SONIM FLUX
Flux is a mobile application that drastically changes the communication system of emergency responders, addressing the challenges that EMTs face when communicating between first responders and doctors. Instead of each emergency department having their own radio frequency, Flux provides a platform for all emergency responders to use at once, creating a network between first responders, EMTs and on-call doctors that addresses the indirect communication methods these groups currently use. Flux aims to make all emergency responders feel as if they are working on the same team.
This project started as a class corporate project with Sonim, a telecommunications company that focuses on providing durable and reliable mobile solutions to meet the communication needs of those who work in extreme conditions, from firefighters to garbage collectors. The project focused on the needfinding process, and turning needs and insights into design principles. Following the completion of the project, I was compelled to keep designing Flux because I felt that it was a worthwhile solution to keep iterating on. The user interaction design following the design principles presented here were not in the required scope of the project, and is something I have pursued personally in my own time.
Project Goals
Identify real user needs and develop insights from user research
Develop a set of design principles based on insights that inform the solution
Wireframe user flow and design features from design principles
Design high-res user interaction mockup
The research and development of design principles for this project was done in collaboration with another designer, where I led concept development and refinement of the final solution. The wireframing and user interaction design was done by myself.
user RESEARCH
My partner and I decided to investigate the needs of emergency response technicians, or EMTs. The needfinding process included extensive interviews with EMTs and periods of observation with EMTs during their line of work. One thing that stood out immediately was that while all branches of emergency response play an interconnected role and rely on each other heavily, they all operate under different jurisdictions and communication systems. The importance of communication systems for EMTs was made clear in some of the stories heard from our users:
Carl's Story: When asked who the most important person was that he had to contact while out on the job, Carl immediately answered that it was the on-call ER doctor. Even though he’s supposed to use his radio, Carl pulls out his personal cell phone to call the doctor. Carl doesn’t want to take up the hospital’s radio line because he might prevent another EMT from briefing the hospital on a patient in critical condition. Carl and other EMTs regard air time as precious, especially given that everyone is uing the same radio channels to relay precious information.
Becky's Story: All EMT radios are equipped with an emergency button that will send out a signal for help to every branch of emergency response. One day on the job, Becky found herself on a call to do what should have been a simple, routine welfare check on an old woman. Instead, she found herself staring down the barrel of a gun because the woman thought that the EMT team was trying to rob her. Yet with her life on the line and emergency button in hand, Becky didn’t press the button, and any other EMT in her position wouldn’t have pressed the button either. Why? Because when you press that button, it shuts down all radio communication channels for ten seconds. EMTs weren’t willing to sacrifice those precious communication channels, even in the most life threatening situations.
insights
A visualization of this information flow better elucidates the role that EMTs play in this system:
Although an EMTs job description is to stabilize and transport patients, EMTs see a primary function of their job as being managers and conveyors of information. EMTs are constantly receiving information from firefighters and police who arrive on the scene first, and relaying information to the receiving hospital's nurses and doctors once a patient is in their care.
Moreover, it was evident that EMTs lines of communication were inefficient. EMTs use a wide array of communication tools while on the job, constantly switching between radios, phones, and pagers. Moreover, EMTs are never directly speaking to the person they actually need to be talking to. Currently, EMT’s get their updates from first responders through dispatchers who are notorious for getting information wrong. Later on, when EMTs hand off patients at the hospital, they are met with questions of “why did you do this” or “why didn’t you do that”, as if the EMTs should know what the hospital requires, even though they don’t have a way to get that information reliably. There are degrees of separation between that make doing the core function of managing and conveying information difficult, which can be costly in a time sensitive situation.
NEEDS + design principles
Using the insights from user research, my group and I were able to distill an EMTs communication experience into specific needs. We then translated these needs into distinct design principles, which informed the rough concept of the solution.
concept refinement
Using the design principles as a point of departure for the solution, my group and I brainstormed and sketched around a few concepts that could make it easier for EMTs to get in touch with other emergency responders, and to convey and receive information. Early on, we championed the solution being a wearable, emphasizing the benefits of a hands-free product for EMTs who need to care to patients. Ultimately, however, we decided upon a mobile communications platform, which we felt addressed the much more pressing communication and information based needs of EMTs.
The final concept, which we called Flux, groups emergency responders into unique "group chats" for a given emergency situation. Within each chat, users are able to send and receive updates directly to the members of other departments who are also responding to the specific emergency situation. By grouping EMTs and other emergency response personnel in this manner, communication can flow more freely than it can through bogged-down radio frequencies, and EMTs can get in direct contact with other departments much faster.
Key Design Features
Singular Platform for Emergency Response Personnel - Flux provides a singular platform in which all emergency personnel receive call-ins from dispatchers to respond to emergencies. By creating a network between departments, all emergency response personnel operate more as a single team than separate departments.
Updates Feed - One of the key interactions an EMT has with other emergency response personnel is giving and receiving updates. Flux's primary feature is the updates feed, where users can send and receive updates directly to all personnel responding to the same call.
Cross-Department Contact Information - Being able to get in direct contact with other emergency response personnel is one of the greatest needs that EMTs were observed to have. Flux allows for users to directly call other responders on the same call, bypassing the need for dispatchers or radio lines.
initial wireframe
design
Receiving a Call
EMTs currently receive calls from dispatchers. Flux's landing page provides a space for EMTs to receive information about the call they are assigned to respond to.
Direct Contact to Other Responders
Updates Feed
Adding Updates and Notes with Voice-to-Text
One of the distinct design principles that would ideally exist in Flux would be effective voice-to-text technology. Because EMTs are trained medical professionals who have to treat patients, it is important that they are able to give and receive information without always having to take out their phone.
Flux also has a place to store a user's personal notes. EMTs and other emergency personnel know that not all information they gather is pertinent to the other teams involved. A notes section allows users to store critical information while on the job.