Signal
Explain the purpose and limits before asking for sensitive information.
The introduction states the time commitment, number of questions, and disclaimer so the user can decide whether to proceed.
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PCOS support · Mobile
Hermony: Supporting everyday PCOS care
A mobile PCOS support concept shaped by interviews and usability testing, designed to make daily tracking lighter and patterns easier to understand.
AudienceB2C
DomainHealthtech
RoleProduct designer
PlatformMobile
Year2024
ScopeCase study and prototype
Reading time7 min
View the product
The Hermony prototype covers daily check ins, pattern tracking, education, sharing, and support pathways.
30 Second Summary
RESEARCH BASE
35 interviews, 5 clinician consultations, and a 12 participant usability round informed the direction.
DESIGN MOVE
Reduce daily tracking to one required input, reveal optional detail progressively, and keep sharing user controlled.
VALIDATION
A 12 participant usability round led to one required daily input with progressive optional detail.
Overview
A PCOS support experience shaped by interviews and usability testing.
Hermony helps adults track symptoms with less effort, understand patterns, access education, and share information intentionally. I translated interview and clinician evidence into the product structure, interaction flows, and mobile visual system.
Problem
PCOS care was fragmented and emotionally demanding.
Symptoms, cycle changes, education, and care conversations were spread across disconnected tools. Tracking could become another burden, while users still lacked a clear way to interpret patterns or decide what to do next.
Research to interface
From uncertainty to a personalized next step.
Interview participants described fragmented information and uncertainty about what their symptoms meant. The quiz pathway turns that signal into a guided interaction and a result with clear limits.
Interaction decision
Use one clear choice at a time.
Large selectable answers and visible progress reduce the cognitive load of a sensitive assessment.
Personalized result
Turn answers into guidance without presenting a diagnosis.
The result explains symptom patterns, suggests next steps, and keeps education and clinician support visible.
Why PCOS care breaks down
Tracking had to reduce effort while helping people prepare a clearer next step for care.
Interview conversations described inconsistent symptoms, fragmented information, and moments when tracking itself felt emotionally heavy. The design opportunity was to reduce effort without flattening the complexity of PCOS.
Tracking becomes work
Repeated forms are easy to abandon, especially on days when pain, fatigue, or stress is already high.
Education lacks context
General articles rarely explain how a person’s own symptoms and routines connect over time.
Pattern visibility
Health information can involve clinicians, partners, or family, but users need to decide what is shared and with whom.
Care conversation support
Reduce required effort and avoid language that implies failure.
Evidence
One required check in with optional detail and supportive confirmation.
Care pathway
Care when self management needs a clinician.
The pathway supports a transition from information to human care without implying that the product replaces a medical professional.
Provider context
Show enough information to make the provider choice understandable.
Experience, language, location, and availability stay visible before scheduling.
Confirmation
Close the loop with a clear appointment state.
The confirmation preserves clinician, date, time, meeting link, and rescheduling actions in one place.
Pattern tracking
Track patterns instead of isolated symptoms.
The interaction asks for a small amount of structured context, then returns it in a calendar view that can support reflection over time.
Log
Keep the daily input small and scannable.
Flow, fatigue, bloating, acne, and hair growth use simple controls so the user can record context without a clinical form.
Review
Show the pattern in a familiar calendar model.
Cycle and fertility states remain visible as a pattern, while the interface avoids presenting an estimate as certainty.
Education and support
Education that supports the wider care circle.
Participants needed information they could use personally and share with partners or family without losing the health context.
Resource library
Organize education around practical questions, not a generic article feed.
Research signal
Users need understandable material about PCOS, relationships, family support, and care decisions.
Design response
Use clear topics, short summaries, and visible reading actions so education remains connected to the product journey.
Why it matters
The library supports self education and conversation preparation without replacing clinical advice.
Usability testing and iteration
The first check in asked for more than users wanted to give every day.
The 12 participant round evaluated navigation, emotional tone, support pathways, and the effort required to record a daily update. The clearest iteration was reducing the check in from a form like sequence to one required input.
Several required fields
The flow produced more detail, but participants described it as heavier than a daily action should feel.
One required input
The revision made the primary action clearer and reduced observed friction. A sub 15 second completion remained a design target, not a measured outcome.
What worked
Most participants understood the primary navigation and described the tone as more supportive than a clinical form.
What changed
The community entry point moved into the main navigation, and optional detail became progressive rather than required.
Reflection
Design for the difficult day
Designing for a health condition means accepting that some users will be in pain, exhausted, or afraid when they open the product. Every friction decision, tone choice, and empty state carries more emotional weight than in a typical consumer experience. I learned to design for the difficult day, not the average one.
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