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Product Designer · Contract · Thrive Education · 2024

Helping older adults say how confident they feel about their diabetes.

Thrive had no idea how confident people felt about their own diabetes, so lessons couldn’t adapt. As the only designer, I landed on one super simple slider.

Role
Solo designer: research, product design, testing
Industry
Health tech · Patient education
Timeline
Contract · Feb – Apr 2024
Platform
iOS / Android
Built for
Older adults managing diabetes
80%of our users love the confidence slider barWhere it comes fromWhat our users told us about the final confidence slider.

Overview

About Thrive Education.

Thrive Education is a diabetes education startup: an app that gives patients personalized lessons and lets their doctors follow along with their progress.

I was the only designer, working on how to find out how confident patients actually felt, so the lessons could adapt to them.

The problem

Lessons can’t adapt to confidence they can’t see.

Competitors tracked numbers. None asked how confident patients felt, so the lessons couldn’t adapt to anyone.

The real problem

Three things kept the lessons from working.

Problem 01No signal

Nobody knew how confident a patient felt about their own diabetes.

Problem 02Same lessons

Without that, every patient got the same lessons, whatever they already knew.

Problem 03Nothing for doctors

Doctors had no read on a patient’s confidence they could act on.

Research

So I looked at competitors and talked to patients.

Competitors0measured how confident patients feelWhere it comes fromMy competitive review: the diabetes apps I looked at tracked numbers, but none asked patients how confident they felt about their own diabetes knowledge.
Who I talked to20+ yrshow long our lead interviewee had managed it

Long-time patients, not super tech-savvy, who wanted clearer progress (not more features).

Rina M., 57Type 2 for 20 years · not super tech-savvyJohn T., 57Type 1 for 15 years · an engineerWho this isMy lead interviewee, a family friend who has had diabetes for 20+ years.
The competition

Three diabetes apps people actually use. They track numbers, teach lessons and connect you to a coach, but none of them ask how confident you feel.

  1. A diabetes app’s logbook: blood sugar and blood pressure readings
    Tracks numbers and trends

    Doesn’t ask how confident you feel

  2. One Drop’s Learn screen: health topics and lessons
    Teaches health lessons

    Doesn’t ask how confident you feel

  3. Dario Health: a video call with a health coach
    Video calls with a coach

    Doesn’t ask how confident you feel

  4. Thrive’s confidence question: slide the bar to where your confidence is
    Thrive, with my slider

    Asks how confident you feel

Who it’s for

So I designed for older adults, where diabetes is most common.

1 / 3Nearly one in three people ages 65 and older live with diabetes (CDC).

What I tried

I tried four ways to ask. Three didn’t work.

Every version started on paper, then got tested.

  1. 01Pop-up survey

    “Are you confident?” Yes or no

    Too basic
  2. 02Smiley-face scale

    “How do you feel?” Five faces

    Felt less credible
  3. 03Slider

    “Slide the bar on where your confidence level is”

    Hard to interpret
  4. 04Slider + number + message

    The same slider, then a number and a message

    Legible to patient and doctor

Paper first

Sketch of the pop-up surveySketch of the slider
Storyboard of the confidence flow
The paper sketches for tries 01, 03 and 04.

The solution

The fourth one did, and here’s why.

It fixes all three: patients can finally say how confident they feel, every level gets its own message, and doctors get a number they can read.

  1. 1
    Plain-language question
  2. 2
    An illustration that reactsIt changes with your answer
  3. 3
    Drag, then let goBuilt for people who aren’t comfortable with tech
  4. 4
    One fine-grained sliderFewer mis-clicks than small tap targets
Breaking down the question screen.
Interactive demo

Now answer it like a patient would

Rebuilt from the tested prototype

What is your confidence level about your own diabetes education?

Slide the bar on where your confidence level is

Drag the bar, then let go

What the doctor gets

0/ 100 confidence

Needs the basics

  1. 0–20Needs the basics
  2. 21–40Small steps
  3. 41–60Making progress
  4. 61–80On the right track
  5. 81–100Knows a lot

The patient gets a message that fits. The doctor gets a number they can read.

Task completion+25%

vs. earlier testing sessions

Participants10people

Older adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes

How I read itDirectional

Small sample, so no big claims

Outcome

And people actually loved it.

  1. 10 competitorsAsked patients how confident they felt
  2. 24 ways to askSketched on paper, then tested
  3. 310 peopleOlder adults with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
  4. 4+25%Task completion vs. earlier sessions
  5. 80%Of our users love the confidence slider bar

Key learnings

What I’m taking with me.

Credibility is part of usability.The smiley faces felt friendlier but less credible, and in health, trust matters.
Sketch every option first.Paper made it super cheap to throw three versions away.
Next: voice and contrast.Read labels aloud while sliding, and make the track bolder.

This is just a snapshot! Want the long version? Grab 30 minutes with me.