TravWell

2 Week Sprint | 3 person Team | General Assembly

TravWell, powered by the Centers for Disease Control, is a mobile app for travelers who need access to health and safety information on-the-go.

 

OVERVIEW

The Center for Disease Control has two mobile apps--”Can I Eat This?” and “TravWell”--and the organization would like to condense both into one mobile app. The goal with the design was to create an MVP that made the information provided by the CDC as accessible as possible, without overwhelming users. We provided user research, personas, mobile site map, wireframes & prototype.

Following the initial designs, I continued testing and creating design features that built upon where my team left off. See "Version 2.0" below. 

The Client

The CDC is a government organization, and therefore we had to keep a few things in mind: accessibility (the app must abide by government usability standards), limited resources (the CDC is not equipped with as many resources as a tech company), organization goals (all health & safety information provided is important, and all people are important), & must be mobile (Users need to be able to retrieve important information while traveling abroad).     

 

Research

Understanding User Pain Points

With a grasp on the client's needs, as well as the frustrations of their previous apps & competitors, we went straight in to understanding the user (surveys & interviews). We went in with a goal of understanding what information people find most useful when preparing for international travel.

Interview & Survey Insights

  • People will eat new things no matter how risky.  "Can I Eat This?" tips had little to no affect on travelers' habits while abroad. Willingness to try street food or raw food in foreign countries correlates directly with personality, rather than being misinformed or uneducated. 
  • Government sites/apps are not trusted, reliable sources. Individuals equated government websites to a thing of the past--not typically up-to-date, trendy, or easy to use.
  • Non-health care professionals who travel (frequently or otherwise) would not think to research health or safety related tips. Regardless of experience levels with traveling, individuals seemed to put planning activities and food stops higher on the list when preparing.  
 

Personas

We developed personas based on the demographic information pulled from our surveys and interviews. Their goals and frustrations derived from pain points our interviewees described about travel prep.

  • [PRIMARY] Peter the Parent: Constant worrier, needs to be prepared. 

  • [SECONDARY] Sarah the Salesperson: On a time crunch, needs quick prep & a safe trip. 

  • [SECONDARY] Gretta the Graduate: Uninformed, needs help planning. 

 

MOBILE SITE MAP

We created a site map after sketching out our ideas, and after deciding on what information to "hide" and where post research insights. This helped us make sense of the information we new would be most useful to users. 

 

Designs

The question that helped us define the direction of our initial design was "Which persona can we design for that is within the CDC's scope?" Overwhelmingly, it seemed to be Peter. All of his needs, once translated in to features, provided use to all three personas and fit within scope. 

We re-created "Travwell" with a new design and new features with the intent of eliminating clutter and increasing accessibility.

  • "Can I Eat This?" tab
  • List view + labels for screen readers (accessibility standards)
  • Documents & Emergancy Contact info hidden within a profile page
 

WIREFRAMES

On-Boarding Tutorial

We created a tutorial that new users will see upon opening the app. The tutorial educates the user on different features within the app, and explains the scope of what TravWell provides. 

Trip Pages

Users start by creating a trip--add location, dates, then continue through the process of revealing info about the destination. 

Scheduling

After opening the vaccines list, users set schedules for doses based on CDC recommended timelines.

Tips & Profile

The entirety of "Can I Eat This?" shrunk down to one single page of food & drink "do's and don'ts." On most pages, users will see an icon that leads to a profile page to store emergency contact info and travel documents.  

 

Designs [Version 2.0]

The "Awareness" Issue

With a background in marketing, designing a solution to solve an over-arching business issue is intriguing. I decided to expand on our MVP by bringing it from a reference guide to a tool for compiling important tips, lists, and maps. By providing a useful service for travelers, we will eliminate the stigma associated with government sites/apps as well as get health & safety info in front of the user.    

UPDATED MOBILE SITE MAP:

New Features

The new layout and added features to the design allows for users to prepare for trips in a timely manner, access new information on-the-go, plan with fellow travelers and stay up-to-date on all real-time news. The new features accommodate for all three personas found in our original research.

  • Progress Bar: Track user "trip preparedness" progress, "gameifys" tool to reach a younger audience
  • Hamburger Menu: Allows for a smooth transition between pages, easy access 
  • Download Trip Page & Email to Friends: Gets the CDC in more pockets, helps users plan 
  • Enable Notifications: Within "Settings," allows for user to set reminders and alerts
 

WIREFRAMES

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