UK Sports Institute | Hormonix

Hormonix

UK Sport Institute

HealthTech

SaaS

B2B

Hormonix streamlines hormone monitoring for elite sports teams. Setting a new standard in simplicity, it offers one of the least intrusive hormone profiling services available. Utilising saliva samples, it eliminates the need for cumbersome lab visits, making the process seamless and efficient for athletes and teams alike.

My Role

Product Design Lead

I oversaw the design of the Hormonix platform from concept, functional prototype, MVP to its launch as a comprehensive lab based service delivered across multiple devices.

Platforms

Mobile (iOS and Android)
Desktop app
Proprietary hardware
Responsive web application

What I Did

Simplified the complexity of hormone sampling and monitoring by crafting a refined user experience across multiple digital touch points.
Established a productive and long-term partnership with the engineering team to improve the design of the service.
Built a modern design system in Figma.
Managed design documentation to meet ISO requirements for medical devices.

Conceptualisation

Initial hardware focus

The initial focus centred around designing a mobile app that seamlessly interfaced with proprietary hormone sensing hardware via Bluetooth. I spearheaded the app design process in close partnership with the Hormonix CTO.

App blueprints

My approach was rooted in iterative wire-framing to ensure that the technology's sophistication was matched by an equally refined user experience. The mobile app adeptly navigated users through the saliva sampling process, delivering essential real-time feedback and crucial information at each step of the journey.

Lean UX prototypes

I created a series of low fidelity UX prototypes with the aim of showcasing the concept to key stakeholders, ensuring that design solutions effectively addressed both user needs, business objectives, and technological challenges.

Branding

I created the Hormonix logo and visual identity to work across a wide range of touch points, including web, custom hardware, packaging, and printed material. The logo was created to represent the four hormones analysed by Hormonix - cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone.

Functional prototypes

Strategic collaboration

In partnership with the UK Sports Institute, Hormonix embarked on a critical phase of refining Hormonix's saliva sampling and analysis, moving its focus from Cortisol to Estradiol, and specifically tailoring the service for high-performance sports environments.

MVP

My design methodology was inherently iterative, shaped by ongoing user feedback. I designed an MVP, consisting of a desktop app for hormone sampling. A web application was designed to manage athletes, update measurements, and report results.

Field testing with lab support

We conducted field tests, using the desktop app to manage the saliva sampling process, whilst scientists conducted the testing and analysis in the lab. This approach allowed us to focus on improving adherence to the sampling process, whilst scientists focused on enhancing analysis techniques.

Piloting the service

We were able to adapt the user experience to meet technical challenges and emerging business opportunities. This not only fast-tracked the development process but also catalysed the broader deployment of Hormonix to elite sports organisations such as Manchester City, and Barcelona FC.

Validation and feasibility

The insights gained from piloting the service in demanding sports settings proved to be invaluable. The early-stage functional prototypes were crucial for testing and validating a roadmap for the development of Hormonix. Having partners to validate and test the service meant that regular user feedback became a cornerstone of the design process, enabling adaptation of the service to meet needs that had not been identified.

Evolution

Lab-based service

This period of collaboration and real-world testing was pivotal in paving the way for the development of a lab-based service with a saliva collection kit sent to athletes. A great deal of focus was placed on streamlining both the saliva sampling process and the logistics of managing kits through the mobile app.

Enhancing the sampling experience

I designed a configurable mobile app to support athletes in different settings, and a web platform to manage and configure the service for different use cases.

Features

The mobile app includes:

Scheduling - Scheduling and reminders to coordinate saliva sampling and collection protocols.
Collection guides - Easy to follow saliva sampling and collection guides
Barcode scanning - In-app sample barcode scanning to register and timestamp the samples.
Questionnaires - To capture contextual data and symptoms.
Data visualisation - Hormone analysis that includes data visualisation of symptoms alongside hormone data.

Notifications

Notifications played a vital role in ensuring athletes followed protocols, guiding them through each step of the process.

Website

The website provides visibility of hormone data and analysis by a team of experts. The platform supports organisations running a programme by enabling coordinators to design hormone monitoring studies, add/manage participants, monitor saliva sampling to ensure protocol adherence, and visualise synchronised symptom and hormone data to conduct analysis and gain actionable insights.

Storyboarding

Kit logistics

Managing the intricate logistics of distributing kits, monitoring protocol adherence, sample return, and lab processing was highly complex. Collaborating closely with the CTO and the Hormonix lab, I meticulously designed process flows, considering consent policies and COVID-related factors. To enhance communication, I developed clickable storyboards for team-wide sharing.

Reaching new markets

Expanding hormone sampling, monitoring, and analysis into new markets, especially those requiring non-invasive methods, was a key focus. Collaborating closely with the CTO, I crafted service blueprints for emerging markets, such as IVF. The utilisation of storyboards proved highly effective in simplifying the communication of complex processes.

Design system

Component library

I created a simple design system for Hormonix which included a component library, colours, typography, icons and common components such as buttons, inputs, toggles, cards, nav bars, etc.

Designing for a medical device

I oversaw the management of design documentation within Figma, ensuring strict adherence to ISO 13485:2016 standards for medical devices. This involved meticulously updating all critical screens to precisely match the live software after each new version launch. To maintain organised version control, we utilised Figma's 'Save to version history' feature and added detailed release notes for each iteration.

Hardware

Proprietary Hardware

The rollout of lab-based services has paved the way for continuous iterations and enhancements of the Hormonix hardware, which is currently in development. These ongoing improvements focus on enhancing precision and user-friendliness. As part of this effort, I developed a user-friendly step-by-step method for processing saliva samples, optimised for small screens.

A photograph of the Hormonix hardware for sampling saliva.

Recognition

Real-world application

Hormonix’s practical impact was demonstrated through its adoption by teams like the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and prominent sports organisations such as Manchester City, Barcelona FC and Venezia FC. Hormonix earned Cutting Edge award at Sports Industry Awards 2022.

Sports Industry Cutting Edge Award 2022.

Conclusion

Hormonix marries cutting edge science and technology with an elegant and simple user experience that has been progressively refined through iterative storyboarding, prototyping and testing. Throughout the design process I adeptly navigated evolving technical advancements and rapidly changing requirements, across multiple platforms. This dynamic approach enabled Hormonix to fine-tune the app’s features and user interface, enhancing its resonance with its target audience.

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Summary

Made significant improvements to the saliva sampling process - adherence, logistics, monitoring, and reporting.
Service adopted by elite sports teams.
2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Womens football teams including Manchester City, Barcelona FC, and Venezia FC.
Won Cutting Edge award at Sports Industry Awards 2022.

Simplifying Hormone Sampling & Analysis for Elite Sports.