The eMSS: A Calendar App for Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Working with clinical experts as a research assistant, I spearheaded the user research and design of a mobile calendar app supporting patients experiencing MCI and their caregivers.
Background
Mayo Clinic’s HABIT Healthy Action to Benefit Independence & Thinking® is a 10 day program for individuals who have received the diagnosis of MCI and a partner to learn the best skills for maintaining independence in spite of memory problems, improving self-esteem, and coping with the emotions that arise for the person and their family with the uncertainty that comes with a diagnosis of MCI. The program focuses on adjustment to the diagnosis of MCI, adaptation to cognitive and functional limitations, brain wellness education, physical and cognitive exercise, and stress/emotional management.
The most important aspect of the HABIT program is the Memory Support System (MSS), a workbook used by patients to record appointments, notes, tasks to be completed, medications, and anything else they need to remember on a daily basis. This workbook is designed to be as simple as possible to enable consistent, repeatable entries, which over time can improve the cognitive control and overall agency of patients in their daily lives.
Mayo Clinic, in partnership with Bruyere Health and the Design for Public Health Lab at Carleton University, initiated a project in 2024 to explore developing an app-based alternative for the MSS. The team associated with the project has consisted of clinical experts in Neurology and Neuropsychology, Professors from Carleton’s Design and Biomedical Engineering faculties, stakeholders from Mayo Clinic, and a research assistant from the Design or Human-Computer Interaction faculties to run user studies and handle design work. I came onto this project in September 2025.
Initial Directive
When I came onto the project, an initial high-fidelity prototype had be created and tested with several dyads of patients and caregivers,
Add in information about where you started.
Initial Actions
During my review of the user testing results and discussion with other stakeholders, it became obvious that page navigation and repeatability were the major areas of improvement that would serve pateintsfor patients. Furthermore, a significant gap in the existing testing process was a deep dive into the different design options available for major actions: while we knew what patients had to say about one potential version, we had no clarity as to if alternative designs of the “To Do”, “Calendar”, and “Notes” could be improved with different versions. I began my time on the project by developing multiple potential versions of how each feature could look (add pics of early design process)
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