Overview
As the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across the world, the pressure began to mount on GPs and emergency services. We were engaged by Health & Social Care in Northern Ireland to co-design a citizen-centred solution that would help ease that pressure on our services and provide the Northern Irish public with the most accurate and personalised information relating to the virus.
The Challenge
As the pandemic escalated, Northern Ireland’s healthcare system faced:
- Overwhelming pressure on GPs and emergency services
- Public confusion about COVID-19 symptoms and guidance
- Need for accurate, personalised information at scale
- Urgent timeline for deployment
Approach
Working within the tightest imaginable time-frame we worked with a large group of experts and stakeholders to outline an initial solution. We explored best practice examples, mapped an end-to-end user journey and gathered data from in-depth user interviews.
Working in partnership with Civica + Nearform (external developers) we launched the mobile service in two weeks. Following a period of live testing, we have continued to support the successive release of new versions to enhance and personalise the service throughout the pandemic.
Design System
We developed a modular UI system that was able to easily update depending on new design requirements and user interactions. This allowed for rapid iteration as the pandemic situation evolved and new requirements emerged.
Solution
The solution included multiple applications:
COVIDCare NI App
A citizen-facing app providing personalised COVID-19 information, symptom checking, and guidance on when to seek medical help.
STOP COVID NI (Contact Tracing)
We then developed a companion app for contact tracing, specifically designed for children alongside the ICO. This tailored onboarding was the first of its kind, carefully considering data privacy and age-appropriate communication.
Key Features
- Personalised symptom checker
- Real-time guidance based on user responses
- Contact tracing with privacy-first approach
- Child-friendly onboarding process
- Modular design system for rapid updates
- Multi-language support
Results
Within a month from launch, the COVIDCare NI and STOP COVIDNI apps had more than 500,000 downloads.
This translated to a significant reduction of calls from concerned citizens to the 111 service.
A citizen centred design approach was used throughout leading to policy and design updates based on user feedback.
Recognition
- IDI Awards 2021 - Service Design
- Design Week 2021 - Best in Show (COVID Response)
Impact
The project demonstrated how rapid co-design with stakeholders, users, and cross-functional teams could deliver critical public health infrastructure at scale during a crisis. The modular design system and user-centred approach ensured the apps could evolve with changing pandemic conditions while maintaining usability and trust.