Spot On: Birth Control Tracking App
Scope
New Product | Birth Control Education, Tracking, and Compliance App
Opportunity
The Planned Parenthood Digital Innovation Lab received funding to create a period and birth control tracking and compliance app. Our team’s objective was to deliver medically accurate, assumption and judgement-free reproductive healthcare information and education to all users, but especially to users who are in traditionally underserved communities that suffer from poor reproductive health outcomes.
Project Impact
Over 1.4 million downloads | 40% monthly active users
Featured in Apple Health & Fitness
Award-Winning:
Communication Arts Award of Excellence
Fast Company Innovation by Design: Best App 2017
Fast Company Innovation by Design: User Experience Honorable Mention 2017
Core77 Design Awards
Spot On is an award-winning birth control, period, and menstrual cycle tracking mobile app. Users are prompted to enter their mood, symptoms, activities, and flow daily to identify any patterns in their cycle. Spot On also allows users on contraception to manage their specific brand and type of birth control. If a user gets off track with their birth control, the app will deliver advice letting them know if they need to use a back-up method. Additionally, if the user chooses, they can be alerted to their ovulation windows if they’re on no method, on a non-hormonal method, or if they get off track on their birth control method.
My Role: UX Research, User Requirements and Feature Prioritization, Analytics, QA
Team: Planned Parenthood: Jenny Friedler (Sr Director Digital Product), Chelsey Delaney (UX Lead), Kevin Williams (Project Manager), Hannah Pyper (Marketing Strategist); Small Planet: 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 health centers with actual patients, in coffee shops with our target demographic who weren’t necessarily patients, and when the app launched we continued testing with our current app users. This marked the first time a digital product was tested with actual users at Planned Parenthood.
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 nine 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. The user can rely on the app to track their menstrual cycle, birth control compliance, customizable mood/body/action/flow inputs, ovulation window (if they aren’t on a hormonal method), to set reminders, or to receive accurate medical advice if they get off track with their birth control method. However, Spot On’s UI is completely user-driven; if the user has no interest in receiving alerts about their ovulation window they can keep that setting off. 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.
