Human-Centric Design in Crisis: a Tale of Crafting the NHS Covid-19 App, with Tijana Tasich
At Women in CX, we’re lucky to have a diverse, knowledgeable community of amazing women.
One of them is the former NHS COVID-19 APP’s Experience Design Lead, Tijana Tasich, who recently gave us a fantastic case study on human-centric design in the face of crisis.
In this article, we go through some of the key takeaways from Tijana’s talk.
During her case study, Tijana brought us back to early 2020, a time when our lives were turned upside down by the rapid spread of COVID-19. Lockdowns, social distancing, and remote working became the norm as we navigated ‘the new normal’.
Meanwhile, Tijana was part of a team working to design the NHS COVID-19 APP — a voluntary contact tracing app designed to monitor the spread of the pandemic in England and Wales.
The project was filled with challenges, from the very beginning to the launch. With only six weeks to design the app, the design team navigated technological complexities, public scrutiny, stringent policy, and clinical and security requirements.
A Commitment to Human-Centric Principles
At the core of the NHS COVID-19 APP lay a commitment to human-centric design principles. Recognising the critical role of accessibility, privacy, and usability, the design team wanted to create a tool that not only met the needs of users but also earned their trust and confidence.
In order to design the app, the team had to “go beyond these foundational principles of human-centric design [and] go further with inclusivity with ethical design, equality and clinical safety.”
Accessible and Inclusive From the Start
From the go, Tijana and her team recognised the importance of accessibility, ensuring that the app was usable by individuals of diverse ages, abilities, genders, races, ethnicities, and languages. “We worked with an external accessibility expert who was part of our design team, who was regularly reviewing any of the screen flows and designs, checking for any potential accessibility issues.”
"We worked with an external accessibility expert who was part of our design team, who was regularly reviewing any of the screen flows and designs."
This wasn't about ticking boxes; it was about building a tool that was accessible and inclusive by design.
Ethical Design
The team didn't stop at accessibility; they used ethical design principles, considering user rights, privacy, and prevention of harm. Collaborating with the government ethics committee, the commitment to equality in design went beyond representation, addressing fairness and mitigating bias across diverse demographics.
“It needed to be really, really transparent about its functionalities [and] the data use so that it allows users actually to make informed decisions,” Tijana said.
Engaging Marginalised Communities
Tijana emphasised the importance of reaching minority groups disproportionately affected by COVID-19, acknowledging their potential lack of trust in government.
“It was really, really important to reach those people and do the right thing for all.” To address this, the team conducted extensive user research and testing within marginalised communities.
Adoption Was Key
Tijana highlighted the app's dependence on widespread adoption and user engagement, emphasising the critical role of public opinion and trust. The team worked under constant public scrutiny, with Tijana acknowledging the challenge of managing perceptions amidst media coverage. “We were constantly working in the public eye,” she said.
Negative reviews stemming from mixing this app with a previous one complicated matters. During her case study, Tijana talked about the necessity of building public confidence and trust, which was essential for achieving the required level of adoption among the population.
"Public opinion was really important because the app would only work if many people used it. According to the epidemiologists and researchers, we needed at least 15% of the population to have the app on their smartphones."
“Public opinion was really important because the app would only work if many people used it. According to the epidemiologists and researchers, we needed at least 15% of the population to have the app on their smartphones to make this effective.”
Clinical Safety
Given the app's classification as a medical device, clinical safety was one of the key concerns when designing the app. Working closely with specialised teams, Tijana explained they ensured the app adhered to regulatory standards, prioritising patient safety and data security.
“We had a specialised team who we worked with on this one, too, to make sure that this device did not pose any harm to the users.”
New Policies, New Features
During her case study, Tijana talked about many of the challenges the design team had to overcome. A big one was the rapid changes in policies and guidelines, coupled with the pressure to deliver effective solutions within tight timelines.
“The policy kept changing constantly. It was completely new for everyone. So as the virus evolved, so did the user needs and the policies. So, we continued to develop features in an incremental way.”
People Make Things Happen
Tijana explained how tech, such as Google and Apple’s automated contact tracing technologies, enabled the team to bring ideas into reality. However, it was the people involved who truly made it happen with their expertise and commitment.
Having listened to Tijana’s case study, what really shone through was the human side of the project. Empathy, flexibility, collaboration, commitment and resilience were qualities that kept everyone connected, even during a very challenging time.
