EMS
Role
lead UX Designer & researcher
TEAM
4 designers
TOOLS
Figma, sketch, Canva
Every year, 10,000 lives are lost in the U.S. due to inaccurate location data in 911 calls. Many callers struggle to communicate their location in high-stress situations, while others are unable to speak due to panic or immediate danger.
Our goal was to redesign the emergency call experience to bridge this communication gap and reduce response time, ultimately saving lives.
View process →Solution
Research
Hypothesis
What do we currently understand about our users?
01.
Panicked situations hinder effective communication with operators.
02.
Users struggle with accurate location sharing, especially in unfamiliar areas.
03.
Callers often forget or lack access to critical medical information.
According to
KGW's article,
about 12.4 million of California's cellphone calls to 911 didn't share the location.
THE TRADITIONAL 911 CALL EXPERIENCE
Insights
We conducted surveys with individuals who had previously called 911. Our goal was to understand their pain points and uncover patterns in their experiences. The key findings included:
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There were no landmarks nearby. It was scary, and I wish there was a faster way to convey my whereabouts to 911.
I found myself in a violent situation where I couldn't speak out loud,
and it made me realize how challenging it can be to seek help in such situations.
Based on the survey results, we developed a persona to ensure our design decisions were based on real user insights rather than assumptions.
Wireframes
The lo-fi wireframes helped us to test different layout options and iterate quickly before moving on to more detailed designs.
User Testing
01.
Issue: Users found it difficult to locate the profile screen, leading to delays in accessing medical information.
Solution: We redesigned the profile section, adding a shortcut on the home screen and making it accessible from the settings menu.
02.
Issue: Users found the navigation buttons confusing.
Solution: We implemented brightly colored buttons to enhance visibility and ease.
Final Designs
Onboarding
After discovering that the users were facing issues during testing, it was decided to incorporate an onboarding process that guides the users through the core functioning of the app.
Emergency contacts & Logs
During signup, users add one or more emergency contacts.
The log screens store past emergencies, the diagnosis, the hospital or emergency center visited, and the EMS team involved. Users can contact the EMS team if needed and access incident location details with directions to the hospital.
Buttons
FINal app design
Key Learnings & Challenges
Time management → Balancing extensive user research within a tight timeline was a challenge. To stay efficient, we prioritized high-impact usability testing over exhaustive surveys, allowing us to iterate faster while still making data-driven decisions.
Remote research can be challenging → Due to COVID-19, user research and testing were conducted remotely. Hosting them in person would have allowed for better collaboration across participants.
Impact
🌟 Presented the final deliverables to a panel of HCI department experts, showcasing a user-centric solution to improve the 911 emergency call experience for medical emergencies.
🌟 Our efforts to improve the 911 emergency call experience for medical emergencies were well received.
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