Project background
Individuals with opioid use disorder often focus solely on their next dose, which can lead to shame and stress, making it hard to think about the future.
Goal
This activity aims to serve as a tool that inspires and motivates individuals to stay sober.
My role
Senior Product Designer
Visual design
UX flow mapping
User research synthesis
Team
Product Managers
Engineers
Science
Legal team
Regulatory team
QA
Timeline
March 2023 - May 2023
Solution
Episodic future thinking (EFT) is the ability to imagine and visualize specific, personal events that might happen in the future. It's often called "mental time travel" because it involves the brain working to help people see and feel the future as if they were already there.
How does it help the patient
Treatment Personalization - Patients can directly choose what they care about or discover what they care about.
Goals beyond OUD - Allowing patients to choose what they care about and discover other areas of life they are motivated to work towards will help them achieve more stability.
Reinforcing Intrinsic readiness - Motivational interventions, such as imagining goals, can reinforce motivation for treatment over time and provide inspiration during tough moments.
How it started - discovery and research
The user research phase lasted 9 months
Conducted 50+ patient and peer advisor interviews. I served as research moderator and note-taker.
“Sometimes you can't think about even hours later because you're thinking so much about the moment. So I love this future focus.” - Research participant
Onboarding
Participants found onboarding very beneficial. It prepares them for a task ahead and teaches them the importance of performing the task and how it can help them with their recovery.
“Your Future Board”
The Future board is a valuable tool that helps patients visualize their goals and future aspirations.
It serves as a source of motivation and inspiration, especially during challenging times.
Patients have found it useful during urges, reminding them of their purpose and supporting their sobriety.
Patients can view reminders for this month, the next six months, this year, and beyond, allowing for ongoing engagement with their goals.
Early design explorations
Early designs we created based on insights from the exploratory phase.
These designs were instrumental in our user research efforts, helping us gather valuable feedback.
User testing
Participants like the idea of future thinking and can see the value in helping people not to get stuck in the past.
Participants like the ability to set goals.
“I think the lesson was fine, but I think the explanation was kind of lengthy.”-Research participant
Personalization
Patients wanted more personalized experiences, prompting design explorations. However, legal constraints barred the use of pictures. The images shown reflect some customization options we explored despite these limitations.
“I could see myself doing that a few times a week. If I'm being anxious and need to calm down and center myself. I could see myself doing that.” - Research participant
Future board entry creation flow
Outcome
Survey: Number of participants - 100
75% very interested in CT-102
70% would use the app daily
Most valued features: Craving support and brain training like EFT