attune

Securing user engagement and $26M+ in funding

We helped Blue Note Therapeutics complete their cancer patient support app on an accelerated schedule, enabling them to lock-in Series A funding and fast-tracking their product for FDA approval.

BEFORE

Digital therapeutics company Blue Note and its team of cancer doctors, patients, and researchers had started designing a mobile app to deliver a clinically tested stress management program

Needed to figure out how to build community, support, and trust in a digital environment, but their early designs lacked features to help users connect

AFTER

New community engagement feature designed and implemented to complete MVP ahead of schedule

Beat deadline for regulatory fast-tracking and secured $26+ million in series A funding

Overhauled backend infrastructure to empower rapid updates, service capacity, and HIPAA compliance

Challenge

Closing the care gap

About one in four cancer patients suffers from depression, but many of them lack access to conventional forms of therapy. Blue Note Therapeutics’ attune mobile app puts proven stress management tools and guidance right at their fingertips to support their mental, physical, and emotional health—with potentially life-changing results.

Activity screen from the feature tour of the attune mobile app by Blue Note Therapeutics.

Collage of graphics and style elements from the attune mobile app.

Process

Remaking “group” for a new medium

We worked with the Blue Note team to identify and understand the essential components of the group therapy model: the scheduled group sessions and the group facilitation. We also conducted user research that validated the need for a group communication component to encourage patient engagement. Then, we designed a platform that combined the existing self-paced user journey with a new private group discussion feature for program participants.

Two smart phones stacked on an angle showing group chat screens from attune stress management app

Solution

A digital space for real community

We designed an in-app group discussion feature to allow users to connect with other patients and show support with comments and custom-designed reaction icons. For more personal interactions, we also incorporated private one-on-one messaging between community members.

Onboarding screen from attune mobile app directing user to upload photo.

Solution

Enhanced onboarding

We expanded the onboarding flow to support group communication with new fields like photo/avatar and condition information to promote trust and empathy among participants, and to facilitate the possibility of customized segmentation in future groups.

Solution

QMS partnership for top-tier compliance

We worked with a third-party quality management system (QMS) to develop and maintain software products within a formally documented software development environment.

Hands working on open laptop with translucent images of checkmarks, cogs, and other graphics representing a quality management system for an app.

Mobile phone sitting on a white block displaying screen from attune mobile app group chat feed.

Solution

Enabling inclusive conversations

With accessibility and equity in mind, we developed group discussion prompts designed to resonate with patients from many backgrounds. We participated in feedback sessions with focus groups of diverse patients, clinicians, and advocates to craft prompts with content, tone, and language that would be understandable, relevant, and respectful to attune users.

Solution

A better way(finding)

To optimize the user experience, we created a navigation structure that forwards the patient’s therapeutic journey while making other important features discoverable and accessible. By configuring key elements in standard iOS patterns, we enabled participants to easily move back and forth between the session roadmap and the group chat forum, without losing focus or motivation.

Mobile phone displaying My Journey screen from attune mobile app.

Solution

Re-engineered for success

We restructured Blue Note's early iteration app to dramatically improve its performance and scalability. We replaced sub-optimal php and javascript with typescript on the back and front ends, incorporated automated build, and implemented an extensive infrastructure-as-code backend that supported HIPAA compliance.

Praise from our clients:

The technical team has been a great strategic partner, looking far beyond the scope of the project to our long-term needs and helping us make good choices.

Michael McKinley

Blue Note Therapeutics, Head of Product

Working with Twenty Ideas has been a game-changer for a science-based start-up like us. They showed genuine investment in our mission to ease the burden of cancer, in their attention to detail and quality, and their commitment to serve patient users.

Geoffrey Eich

Blue Note Therapeutics, CEO

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