Simplaner | Digital system for therapy planning and monitoring

24 June, 2017
Problem
Children therapists encounter numerous challenges as they strive to address the emotional, behavioral, and developmental needs of young individuals. Alongside these complexities, therapists often contend with extensive paperwork and resource limitations. Unfortunately, existing digital systems fail to alleviate these challenges, often adding to the workload without easing therapists' responsibilities. A redesign of the system is imperative to ensure specialists can focus effectively on their patients, making their work both efficient and optimal.

Research
To create an optimal working system, our team conducted comprehensive qualitative and quantitative research, which included:
  • Thoroughly reviewing existing regulatory acts and formal documentation
  • Conducting in-depth interviews with 30 developmental psychology professionals and therapy center directors
  • Administering a survey to 400+ therapists to understand their needs
  • Facilitating product discovery workshops with all stakeholders, including therapists, policy makers, center directors, and experts in developmental disorder diagnosis.

Solution
A specialized digital tool for planning and monitoring therapy progress in children with developmental disorders enhances the quality and efficiency of therapeutic interventions. It allows for personalized and data-driven approaches, facilitates remote support, engages children in interactive learning, ensures efficient record-keeping, promotes collaboration, and enables continuous monitoring of progress for more effective developmental support. Simplaner facilitated:

  1. Personalization of Therapy Plans: Each child with a developmental disorder has unique needs and challenges. A specialized digital tool
    allows therapists to create personalized therapy plans tailored to the individual requirements of each child, ensuring targeted and effective interventions.
  2. Data-driven Decision Making: Digital tools can collect and analyze data on therapy progress more efficiently than traditional methods.
    This data-driven approach enables therapists to make informed decisions, track improvements, and adjust interventions in real-time based on objective information.
  3. Engaging and Interactive Learning: The tool incorporated interactive elements and gamified activities, making therapy sessions more engaging for children.
    This enhanced motivation and participation, leading to more effective learning and skill development.
  4. Efficient Record-keeping: The digital tool streamlined the process of documenting and storing therapy-related data.
    This not only reduces paperwork but also facilitates easy access to historical information, aiding in long-term assessment and planning.
  5. Communication and Collaboration: Simplaner improved communication and collaboration among parents, caregivers, and multidisciplinary
    teams involved in a child's therapy. This ensures everyone is well-informed about the child's progress, goals, and recommended interventions.
  6. Continuous Monitoring of Progress: Regular monitoring of a child's progress is essential in developmental disorders. Simplaner provides
    a continuous and objective means of assessing advancements, helping therapists and caregivers to celebrate achievements and address any setbacks promptly.

My role in the project
As the head of research, I was involved in all aspects of app development, from coordinating the research process to running product discovery workshops,
and designing and testing user experiences.