2024
Dot
Designing a tracking platform built to empower individuals managing PCOS symptoms
Master's Thesis
Dot
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition affecting about 6 million women in the United States, causing a variety of unpredictable and complex symptoms like abnormal menstrual cycles, weight gain, severe acne, pelvic pain, excess body hair, and more. This hormonal disorder disrupts the menstrual cycle along with an individual's physical and emotional well-being, making it erratic and difficult to manage. This leaves those with PCOS struggling to predict and cope with the condition's daily challenges.
Motivated to address this gap and recognizing a real need, I embarked on a solo design project to explore how tracking systems could better support women in managing their PCOS symptoms through lifestyle changes. The result? Dot., a tracking platform designed to empower women managing their PCOS symptoms. It provides a seamless, adaptive, and supportive experience that helps users track and navigate the lifestyle changes they make to alleviate the physical and emotional effects of PCOS.
Kick Off
After settling on my thesis topic, my initial research was grounded by these central questions:
How might we allow PCOS patients to log and monitor a wide range of evolving symptoms, interventions, and lifestyle factors.
How might we help people visualize the impact lifestyle changes may have on PCOS symptom progression?
Literature Review
Diving straight into secondary research to gather context for the problem area, I conducted a literature review by exploring articles, studies, and medical resources to build a foundation of information on PCOS management, lifestyle interventions, and current best practices for tracking health and wellness changes related to reproductive illnesses.
Survey
Equipped with a bit of context, I began conducting a variety of primary research activities. Starting with an exploratory survey, I aimed to better understand how individuals with PCOS manage their symptoms through lifestyle changes and what tools, resources, and strategies they currently use to track their progress and results. Fliers with a QR code directly participants to the survey were posted in the stalls of public restrooms across the Northwestern University campus along with coffee shops, libraries, and restaurants across Evanston and Chicago, Illinois.
Diving deeper into the challenges faced by individuals managing PCOS, I designed a screener survey and conducted one-on-one interviews with 15 participants. These discussions explored the daily tasks and lifestyle changes they have made to manage their symptoms, how they track their progress, and what resources or tools could help make their journey easier.
Capturing stories across a diverse set of individuals with PCOS became a key exercise in developing empathy for my target user group and began sparking a variety of rich insights. In recruiting participants, I specifically sought out people who actively track their symptoms and lifestyle adjustments in some form, ensuring a variety of experiences and approaches to symptom management.
I then attended a virtual PCOS conference with medical professionals, where I gained a healthcare provider’s perspective on what is crucial to track during the progression of PCOS. This allowed me to explore key medical insights and expert recommendations for managing the condition from a clinical viewpoint.
Equipped with a foundation of research, I dove into a competitive analysis of existing resources. This analysis covered current popular menstrual tracking apps, general health tracking apps, and habit tracking apps, analyzed with a focus on design elements in mobile and smartwatch interfaces.
Through this competitive analysis, the current white space became clearer—most existing menstruation trackers do not account for lifestyle changes or integrate with smartwatches. This gap creates a challenge for individuals managing PCOS, as they struggle to find a comprehensive solution that tracks both their symptoms and the lifestyle adjustments they are making in a single product.
User Testing
Aiming to create a digital solution that addresses both symptom tracking and lifestyle changes for PCOS management, I dove into ideation. Working closely with my mentors and peers, I refined the most impactful ideas and began developing digital prototypes.
Experimenting with a digital solution for tracking symptoms and lifestyle changes, I created an initial prototype. I gathered feedback from 5 users on their experience with the app and its ease of use.
Iteration
After a second round of usability testing and feedback, I began refining the final direction for the app and establishing its user interface design. I experimented with different layouts, colors, and visual elements - ultimately finalizing the design for Dot.
End Product
At the end of the 20 week long journey, I presented the final version of Dot., a tracking platform designed to empower women managing their PCOS symptoms. It provides a seamless, adaptive, and supportive experience that helps users track and navigate the lifestyle changes they make to alleviate the physical and emotional effects of PCOS.
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