MyESS

A centralized mobile app focused on preventative strategies and reinforcement measures to support Young Canadian employees’ mental health with resources covered by SunLife Insurance.

Role

UI Design Lead

Deliverables

Pitch Presentation

Journey Map

2 Prototypes

2 User Flows

Involvement

UI Design

UX Research

Prototyping

Wireframing

Journey Mapping

Timeline

13 hours

Bridging the gap between employees and their benefits plans to protect their mental health.

Skip to Solution view slide deck

01/

Overview

The evolution of MyESS from the uXperience Design Jam to integration into the MySunLife app.

This case study involves two phases. In Phase 1, we actively participate in a design challenge, researching and conceptualizing solutions (Photo 1). Phase 2 focuses on collaborative redesign and expansion of our initial concepts with the Sun Life team, aiming to refine and enhance solutions through valuable insights, ensuring a comprehensive and effective outcome (Photo 2).

Context

The uXperience Design Jam is a 13-hour design jam challenge to hosted by the Stratford School of Interaction, which was sponsored by Sun Life Insurance. Our team placed 1st out of the 20+ teams from different Universities across Ontario that participated.

Problem

Young Canadians see mental health services as a vital aspect of their workplace benefits plans, but they are not always comfortable talking about these issues or taking advantage of the resources available.

Goal

Create an empathetic, inclusive solution that helps young Canadians open-up about their mental health needs, which will connect them with treatment options to empower them to take care of their mental health.

Solution

MyESS (My Emotional Support System) a centralized mobile app focused on preventative strategies and reinforcement of measures to protect mental health available to employees covered by Sun Life Insurance.

Phase I: Designing for the “uXperience Design Jam: Designing for Mental Health.”

The primary objective is to close the gap between employees and the mental health resources available to them through their benefits plan.

02/

discovering

Understanding the Challenge

How does mental health issues affect Young Canadians + Canadian Businesses?

Taking into account the short scope and the 13-hour time frame of the project, Sun Life provided us with the problem, context, and background research at the beginning of the challenge. They prepared all groups with an information package + a short problem presentation.

1-in-5

Canadians experience a mental illness and are between 18-34 years old.

73%

would leave their current job for one with better mental health benefits.

500k

Canadians miss work each week due to mental health illness.

61%

of working Canadians with mental health aren’t using their benefits.

$2.5T

projected cumulative cost of mental illness in Canada by 2041.

Read sun life's research report

Why are people not using their employee benefits?

After the intro presentation, I conducted a brainstorming workshop with the team to understand why people don’t take advantage of their workplace perks in the first place. We tried to relate our own experiences and complete a quick Google search.

From all of our shared professional work experiences in the past and also a bit of desk research, we collectively gathered the most common reasons employees don’t utilize their benefits.

Employees don’t understand the full value of their benefits and don’t open or read their benefits material packages.

When employees have settled into their positions and want to access their benefits plan, they forget how, their plan’s details, or where to access it.

It can be easy for new employees to forget about their benefits when they are learning and adapting to their roles.

Most benefits ecosystems are complex and difficult for employees to navigate.

HR usually has many competing priorities and doesn’t have time to advertise and spend time introducing company employee benefits.

03/

Defining

Introducing Hannah,
the Heartbroken Worker

Using the gathered information from our research, we immediately went into creating a persona.

Following a recent breakup, Hannah faces challenges in her mental health and work performance. Since she has lost her main support system, she now seeks emotional support, but is uncertain where to find it. Her primary objective now is to access mental health services without facing judgment. Hannah requires easily understandable information about health benefits to facilitate this process.

Mapping Hannah’s personal life which is affecting her work life —how will it be improved?

Following the creation of our persona, we extended Hannah's narrative and formulated journey maps to comprehend how she would navigate the delicate balance between her personal and work life. This map served as a tool to assess the feasibility and impact of our idea.

In our “as-is” first scenario, Hannah is dealing with a recent split from her partner that is taking a toll on her mental health and her ability to perform well at work. Hannah has new stressors in her life in addition to losing her main support system. She needs emotional support, but doesn’t know where to get it.

Moving on to the “to-be” scenario, Hannah discovers MyESS during onboarding, feeling the company's genuine care for her well-being. Two years later, amidst the breakup, MyESS sends thoughtful notifications, reminding her of available resources. This prompts Hannah to consider therapy, and she's relieved to find it covered in her benefits plan, providing a path to support and healing.

