After extensive secondary research, our understanding of the doctor-patient relationship and a patient’s personal health information management habits was quite thorough but didn't fully cover the Portuguese population, specially in our region. So we decided to survey those patients, focusing on three major issues: 1) note-taking behaviours regarding personal health information; 2) relationship between patients and doctors and both parties’ behaviours during a medical appointment; and 3) their interest in the functionalities we had planned for HealthTalks.

The general consensus among UX researchers is that five users should be enough to find the vast majority of errors in usability testing. However, since we had a very heterogeneous group of possible end users for HealthTalks, that number could be insufficient to represent all users. Hence, we deliberately tested the app exclusively with seniors, a target group that was expected to benefit greatly from this solution, while at the same time assumed to be one of the less receptive to it. A consequence of that choice was that, if our 5 seniors were indeed less technologically versed, then some problems that only more proficient users would find remained unidentified.

HealthTalks was a complex and far-reaching thesis of which I am extremely proud. I was given a lot of freedom in my approach, and I appreciate the gentle but firm supervision I had while navigating so many of the themes that I love. It made me learn a lot about the scientific method, which helped to mold my way of thinking and approaching problems. It was also an excellent experience in writing and presenting, which I have made use of ever since.