Product Experience
Problem Space
“How might we help individuals managing chronic illnesses track their health more effectively while enabling caregivers and doctors to intervene at the right time?”
Problem Background
“Since the rise of wearable health technology and AI-powered insights, there is an increasing demand for personalized health tracking that provides real-time alerts and data-driven recommendations. Many patients struggle with adherence to medication, tracking vitals consistently, and recognizing early warning signs of deterioration, which leads to preventable emergency visits.”
Who is the customer, and what is the need or problem we’re addressing?
Customers include individuals managing chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), caregivers, and healthcare providers. Many patients struggle with consistent health tracking, medication adherence, and recognizing early warning signs of deterioration. This leads to complications, increased hospital visits, and higher healthcare costs.
📊 User Research Insights
The research included qualitative interviews with 7 individuals living with or managing chronic conditions. Key findings included:
- 86% of participants said they forget to take medication at least once a week.
- 71% said they would prefer a tool that integrates with their existing wearable devices.
- 100% expressed interest in receiving AI-generated recommendations tailored to their health goals.
- 57% of caregivers interviewed said they feel anxious about not having real-time updates on their loved one’s health.
- 43% of users stated they have experienced an emergency health event in the past 12 months that could have been prevented with earlier intervention.
These insights reinforced the urgent need for a personalized, proactive, and easy-to-use health tracking tool like VitalSync.
📈 Key Statistics
- Diabetes & Hypertension Prevalence:
- Over 422 million people worldwide have diabetes (WHO, 2023).
- Hypertension affects 1.28 billion adults globally, with fewer than 50% aware of their condition (WHO, 2023).
- In Canada, 1 in 4 adults has high blood pressure, and 1 in 3 adults has prediabetes or diabetes (Government of Canada, 2023).
- Medication Adherence & Health Tracking:
- 50% of chronic disease patients do not take medications as prescribed (CDC, 2022).
- Studies show digital health monitoring improves adherence by 30% and reduces hospital visits by 15% (McKinsey, 2023).
- Wearable health device adoption is growing, with over 1 billion wearable health devices projected to be in use by 2025 (Statista, 2024).
Why now?
- Chronic diseases are on the rise globally, increasing the demand for digital health solutions.
- AI advancements enable real-time personalized health monitoring.
- Wearable device adoption is growing, making remote health tracking more feasible.
- Healthcare systems are shifting toward preventive care to reduce long-term costs.
How do we know this is a problem?
- Studies show that 50% of patients with chronic illnesses do not adhere to their prescribed treatments.
- Market research indicates a growing demand for AI-powered health monitoring tools.
- Existing solutions either lack AI-driven insights or fail to integrate seamlessly with different health devices.
Goals
What are we trying to accomplish?
- Improve health outcomes by increasing adherence to treatment plans.
- Provide users with real-time, AI-powered health insights.
- Reduce emergency hospital visits through early warnings.
- Enable caregivers and healthcare providers to track patient health remotely.
- Ensure user privacy and data security through compliance with HIPAA/GDPR.
Research Insights
User Pain Points
- Patients: Difficulty in tracking vitals and medication adherence.
- Caregivers: Lack of real-time remote monitoring for loved ones.
- Doctors: Overwhelmed by manual data collection instead of focusing on patient care.
Supporting Data
- 50% of chronic disease patients do not take medications as prescribed (CDC, 2022).
- 85% of people we interviewed mentioned they wanted AI-driven reminders and health insights to improve adherence.
- Wearable health device adoption is projected to surpass 1 billion devices by 2025 (Statista, 2024).
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we prioritized these features:
- AI-powered vitals tracking – Integrates with wearables and allows manual input.
- Personalized health insights – AI analyzes trends and gives actionable recommendations.
- Real-time emergency alerts – Notifies caregivers and doctors in critical situations.
- Medication & appointment reminders – Keeps patients on track with health plans.
- Doctor & caregiver dashboards – Enables remote monitoring and better health interventions.
Explanation of Solution
“After showcasing our prototype, 90% of test users found the AI-generated health insights helpful. Caregivers were excited about real-time alerts, and doctors appreciated the ability to see trends instead of relying on manual check-ups.”
User Flows/Mockups
Key Screens:
- Vitals Dashboard: Real-time tracking of heart rate, BP, glucose levels.
- AI Chat Assistant: Users can ask health-related questions.
- Emergency Alerts: Immediate notifications for critical health events.
- Doctor’s Portal: Patient health trends and treatment recommendations.
Future Steps
“This is what we learned from speaking to users and industry experts:”
- Integration with pharmacies for medication refills.
- Predictive analytics to detect early signs of deterioration.
- Insurance partnerships to incentivize preventive health monitoring.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Eme Edim
Working on VitalSync deepened my understanding of AI-powered health tracking, user research, and stakeholder collaboration. I learned how to translate user pain points into actionable features and optimize the balance between AI automation and human decision-making in healthcare
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.