MyESS has transformed not only Hannah's current situation, but also anticipates positive impacts on the experiences of future users in various ways.

Immediate Introduction to Mental Health Resources: Upon onboarding, users are promptly introduced to available mental health resources.
Ongoing Reminders and Notifications: MyESS ensures that users remains aware of resources and services through regular notifications over the years.
Efficient Access to Resources in Times of Need: During challenging times, users can swiftly navigate through resources, finding comfort in the knowledge that her company supports her in times of tragedy.

04/

Designing

Creating an empathetic, inclusive solution.

From the Sun Life information package that we received, we were given a set of design and behavioural considerations. Implementing design and incorporating behavioural considerations into our solution helped me translate design concepts into practical and functional elements.

User Flow—Providing Clear Distinctions with the Application.

Referring back to the ideal journey map, Hannah's introduction to MyESS occurs during the onboarding process of starting her job. Starting with downloading the app and signing up, the onboarding screens convey the company's genuine concern for her well-being, fostering a sense of value. In the app, she accesses assistance, explores Sun Life resources on the dashboard, discovers additional options, tracks progress, and personalizes her profile. Referring back to the ideal journey map, Hannah's introduction to MyESS occurs during the onboarding process of starting her job.

Citing to the envisioned ideal scenario, Hannah encounters the MyESS app during onboarding, and the app sends her a notification reminding her of available resources. The notification, appearing on the device's main lock screen, initiates the ping flow, leading the user to open MyESS to access resources and application updates.

Initial Low-Fi Sketches

Following the creation of user flows, I took charge as the UI Design Lead to conceptualize low-fidelity sketches outlining solution flows.

05/

Delivering

High-Fidelity Visualizations

I led my team into creating the high-fidelity prototype for our solution. I made sure we used consistent colours, shapes, and buttons for a cohesive user interface.

Onboarding

The purpose of onboarding is to give a first impression of our application through a simple, yet eye-catching design to create a special relationship with the user. It will walk them through the value propositions of the application.

Dashboard/ Discover

Displays the collection of different SunLife mental health resources that are offered and paid for by the user’s companies. Examples of resources can be CBT, virtual care 24/7, mental health coaches, Lumino Health, Workplace strategy kits, webinar/ training videos, and events (e.g. art therapy).

Check-In

Reminds users to quickly check-in their current moods which guide users to recommendations of SunLife’s resources. User’s can also access Check-In through navigation and be able to view their overall mood trends.

Phase II: Concept expansion with Sun Life’s UX team

As part of the win, our team was invited to the SunLife headquarters in Toronto to build our solution with SunLife experts, using the SunLife design system (Helios).

06/

updated briefing

Updated Challenge —
How can we leverage aspects of MyESS to improve the current user experience of the MySunLife App?

During the working session, I worked on concept development and mid-fi buildout (with a teammate) for the “connect to a mental health coach” section as well as the risk assessment placement.

New Problem

While 80% of the Sun Life members have a moderate to high risk of experiencing mental health issues, yet only 55% of the members booked a mental health coach. This is due to multiple factors such as stigma, privacy concerns, lack of trust, and putting the onus on the users to help themselves.

New Goal

How can we leverage aspects of MyESS to improve the current user experience of the Sun Life app?

Solution

I was responsible for ideation and shaping the vision for the “connect to a mental health coach” section and integrating the risk assessment tool into MySunlife mobile. I also played a pivotal part in the iterative design and development process, ensuring that these functionalities were user-friendly, efficient, and aligned with our project goals.

Updated constraints

From the Sun Life team, we received several additional aspects of Sun Life's current digital ecosystem that their team wanted us to explore and include in the final solution. The products were:

MyESS

Does a great job at starting the conversation around mental health with Young Canadians when starting a new job/ entering the workforce.

Mental Health Coach

Sun Life’s new digital mental health coaching solution—allows at-risk benefits plan members to complete a risk assessment and introduce the mental health coach.

MySunLife Mobile

The primary mobile application for the Canadian market - offers Sun Life group benefits plan members access to their coverage information, digital services etc.

07/

Redesigning

Sun Life's Existing
Interfaces

Our team was provided with wireframe screens from the MySunLife app as a foundation integrating MyESS and their Mental Health Coach. The application consists of a primary dashboard and three essential sections: Investments, Claims & Coverage, and Insurance.

