Proposal for
Care Share
A new app for those who Care
Introduction
Care Share is made for carers who look after a
family member with a disability, mental health
issues or dementia/Alzheimer’s. This app is
designed for people of any age who aren’t a carer
as their job, but need to give a large amount of
day-to-day care to someone in their life.
The app has many functions to help carers,
including customised reminders to take medication,
storing important phone numbers, logging any
injuries, and more.
This app is unique and there are few - if any -
similar apps on the app store. Care Share combines
the functions of many different health apps into
one, and aims it at the carer rather than the person
they care for.
Apps are a great area to invest in, as the market is
constantly expanding, thanks to new technological
advances like Smart Fridges, self-driving cars,
Smart Watches, etc. Therefore this app could have
the potential to tur n a substantial profit and change
a lot of people’s lives.
Marketing
Care Share will be distributed on the Apple App
Store and Google Play store, as these run on the
two major phone operating systems. The Windows
Store is another option, but since this isn’t as
popular, this could be an area to expand into if
there is a demand for it.
To market the app, I will use social media -
specifically Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
YouTube. These sites allow me to target different
age ranges, and I can use them all in a different
way. For example, Instagram is image-based so can
show the look and feel of the app, but Twitter is
word-based so I can give quick updates if there is a
problem with the app, and Facebook is a mix of
both.
In order to profit from this app, I plan to use
advertising within the app itself, and there will be
an option to pay to get rid of the adverts. I will also
offer other in-app purchase options, such as
unlocking additional functions of the app.
Multi-platform use
Technology has advanced rapidly in the last 5 years
with the release of Smart Watches and Google Hub/
Alexa technology. This new technology is exciting
and have been on the market long enough that they
are now affordable to a lot of people. Therefore, I
plan to make my app compatible with these
devices, along with FitBits and other smart sports
watches, to further streamline my customer’s lives.
I think this cross-platform usage will give Care
Share a unique advantage above other apps by not
limiting the features to just one device. Users can
ask Alexa to tell them what events are on the
calendar for today, set reminders, and even show
how many steps their relative has done that day if
they have a smart watch of their own.
Team
In the team, we will have a Project Manager, design
team (including Navigation Planner(s), Visual
Designer(s) and Content Planner(s)), Developers
and a Sales & Marketing Team. These team
members will all help with each stage of the
planning and production process, with expertise in
all areas, including language skills, coding, design
and pitching.
These employees are all necessary to creating a
successful app as we must be able to create a
visually appealing interface which navigates well
between each page with all relevant information.
The developers are then responsible for bringing
these ideas to life, and without a sales team the
app wouldn’t be able to get off the ground.
Market Research
If this app were to be approved for going into
production, I would need to conduct lots of market
research to find out as much about the target
audience as possible. Since I have a mass target
audience, I would need to use a few different
methods to ensure everyone is included.
The first method I would use would be vox pops,
and I would choose a busy area like a shopping
centre to ask different people of all ages and
demographics to ask questions. I would also
conduct an online survey and post it on different
social media platforms to target different people
(e.g. Twitter for younger generations and Facebook
for more mature users). I would also like to have a
focus group to ask more open and in-depth
questions, where I would include people of different
generations, races, genders, etc.
Legal & ethical issues
The biggest potential issues I need to look out for
are privacy, ease of use and intellectual property.
The Care Share app can only be opened by a
password, since sensitive data (prescription
medication info, content numbers, etc.) will be
stored about someone who is not the user. I will
also make sure all data stored in the app is
encrypted, so data cannot be obtained by an
unauthorised party.
Since the app is aimed at a large age range, I must
check that the GUI (Graphical User Interface) is
easy to read and navigate for all ages. I don’t want
to exclude part of my target audience by making
the app too complicated.
I will also need to take steps to ensure my
intellectual property is protected, through the use
of trademarks and registered copyright. Both of
these methods are used for protecting different
types of material (e.g. logos, designs, names) and
are used to prove that content is either original
(trademark), or to prove on what date content was
produced (copyright).
Conclusion
Overall, I think Care Share can be a logical tool to
help the way many carers work - as a team. One of
the most important aspects of caring for someone
you love is ensuring consistency and continuity of
care, and Care Share can help users securely share
sensitive information with each other.
Care Share’s multi-platform capabilities allow the
app to be used on almost every device on the
market, giving users the freedom to use the app in
whatever way suits them. Utilising Smart Watch and
Alexa technology, this app is built to help you help
the ones you love.
