Creating a Lifestyle Driven Ecosystem

A leader in diabetes management, Insulet makes managing insulin delivery and monitoring blood sugar convenient and accessible for their users. The company previously worked with THRIVE to modernize its Omnipod DASH™ system, a tubeless pump that connects with a handheld Personal Diabetes Manager (PDM) to deliver insulin. However, they knew their technology needed to be more than the answer to an individual health problem. Diabetes affects families and caregivers who desperately need visibility into an individual’s life. So, we asked ourselves, how can we further expand the Omnipod DASH™ system to create a full ecosystem for both the user and their caregiver?

Following the User’s Journey

We started by taking the lead on the visual design to craft the overall look and feel of the products. After multiple rounds of iterative prototyping, we came upon our most significant challenge: creating a system that was not only highly functional but also easy to use for both the user and the caregiver. To create a multilayered digital experience, we started with the end-users so we could frame their motivations and needs in each step of the user journey to create an intuitive and meaningful design solution that is beneficial for both user and caregiver. 

Designing a Convenient Smartphone Display

We designed the DISPLAY™ and VIEW™ Apps to address the user’s need for a discreet app that they could access on their phone while being out in public that would also provide information directly from the Omnipod DASH™ system to their smartphone. Since people rarely leave the house without their smartphones, but can easily forget their PDMs, we knew we needed to create an app that would seamlessly sync with the system. 

We started by conceptualizing the application followed by the iterative rounds of UX design and usability testing to ensure the fit between user needs and the app experience. DISPLAY™ meant users could interact less with their PDM but still access valuable information and data from the DASH™ system at their fingertips. Users can easily access features like “Find my PDM” and the ability to invite others to view their system status and monitor critical indicators, via the VIEW™ app. 

Giving Caregivers a Much-Needed View

We designed the VIEW™ App from a strong emotional pull as a way to speak to and connect the ecosystem of people that are involved in the life of someone with diabetes. As a parent or caregiver, when you know someone living daily with diabetes, you need that extra peace of mind to feel assured they’re safe. While DISPLAY™ provides convenience for the user, we designed VIEW™ to give caregivers the access they needed to feel fully involved and informed. 

The VIEW™ App expanded the ecosystem to let caregivers see the data from a diabetic patient’s Omnipod DASH™ system on their phone and readily take action if needed. We designed the VIEW™ app to empower caregivers to monitor up to 12 different systems, so if there are multiple diabetics in the family or a nurse is looking after patients, it can all be done seamlessly within the same app. Upon accepting an invitation, the viewer can see alerts and alarms, last bolus and blood glucose reading, PDM status, and more. 

Completing the Connection

To keep things user-friendly, we worked closely with Insulet’s technical writer to ensure consistency of language across both products. With the combination of visual design, behavior research, and usability engineering we built an expanded ecosystem for the Omnipod DASH system that helped both users and caregivers stay connected and better informed.

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