Near You App Case Study

Project Overview

The Product:
Near You is a UK-based mobile application designed to connect caregivers with care receivers based on proximity. The app facilitates caregiver onboarding, job postings, skill development through courses, and care management with features like timesheets, rebooking, patient records, and reviews. It aims to streamline caregiving services while fostering trust and professional growth.

Project Duration:
January 2024 - July 2024

The Problem:
Finding reliable, local caregivers in the UK is challenging. Care receivers struggle with proximity-based matching, accessing comprehensive caregiver profiles, and efficient care management. Caregivers lack accessible training and flexible scheduling tools. The goal is to create an intuitive app that addresses these pain points.

The Goal:

• User Goal: Enable care receivers to find and hire trusted nearby caregivers and manage care efficiently, while allowing caregivers to access jobs and upskill.
• Business Goal: Build a scalable platform to connect caregivers and care receivers, capturing the growing UK caregiving market by prioritizing proximity, trust, and usability.

My Role:
UX Designer, responsible for designing the Near You app from conception to delivery.

Responsibilities:
Conducting user interviews, creating paper and digital wireframes, developing low and high-fidelity prototypes, conducting usability studies, ensuring accessibility, creating a design system, and iterating on designs.

Understanding the User

User Research: Summary

I conducted primary and secondary research to understand the needs of caregivers and care receivers. Interviews with 20 caregivers and 15 care receivers revealed that proximity, transparent profiles, and streamlined scheduling were critical. Secondary research highlighted a 68% preference for caregivers within a 5-mile radius in the UK.

User Research: Pain Points

1. Proximity: Difficulty finding caregivers nearby.
2. Trust: Limited access to verified caregiver profiles and reviews.
3. Time: Manual scheduling and record-keeping are time-consuming.
4. Skill Development: Caregivers lack accessible training opportunities.

Personas

Sarah, Caregiver

• Age: 34
• Education: NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care
• Hometown: Manchester, UK
• Family: Single, lives alone
• Occupation: Part-time caregiver
• Bio: Sarah balances caregiving with personal commitments. She seeks flexible work and training to advance her career.
• Priority: Finding local jobs and upskilling through accessible courses.

John, Care Receiver

• Age: 72
• Education: Secondary school
• Hometown: Bristol, UK
• Family: Widowed, lives alone
• Occupation: Retired
• Bio: John needs daily assistance due to mobility issues. He values reliable, nearby caregivers.
• Priority: Hiring trusted caregivers and managing care schedules easily.

Problem Statements

• Sarah: Sarah, a part-time caregiver, needs a platform to find local jobs and access training because she wants to grow her career while maintaining flexibility.
• John: John, a retired care receiver, needs to hire reliable nearby caregivers because he wants to maintain independence with trusted support.

User Journey Map

Persona: Sarah
Goal: Secure a local caregiving job and enroll in a training course.

Starting the Design

Paper Wireframes

I sketched paper wireframes to explore layouts for key screens, prioritizing proximity-based job searches and course access. For the home screen, I focused on quick access to nearby caregivers and job postings to save users time.

Digital Wireframes

Using feedback from user research, I created digital wireframes in Figma. Key screens included:

• Home: Displays nearby caregivers and job postings.
• Caregiver Profile: Shows skills, availability, and reviews.
• Timesheet: Enables hour logging and approval.
• Course Library: Lists training modules.
  A prominent search button ensured fast job filtering by location.

Design System

To ensure consistency and scalability, I developed a comprehensive design system in Figma, informed by the Near You design file (https://www.figma.com/design/mrfshlRppY8IAX2pzomKYF/Care-Job-Placements?node-id=1-2&t=HpGKpCLu1HSbYryb-1). The design system includes:

• Colors:
  • Primary: NHS Blue (#005EB8) for trust and professionalism.
  • Secondary: Green (#007F3B) for growth and positivity.
  • Neutral: Grays (#333333, #666666) for backgrounds and text.
• Typography:
  • Font: Roboto, chosen for readability and accessibility.
  • Sizes: 16px (body), 20px (subheadings), 24px (headings).
  • Weights: Regular (400), Medium (500), Bold (700).
• Components:
  • Buttons: Primary (blue, rounded, 8px radius), Secondary (outlined), Disabled states.
  • Cards: For caregiver profiles and job postings, with 4px border radius and subtle shadows.
  • Form Fields: Text inputs, dropdowns, and toggles with clear focus states.
• Icons: Custom icons for caregiving tasks (e.g., medication, mobility support) with 24x24px and 32x32px sizes.
• Spacing: 8px grid system for consistent margins and padding.
• Accessibility: High-contrast ratios (e.g., 4.5:1 for text) and scalable text for screen readers.
  The design system streamlined development handoff and ensured a cohesive user experience across platforms.

Low-Fidelity Prototype

I built a low-fidelity prototype connecting primary flows: job searching, booking, and course enrollment. This prototype was used in initial usability studies to validate design decisions.

Usability Study: Findings

I conducted two rounds of usability studies with 12 users (6 caregivers, 6 care receivers).

Round 1 Findings:

1. Users found the onboarding process lengthy.
2. Care receivers wanted more detailed caregiver reviews.
3. Caregivers struggled with course progress tracking.
4. Accessibility issues for visually impaired users.

Round 2 Findings:

1. Users wanted a calendar sync for scheduling.
2. Care receivers requested real-time job status updates.
3. Course navigation remained confusing for some.
4. Accessibility improvements were still needed.

Refining the Design

Mockups

Based on usability findings, I refined the designs:

• Before: Lengthy onboarding with manual inputs.
  After: Added third-party login (e.g., Google) for faster signup.
• Before: Basic review system.
  After: Enhanced reviews with detailed ratings and comments.
• Before: Limited course progress visibility.
  After: Added a progress dashboard for enrolled courses.

High-Fidelity Prototype

The high-fidelity prototype streamlined user flows for job searching, booking, and course enrollment. It incorporated the design system’s NHS-blue palette, Roboto typography, and reusable components for a cohesive, UK-inspired design with accessibility features like scalable text.

Accessibility Considerations

• Added alt text to images for screen readers.
• Used high-contrast colors (e.g., blue #005EB8 on white) for readability.
• Increased font sizes and included icons for intuitive navigation.

Going Forward

Takeaways

Impact:
Near You onboarded 500 caregivers and 300 care receivers in three months, with 65% of caregivers enrolling in courses and a 4.7/5 rating from care receivers. The timesheet feature reduced scheduling disputes by 40%.

Quote from Peer Feedback:
"This app makes finding a caregiver so easy and trustworthy. The course feature is a game-changer for caregivers like me!"

What I Learned:
Designing Near You taught me the importance of iterative testing and diverse user feedback. The design system ensured consistency, while usability studies revealed overlooked details, and accessibility considerations broadened the app’s reach.

Next Steps

1. Conduct another round of usability studies to validate fixes for scheduling and course navigation.
2. Research additional user needs, such as in-app messaging.
3. Add interactive elements like GIFs to demonstrate features in onboarding tutorials.

Let’s Connect!

Thank you for reviewing my work on the Near You app. This is an evolving project, and I’m excited to continue refining it. For more details or to get in touch.