CLEARED4 Contact Tracing

CLEARED4 is a safety compliance platform that helps organizations around the world future-proof their businesses from the impact of current and future health & safety challenges. Their products and services allow organizations around the globe to ensure operational readiness, manage local community risk levels, and eliminate barriers to productivity. The current COVID-19 pandemic has pushed corporations with a high level of social responsibility to create new and dynamic health & safety playbooks. CLEARED4 has over 3 million users, verified over 2 million tests, and resulted over 100 million health surveys worldwide.

Contact Tracing

Timeline: 3 Months

Team: UX Designer (Myself), Developers, Backend Engineers, Product Management, and CEO.

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My Role

As the Lead UX Designer, I led the design and implementation of CLEARED4’s Contact Tracing feature, working cross-functionally to ensure seamless execution. My key responsibilities included:

  • Research & discovery: Conducted interviews, surveys, card sorting, A/B testing, and competitive analysis to understand user needs and optimize workflows.

  • Wireframing & prototyping: Designing user flows and interface concepts.

  • User testing & iteration: Refining designs based on real user feedback.

  • Collaboration with development: Working closely with engineers to ensure technical feasibility.

  • Final asset delivery & iteration: Verifying the live product and optimizing the experience based on feedback.

Overview

Objective: The CLEARED4 COVID-19 contact tracing application was aimed at helping a wide audience of individuals and health authorities mitigate the spread of the virus. The application employs principles to ensure simplicity, efficiency, and user engagement throughout the entire platform.

The goal was to develop a user-friendly and intuitive web application for Administrators that facilitates efficient contact tracing, informs users about potential exposure risks, and encourages responsible behavior to minimize the transmission of COVID-19.

Research and Discovery Phase:

 

Key Research Steps:

  • Conducted user interviews & surveys to understand pain points and expectations.

  • Analyzed competitor apps to identify areas for improvement.

  • Collaborated with public health experts to ensure alignment with guidelines.

  • Created personas & user journey maps to visualize how different users would interact with the system.

Challenges Faced:

  • User Hesitation: Employees were skeptical about data tracking and privacy.

  • Complex Admin Needs: HR teams required real-time, actionable insights.

  • Legal & Compliance Barriers: The solution had to align with HIPAA and internal company policies.

  • Existing Solutions Were Ineffective: Competitive analysis revealed that many solutions were either too intrusive or required too much manual effort.

Interviews: User interviews were instrumental in the research process of our COVID-19 contact tracing application by providing critical insights into users' concerns, preferences, and pain points. They helped us design a more user-centric and effective solution that prioritized usability, privacy, and user trust, ultimately enhancing the app's adoption and effectiveness in combating the pandemic.

User Personas

User personas helped in the research process by providing a clear understanding of the diverse user groups involved, such as healthcare workers, tech-savvy individuals, and elderly users. This allowed for tailored design decisions that addressed specific needs, preferences, and pain points of each persona, ultimately leading to a more user-centric and effective application.

Card Sorting

Card sorting was valuable in the research process because it enabled users to organize and prioritize information, helping us understand their mental models and preferences. This method ensured that the app's navigation and content structure aligned with users' expectations, enhancing overall user experience and effectiveness in a critical public health context.

Flowchart

A flowchart was invaluable in the research process of a COVID-19 contact tracing application as it visually represented the intricate user pathways and decision points within the app. This allowed for a comprehensive understanding of user interactions, enabling us to identify potential bottlenecks, simplify user journeys, and optimize the overall user experience for efficient and effective contact tracing.

Contact Tracing Iteration

 

Initial Design

In response to the user interviews, I started implementing initial designs on what the requirements would be for enabling contact tracing.

The first design iteration focused on creating an intuitive user interface. The prototype served as a foundation for further refinements and iterations based on user feedback and evolving requirements. These low-fidelity representations allowed us to gather early feedback, iterate on design ideas, and ensure that the application's user flow and functionality aligned with user needs and expectations before investing in high-fidelity prototypes and development.

Contact Tracing Iteration

 

Wireframes

Wireframes were beneficial in the UX design process because they provided a visual blueprint of the user interface, outlining the structure and layout of the Contact Tracing application. They helped my team map out content placement, navigation flow, and functionality early in the design phase, facilitating collaboration and feedback, and allowing for efficient iteration before moving on to high-fidelity designs.

Challenges Faced:

  • Changing Priorities: Business goals, compliance regulations, or pandemic-related needs may shift, requiring adjustments to the core functionalities.

  • Ensuring Simplicity: The design had to minimize steps for both admins and employees.

Customer Feedback

After several rounds of surveys and interviews, I found that filters allowed for instant identification of non-responsive users and contact method errors. This would aid in helping admins ensure that the people who need to be contacted receive and act upon direction. Overall, filters enable the contact tracing application to efficiently manage and prioritize contact data, allowing public health authorities to focus their resources on the most relevant and high-risk contacts. By leveraging these filters, contact tracing becomes more targeted, effective, and responsive in curbing the spread of COVID-19

UI Improvements

Collaboration with Development & Stakeholders

Regular check-ins and an agile design approach helped bridge gaps between teams and streamlined implementation.

With Engineers: Ensured feasibility, API integration, and performance optimization.

With Product Managers: Defined requirements, planned the roadmap, and prioritized features.

With Users: Gathered insights from early testing phases and post-launch user feedback to continuously improve the experience, ensuring the system met real-world needs.

Design System

Using a design system greatly streamlined the process by providing a centralized repository of standardized design components, patterns, and guidelines. The design system ensured consistency and coherence across the application. 

High-Fidelity Designs & Challenges Faced:

  • Balancing Detail & Usability: Too much information overwhelmed users, while too little hindered decision-making.

  • Privacy Messaging: Needed to reassure users about how their data was used.

Key Iteration Steps:

  • Designed a streamlined admin dashboard for automated tracking and real-time alerts.

  • Implemented privacy-first design choices (opt-in controls, transparent data policies).

  • Conducted A/B testing to refine the interface and improve engagement

Final Designs

The final designs for the COVID-19 contact tracing application prioritized usability, efficiency, privacy, and effective information communication. By creating an intuitive and visually engaging interface, users can easily understand their exposure risks and take appropriate measures.

Final Outcome & Impact

  • Significant reduction in manual tracking workload for administrators, streamlining operations, and improving efficiency.

  • Widespread adoption among users, exceeding initial expectations and demonstrating strong engagement.

  • Positive feedback from clients, highlighting the ease of implementation and privacy-focused design.

  • Successfully deployed across multiple industries, proving to be flexible and compliant with regulatory standards.

Key Takeaways:

✔ Led the UX strategy from research to final implementation.
✔ Collaborated across teams to drive alignment and execution.
✔ Balanced automation & user control to optimize engagement.
✔ Overcame multiple challenges to deliver a scalable solution.
✔ Achieved measurable impact, improving efficiency and adoption.

What I Would Do Differently

  • Expand Usability Testing Early On: Conduct broader usability testing in the initial phases to identify user pain points sooner and refine workflows more effectively.

  • Refine User Education & Engagement: Introduce interactive tutorials and contextual help to improve onboarding and long-term adoption.

  • Streamline Admin Workflows: Simplify dashboard navigation and filtering options to enhance efficiency and decision-making for administrators.