“Spot On” App
Planned Parenthood
Opportunity: Planned Parenthood received funding to create a period and birth control tracking and compliance app. The objective was to deliver medically accurate, assumption and judgement-free, reproductive healthcare information and education to all users, but especially to users in traditionally underserved communities that suffer from poor reproductive health outcomes.
Project Impact: Within the first year, “Spot On” had over 1.4 million downloads across 160 different countries, 40% monthly active users, and was featured in Apple Health & Fitness.
Award Winning:
Communication Arts Award of Excellence 2017
Fast Company Innovation by Design: Best App 2017
Fast Company Innovation by Design: User Experience Honorable Mention 2017
Core77 Design Awards: Interaction 2017
Spot On is an award-winning birth control and period tracking app. Users are prompted daily to enter their mood, symptoms, activities, and flow to identify patterns in their cycle. Spot On also allows users on contraception to manage their specific type and brand of birth control. If a user gets off track with their method, the app delivers medically-accurate guidance so users stay protected. It also offers optional ovulation tracking for users who get off track, and for those not on a method or on a non-hormonal method.
My Role: UX Research, User Requirements and Feature Prioritization, Analytics, QA
Team: Jenny Friedler (Sr Director Digital Product), Chelsey Delaney (UX Lead), Kevin Williams (Project Manager), Hannah Pyper (Marketing Strategist); Joana Kelly (Executive Producer), Stephanie Casper (Art Director), Quinn McHenry (Senior Developer), Isar Chang (Designer)
project highlights
User Research and Analysis
Every design and interaction in Spot On was thoroughly user tested from prototypes, to MVP, to iterations. We ran usability testing in Planned Parenthood health centers with patients, in coffee shops with our target age demographic, and with current app users once the app launched. As I joined Planned Parenthood to build their UX Research practice, this marked the first time a digital product was tested with actual users at Planned Parenthood and led to user research being integrated across all digital products.
Inclusive and Assumption-Free
Spot On embraces a bold visual and textual tone of inclusivity and gender neutrality, avoiding the traditional heteronormative approach to providing sexual and reproductive health information (no pink flowers here). The app makes no assumptions or judgments about the identity, gender, sexual orientation, or motivation of the user. While most of Spot On’s competitors were designed for users trying to get pregnant or track their fertility, Spot On was designed to support a diverse range of reproductive health goals and behaviors, including to support the 9 in 10 women who will use contraception at some point in their lives.
Education and Compliance
Spot On delivers accurate medical guidance based on Planned Parenthood's clinical guidelines and expertise in an enjoyable and compassionate manner. Users can rely on the app to track their menstrual cycle and to ensure they’re in compliance with their particular birth control method, down to the specific brand idiosyncrasies. The app encourages compliance through reminders, optional ovulation window alerts when applicable, and sending accurate medical advice if users get off track with their birth control method. Spot On simplifies the complexity of menstrual cycles and educates in context through strategic use of delightful micro-interactions.
User-First Approach
Spot On was built with a user-first mentality. We understood that our users just wanted to be treated as people who will make choices and whose choices are respected which is why we worked to avoid any assumptions of use case. All design decisions and new features were based on prioritized user needs and requirements. In addition to period tracking, the app supports seven different types of birth control - pill, patch, ring, shot, copper IUD, hormonal IUD, and the implant - and includes detailed compliance flows for every existing variation of that method. Finally, Spot On is a free app, with no ads or collection/sale of user data.
