Healthcare & Wellness

Research & user interface design for alcohol recovery mobile app

COMPANY

Reboot Wellness

ROLE

UX/UI Design Intern

EXPERTISE

Mobile Product Design

YEAR

2016

Project Statement

The struggle to overcome alcohol addiction significantly impacts individuals' well-being and various aspects of their lives. An effective solution is sought to empower those with alcohol dependence to achieve recovery and lead a balanced, healthy life.

Project Overview

Goal

Design a mobile-first platform that empowers individuals recovering from alcohol addiction, while supporting psychiatrists in monitoring progress and providing ongoing care.


Challenge

Individuals struggling with alcohol addiction face significant personal, physical, and emotional hurdles. However, most digital recovery tools fail to:

  • Provide personalized support tailored to recovery stages

  • Offer real-time accountability or habit tracking

  • Facilitate psychiatrist-patient communication effectively

Psychiatrists also struggle to monitor patient progress without a structured, user-friendly system.

Goals

  • Understand motivations and challenges in addiction recovery

  • Identify usability gaps in existing recovery tools

  • Explore psychiatrists’ needs for patient tracking and communication

Process

Interviews reveal a strong desire for personal accountability in recovery and a need for tailored online recovery tools. Efficient recovery assessment and improved communication with psychiatrists are key takeaways:

  • 8 In-depth Interviews: 5 individuals in recovery, 3 psychiatrists

  • Explored: Motivation, relapse triggers, therapy experience, app usage habits

Key Insights

🧭 Personal Accountability Matters

⚠️ Generic Apps Don’t Work

🧑⚕️ Psychiatrist-Patient Communication is Crucial



‍

Personas

Raj – Lifestyle Heavy Drinker

  • Goal: Regain control over health & life

  • Pain Points: Emotional withdrawal, lack of structure

  • Needs: Habit-tracking, personalized recovery steps

Dr. Tanya – Psychiatrist

  • Goal: Track patient adherence and progress

  • Pain Points: Infrequent check-ins, no visibility into patient behaviors

  • Needs: Clear reporting dashboard, secure messaging

Design Approach

Information Architecture

Information Architecture was used to structure addiction recovery and assessment apps based on user goals and needs of individuals in recovery and psychiatrists.

Structured around 3 key user groups:

  • Individuals in Recovery

  • Psychiatrists

  • Caregivers

After a comprehensive analysis of the timeline and budget, we worked closely with the client to redefine the project scope. The new scope included three distinct app focus phases for the initial launch:

  • Individuals with alcohol dependency

  • The Psychiatrist

  • Caregiver/Family

High-Fidelity Designs

I created high-fidelity wireframes with concrete layouts and elements to visualize the app's design and functionality for the client.

Key Features

  • Personalized Recovery Plans

  • Progress Dashboards

  • Communication Module

Usability Testing

‍During the Moderated Task-Based Usability testing, it was discovered that participants were unaware of the customization option for the diet chart. As a result, they accessed the diet plan based on their usual habits without realizing they had the ability to personalize it to suit their preferences.

Method

Moderated, task-based tests with 5 participants from both user groups.

Issues & Fixes

  • Issue: Users missed the option to personalize diet plans

    • Fix: Added arrows + tooltips

    • Quote: "I didn’t realize I could tailor my chart—it wasn’t obvious."

  • Issue: Uploading lab reports via card sorting confused users

    • Fix: Added hover effects + clear ‘Upload’ button

    • Quote: "I had no idea these were clickable."


Outcomes

  • Conducted comprehensive user research within a limited timeframe.

  • Effectively managed and streamlined extensive research and interview data, ensuring that the information is readily accessible and beneficial for users and stakeholders.

Reflections

  • Collaboration with psychiatrists was key to designing truly supportive features

  • Designing for vulnerable users taught me to balance clarity, empathy, and empowerment

  • Testing early helped us validate assumptions and prevent friction in key flows