Kaiser Permanente
Case Study
Enhancing User Retention and Functionality for Kaiser Permanente's Mobile App
March 2020
Project Overview
Problem Statement
Through our research, we identified several challenges users were facing within the app. This project focused on developing solutions to enhance the functionality, personalization, and overall efficiency of Kaiser Permanente's mobile application.
My Role
I oversaw product design for a team of seven designers, serving as the primary liaison for the product team. I actively participated in bi-weekly sprints, carried out UX research, and collaborated closely with engineering to ensure feasibility.
Solution
Through the application of Design Thinking and a comprehensive approach to the user experience, I leveraged a range of research methods to gain deep insights into user needs. This included gathering both quantitative and qualitative data, conducting stakeholder interviews, and analyzing feedback to align user goals with company objectives.
Design Process
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Define
Business Analysis
User Research Review
Dev Feasability
Competitive Analysis
Empathize
User Personas
Empathy Map
User Journey Map
User Interviews
Ideate
User Flow Diagrams
Information Architecture
Wireframes
UX Variations
Prototype
Design Reviews
Visual Design polish
High-Fidelity Prototypes
A/B Testing
Test
Moderated Testing
Usability Testing
Compliance Review
Dev Review
01. Empathize / Discovery
We conducted interviews and surveys with 25 participants via video calls to gain deeper insights into KP's demographic and their needs. I regularly reviewed the findings with product managers and stakeholders to ensure alignment with expectations, budget, and scope.
User Research
To further optimize and tune the app for an improved user experience with the advent of COVID and increased demand for mobile healthcare. This included addressing evolving user needs and ensuring the app could handle the growing reliance on digital healthcare solutions.
Goal
The top 3 reasons patients use the Kaiser Permanente App are to schedules appointments, order prescriptions, and to contact their physicians.
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However, our research found that users often face friction in these processes due to unclear navigation, limited appointment availability, and delays in messaging response times. Improving the app’s usability and streamlining these key actions could significantly enhance the patient experience.
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Many users expressed frustration with the multi-step process required to complete simple tasks, such as confirming an appointment or tracking a prescription refill. Additionally, some patients, particularly older users, found it challenging to navigate the app’s interface, highlighting the need for a more intuitive and accessible design.
60% of patients preferred accessing their account on mobile while 40% preferred desktop.
40% of patients preferred remote care compared to 60% still preferring in-person only care.
Key Insights
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The survey revealed that remote care is increasingly becoming a demand and expectation among users, emphasizing the critical need for strong usability, personalization, and simplicity within the app. Additionally, this insight highlighted the importance of designing features that seamlessly integrate into users' daily lives to enhance accessibility and satisfaction.
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The top reasons that the participants used the app were primarily communication with their doctors and scheduling appointments.​
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Users stated that there were some features and widgets on the app that they did not understand and found confusing.
02. Define
Leveraging Kaiser's existing detailed user personas along with data gathered from high-level user interviews, we created user journey maps to gain deeper insights into our users' goals, motivations, and pain points. This process helped us identify critical touchpoints and opportunities to enhance their overall experience.
User Research
Journey Mapping
User Flows
03. Ideation
Drawing from user interviews, surveys, and competitive analysis, I collaborated with my team to brainstorm and define key elements and features to include in the app. We began by creating low-fidelity wireframes to outline the fundamental structure, layout, and components of the user experience. This approach allowed us to quickly test and iterate on ideas before moving into more detailed design phases.
After a few rounds of revisions based on preference testing and stakeholder reviews, we added 'Important Alerts' and 'Upcoming Visits' to further personalize the user experience. We also optimized the section where users can directly message their doctors by adding portraits and refined our designs into Hi-Fi wireframes.
04. Prototyping
Building on strong foundations from the Define and Ideation stages, we developed high-fidelity interactive prototypes. These designs were prepared for A/B testing against our existing user experience and refined through collaboration with ADA and design system teams to ensure full compliance. This meticulous preparation allowed us to confidently move forward into usability testing with user-ready designs.
05. Testing
One of the first insights we verified from the usability study was the most recognizable and clear icon and verbiage combination for the key thumb nav items. We found that the stethoscope icon that was supposed to represent "Appointment" did not translate effectively for 60% percent of users so we revised it to represent a calendar.
This finding emphasized the need to align visual elements with user expectations for intuitive navigation. Switching the icon to a calendar created a stronger association with appointments, while refining the label improved clarity. Follow-up tests showed a 35% increase in recognition, enhancing overall usability.
From user interviews, participants expressed how unnecessary the Billings and Medical Records tabs are on the primary message page. This was initially thought to be a more convenient place for the users to access it. I relocated these two categories to the menu section of the homepage, upon future interviews I confirmed this was a good design decision and users had no issues finding the new location. This also made the primary message page less cluttered and an overall cleaner experience.
Results
By following UI/UX best practices and focusing on user centered design, this iteration of the native mobile apps thumb nav was successfully released to users and resulted in a 7% reduction in customer support calls for technical support.
Continued iterations have been underway to migrate to MyChart as a third party bi-furcated experience. The team process and testing verification process implemented here layed the foundation for that immense migration current underway for the Kaiser suite of digital services.