users to use the platform?
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What kind of user flow do other well-being platforms put into place?
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What constitutes a good flow and narrative for Quan users?
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Quan wants to make users feel comfortable. What makes a system feel comfortable?
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What does the journey look like? What does it mean to the users and what's Quan's role in the user's journey?
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What kind of onboarding flow can be put in place to make the users not feel overwhelmed?
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Are users interested in personalising their journey? And if so, what is the best way to find the balance between hand-holding and giving more free reign?
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What can be put in place to make a symbiotic onboarding system between all the different paths of the journey?
Project Plan
What made this project a success for me was my ability to plan and closely stick to my plan. Below is a summarised overview I created the first week at work.
__Empathising
I conducted user interviews, reviewed existing research, and analyzed industry trends to uncover pain points in workplace mental health solutions.
Key Insights:
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Users felt overwhelmed by generic well-being tools that lacked customization.
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Most users wanted a simple, aesthetically pleasing interface with actionable, relevant recommendations.
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A majority expressed a desire for progress tracking and community features to foster accountability.
User Quote: “I want a tool that doesn’t feel like another task—just something that fits naturally into my routine.”
User Journey Map
For people in the workplace to use a mental health solution, they must embark on the following path:
Design Principles
Minimal Effort
Users should achieve goals with minimal time and effort.
Guided Autonomy
Provide flexible tools while offering optional guidance.
Aesthetic Appeal
Visually appealing designs increase perceived usability.
Community Engagement
Foster a sense of belonging through shared experiences.
Progress Tracking
Allow users to see and celebrate their achievements.
Fun Interactions
Include small, rewarding moments to encourage continued use.
See section 3.3 in my thesis document for all research conclusions.
__Defining
Problem Statement
Desk research was a crucial part of my process because it is summarised and collated data that increases the overall effectiveness of the research. I also did not have the time to do Quantitative research on my own, and in a sense, these books and theories result from quantitative research done by experts. Among the books I read were:
Prioritizing User Needs
Simplicity
Minimise effort required to engage with the platform.
Personalisation
Balance hand-holding for beginners with autonomy for experienced users.
Motivation
Incorporate rewards, progress tracking, and community features.
Designing Process
The design process was split into 4 sprints, meaning I would have two demos to show a solution. I broke down all the user's stories into relevant sprints and discussed with the team if they were aligned with their goals. Once these were discussed it was the beginning of the ideate, prototype and test cycle. I will show some examples here of different sorints, but for the full comprehensive explanation please see Section 5.0 of my thesis paper.
__Ideation
Brainstormed solutions based on user pain points and design principles. Explored onboarding flows, personalised dashboards, and habit-building tools.
Getting inspired, bringing Quan together
Sprint 1 Ideation
Sprint 4 Ideation
Scribbling, drawing, sketching
Wireframing
__Prototyping
Created high-fidelity wireframes showcasing a personalised well-being dashboard to test navigation and feature placement
Sprint 1 Results
Sprint 2 iteration
Sprint 3 iteration
__Testing
Conducted remote usability tests and Iterated designs based on feedback, addressing confusion in navigation and improving dashboard clarity.
__Final Results
Key Insights & Impact
Enhanced User Engagement
Simplified navigation and personalized features reduced onboarding time by an estimated 30%.
Improved Usability
High-fidelity prototypes tested with users revealed an 80% task completion rate for key actions.
Stakeholder Alignment
Developed a clear roadmap and presented findings to Quan’s leadership, aligning the platform’s features with business goals.
Challenges
Balancing Complexity and Simplicity
Users had diverse needs, and designing a platform that catered to both novice and experienced users risked making the interface overly complex.
Limited Time for Quantitative Research
There wasn’t enough time to conduct large-scale quantitative studies, which could have provided broader insights into user needs.
Testing in a Remote Environment
Conducting usability tests remotely via Zoom limited the ability to observe non-verbal cues and immediate reactions.
See section 3.3 in my thesis document for all research conclusions.