First Phase of Redesigning

I was in charge of integrating the Mental Health Risk Assessment and the Mental Health Coach within the MySunLife App.

Users initiate the process on the claims and coverage page to access the risk assessment. Our decision to integrate the risk assessment here was driven by the ultimate objective of connecting with and finding coverage.

After finding selecting the risk assessment pill, aligning with Sun Life's existing product features, a slide-up navigation appears with the Mental Health Risk Assessment options and connecting with mental health coach.

Feedback Session and Implementing Changes

As a part of the work session agenda, we had the privilege of a feedback session with Senior UX designers, product directors, and other executives, presenting our ideas and benefiting from their expertise. Their guidance led to essential revisions that aligned our designs with Sun Life's UX goals and industry standards, and several key ideas emerged that shaped our design considerations for our next iteration.

Unfit placement of the Mental Health Risk Assessment category

Having placement of the Risk Assessment under the Claims and Coverage screen might inadvertently suggest that it directly affects coverage decisions, which could deter users from completing it. The Claims and Coverage section primarily houses action-oriented features, such as Submitting a Claim, Drug Look-ups, and Viewing Coverage Cards.

Placing “Risk Assessment” onto the dashboard

Implementing the “Risk Assessment” directly onto the app’s dashboard and renamed the broader category as “Your mental health resources.” This adjustment allowed us to tailor the dashboard to users seeking mental health support rather than focusing solely on insurance, claims, coverage, or investments. By shifting our approach, we were able to tailor mental health resources to meet the specific needs of users.

Confusion with the Mental Health Coach Placement

Having Connecting with a Mental Health Coach under the Risk Assessment Tab could also raise questions about whether coaches are part of users’ coverage and what their specific role entails. This is because the connection between the Coaches and the available resources can become unclear when they are separated. It's crucial to maintain coherence between these elements.

Relocating the Mental Health Coach

Implementing the “Risk Assessment” directly onto the app’s dashboard and renamed the broader category as “Your mental health resources.”

Integrating Concepts, Not Adding

The mentors also highlighted the need not treat MyESS as just a feature but as a holistic experience within the app.

Personalization

We wanted to incorporate screens to acknowledge diversity and inclusion. People of different cultural backgrounds, genders, etc. will require different needs and feel comfortable with different coaches.

Redesign Final

Taking their feedback and insights, here were the final designs after my revisions.

08/

reDelivering

Emphasizing Value

Reintroducing value propositions to tell users what the app is about (not just mental health to cater to users whose primary focus is not mental health resources).

Customized Dashboard

Users have the capability to swiftly access essential tasks such as filing a claim, reviewing goals, exploring personalized care resources, and connecting with additional support.

Introducing Connecting with a Mental Health Coach

Incorporating concise credential summaries for mental health coaches enhances connections, humanizes the experience, and allows users to book quick sessions upfront for immediate access before engaging in the full resource-gathering process.

Reinforcing for Accountability

Incorporating notifications upon opening the app, including reminders to prioritize mental health, complete the “tell us about yourself” section, and continue pursuing goals if they are close.

09/

reflect

Information literacy in product designing

Through this experience, I learned that research sets the stage for all design phases. We used robust initial research to identify the needs of users and then design solutions that address those needs using that knowledge.

Prioritizing mental health

I gained a greater understanding of how to adapt rapidly to changing environments and embrace the unknown. A pivot strategy can be adopted to achieve significant end results when adapting to changes in the process.

The power of storytelling

People love stories. It helps them feel invested and allows them to engage more deeply. I learned that it is not enough to put information on the app for people to read, rather, it is really valuable to carefully craft the narrative and take into consideration how each story relates to the next.

10/

Next Steps

Social Connectedness Features

Implementing features that foster open conversations about mental health in the workplace to create a supportive and inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health concerns and seeking help when needed.

Quantitative Data Analysis

To measure the app's effectiveness, we will analyze quantitative data such as the number of completed sessions and the frequency of user participation in these sessions. This data will provide valuable insights into user engagement and the app's impact on users' mental health.

User Goal Tracking

We will implement a robust system for tracking user goals within the app. This will allow users to set and monitor their personal objectives related to mental health and well-being. Success can be measured by how well users are achieving their defined goals over time.

Post-Assessment Support

We will focus on what happens after users complete the initial assessment. Understanding the drop-off points and reasons for users who dip their toes but don't follow through with further engagement will be crucial. We'll implement strategies to re-engage and support these users effectively.

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