Miricyl
A faster way to get help for mental health crises.
ROLE
Product Manager
TIMELINE
October 2023 - February 2024
TOOLS
Figma, Notion
SKILLS
Product thinking
User research
Community building
THE PROBLEM
Millions of young people (ages 18 to 29) in the U.K. and their families struggle with mental illness and finding appropriate treatment.
While the U.K. government provides free mental health counseling, this only covers 25% of the population. Some individuals spend 4 months on the waiting list. Private therapy is an option, but the costs are high (up to £100 per session). The current solution of online PDFs and paper assessments are not engaging for the youth.
How might we design a solution for youth in the U.K. to improve their mental health in an engaging way?
User Research
We sent out a survey to youth in the U.K. to identify current access to mental health support and understand users' experiences with current mental health treatment. Our target audience was youth in the U.K. between the ages of 18 to 29.
We identified 2 major pain points for users seeking treatment.
Cost and access to care
Without a stable source of income, youth struggle with paying for the necessary resources. How might we design an affordable solution that increases access to resources?
Lack of motivation
Many struggle with remaining consistent and engaged in their treatment plan. How might we encourage users to complete treatment?
In addition to discovering users' pain points, we also identified solution preferences that we adapted into our designs. Given the time constraints, we were able to incorporate 2/3 of their preferences and kept the 3rd as a stretch goal.
User Findings
Addressed?
60% of users want some customization in their treatment plan
73% of users desire mobile design to track their mental health.
66% of users want loved ones involved later, with specific support roles.
Product Requirements Document (PRD)
The findings from our user research was the first step to informing our designs. In addition, we identified the business goals (paired with success metrics) and key product features to further guide our designs.
Business Goals
1
Increase website traffic and engagement with resources.
2
Encourage timely access to professional support.
3
Convenient and accessible platform for self-screening and initial assessment.
Feature Requirements
*Note: The treatment plan refers to long-term mental health recovery techniques, while the toolkit refers to quick coping mechanisms in times of crisis. The toolkit feature falls under the treatment plan. We also incorporated a safety plan for those at risk of harming themselves or others.
To delegate tasks between designers, I wrote user stories and acceptance criteria for each of the feature requirements. Assigning tasks in this manner makes it easier for designers to understand user needs and what designs would pass or fail based on those needs.
Feature Prioritization
We began brainstorming different solutions within the product requirements of the 1) self-diagnosis questionnaire, 2) personalized treatment plan, and 3) toolkit.
1. Questionnaire: We learned that GAD-7 and PHQ-9 were the standard anxiety and depression quizzes offered online. Most websites ask users to complete either quiz (not combined) before presenting them with results that contain score ranges. Given how straightforward and intuitive the approach was, we decided to adopt it as is.
2 & 3. Treatment Plan & Toolkit: Ideating for the treatment plan was the bigger challenge due to the full range of creative flexibility we had. We had some great ideas but prioritized ideas based on 1) Impact to the User and 2) Complexity / Level of Execution.
*Note: Feedback section incorporates consideration of alignment to business goals, such as increasing user retention and engagement. Complexity refers to execution/engineering feasibility.
Because of its High Impact and Medium Level of Execution, we chose to move forward with the Travel and Steps approach, later renamed to "MindMiles."
TRAVEL AND STEPS AKA "MIND MILES"
The gamification approach allows users to earns miles for completing treatment plan activities, which include cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and essential daily habits. The accumulated miles translate to destinations that the user can unlock. In addition to the criteria above, we also considered how those with mental illnesses may have difficulty leaving their house; the game encourages them to engage in treatment while seeing the beauty of the world!
Key Product Decisions
I. Activities Library or User Selection?
We chose to allow users to select 3 key activities (self-help, foundation, and hobby) instead of browsing an activity library, since our user research indicated preference of customization and ownership in their treatment plan. Additionally, we considered how the user may face choice paralysis and information overload through the activities library feature, so going with the latter feature ensured increased engagement with the treatment plan.
II. Content of Landing Page
Choosing the content of the landing page was a major decision given this was the page the user was going to see the most. We decided to move forward with 3 elements for users to easily access.
To Do List
Progress
Treatment
III. WordPress or Developers
Ultimately, we decided to go with WordPress since the client is a nonprofit and doesn't have enough funds to hire developers (despite flexibility with customization). Luckily, we found that our designs were compatible with the plug-ins on WordPress, so we were able to arrive at a solution that was affordable without having to change our designs.
How Miricyl Works
Self-diagnosis Questionnaire
MindMiles suggests users to take the GAD-7 (anxiety) and PHQ-9 (depression) questionnaire as a first step to address their mental health concern. They can also skip if they already know their diagnosis.
Personalize your treatment
With the ability to select 3 activities, which include cognitive behavioral therapy techniques and essential daily habits, users are able to take charge of their mental health journey.
Earn miles
After completing an activity, users earn miles and unlock travel destination badges! These can be easily tracked on the user's dashboard.
Learnings
Do product work to be a better product manager.
Being a PM is so much more than people-managing. As a PM, you have to know the product in its entirety, especially when designers and the client are coming to you for questions. In meetings, I engage the client in conversations about their business operations to really understand the product from end to end. Outside of meetings, I spend extra time researching the problem space and existing solutions. During design meetings, I provide mentorship and design critiques to the designers using my product design knowledge. Being involved in each step of the process (such as ideation with the designers), rather than solely doing project management, was crucial to designing an effective solution and growing as a product manager.
Next Steps
Start usability tests.
I plan to continue this project by testing our most recent prototype with more users to evaluate the user experience. With these tests, I will analyze each of the findings and support designers with the iteration process and ensure that our designs continue to align with the client's goals and address users' key pain points.
Measure impact.
Once the designs are developed, I would like to measure the impact of our designs through 3 key performance indicators:
1. Number of visits to website
2. Number of badges acquired per user (treatment adherence)
3. MAU
