Public-health design project
Safety gate · before any work
- Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start.
- Human samples and data stay private: label with a code, never a name, and dispose of materials in the correct waste container, then wash your hands.
Do now
Student teams design a usable public-health communication app for a surge scenario.
- Hand in
- Team deliverable: two user personas, a prioritized feature list, a low-fidelity wireframe of two screens, and a written usability check plan with one stated limitation.
- Where
- Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
Your team must design a surge-communication app in one class period. Before you draw a single screen, who is the specific Cleveland resident you are building for, and which of their needs decides what goes on screen one?
Student teams design a usable public-health communication app for a surge scenario.
- • Team produces personas and a wireframe grounded in user needs.
- • Plan a usability check and state one limitation.
- Who in your life would struggle most to use a health app in an emergency, and why?
- Name one app feature that helps that specific person and one that would only get in their way.
- 1Record the SOP for the user-centered design cycle the team will follow.
- 2Define the target users and the variables that shape their needs.
- 3Draft user personas and a prioritized feature list for the app.
- 4Build a low-fidelity wireframe addressing key surge information needs.
- 5Plan a usability check and note one limitation of the design data.
What did this day actually feel like?
Public-health design project
TEAM Teams designing a usable public-health communication app for a surge scenario. Two user personas, a prioritized feature list, and a low-fidelity wireframe of two screens.
Our first personas were basically us, which our teammate correctly called out as useless. We rewrote them as an older person without reliable internet and a parent with three kids and no time, and the entire feature list changed. Half of what we had prioritized served nobody but ourselves.
A wireframe that ignores who the user is is design fiction rather than design. That sentence is going to stay with me.
Turned in: personas, feature list, wireframe → recorded in Class Records
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
The same day, drawn.
Our first personas were basically us.
TEAMMATE
Neither of us is an older man with no reliable internet. Half this feature list serves nobody but you.
Fiction. There is no such student. The lessons, labs and dates are the real planned course; the student, the classmates and the conversations are invented.
🛠 Get unstuck · pick your level
Lab day: Tier 1 is the whole class at the bench. No extension today.
🔑 Today's words · 5
Tap a word in the lesson for a plain meaning and one example. Recycled into next week's Do-Now.
Do the work · 80-minute blockfirst 5 min = hook▸
💡 Big idea: A design serves people only when it is built around a real persona's needs, so a wireframe that ignores the persona is design fiction because nothing on it is ranked by real urgency.
- 0-8 minAgree on the user-centered design SOP the team will follow today.
- 8-20 minDefine target user groups (age, tech comfort, language, surge context); list variables shaping their needs.
- 20-38 minDraft two user personas: name, context, goals, and top three pain points each.
- 38-52 minBuild prioritized feature list: rank by persona urgency, not team preference.
- 52-68 minBuild low-fidelity wireframe for two key screens (home and alert screens).
- 68-80 minWrite usability check plan; state one design data limitation.
- • Today you are a UX design team hired to solve a real public-health communication crisis.
- • Your personas are your design constraints: every feature you add must trace back to a persona need.
- • The wireframe is a testable artifact, not a sketch: someone should be able to navigate it without your help.
- • The usability check plan tells you how you would know if the design actually works for real users.
- • A user persona is a realistic composite of a target user group: it names goals, pain points, and technology comfort level.
- • A prioritized feature list ranks features by how directly each one addresses a persona's highest-urgency need.
- • A low-fidelity wireframe shows information hierarchy and navigation flow without committing to visual style.
Unit 3.2 to 3.3: Medical surge, mobile response facility, public-health communication, app design concept. · Public-health design project
Day 3 of this lesson. Open this exact section in myPLTW (find it in Clever, Microsoft sign-in), then do the work below.
Do this: Open myPLTW and locate the Lesson 3.3 Information Sharing design or user-centered design activity. Use the platform guidelines to align your persona and wireframe work.
Submit any platform prompts related to design process before end of period.
Platform prompts completed; personas and wireframe substantially done before the bell.
Team personas and wireframe (shared document) plus platform submission.
The official PLTW activity stays inside myPLTW. If myPLTW will not open, use F1 and E1-E3 on this page to complete today's local evidence decision, then make up the official activity when access returns. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Check things off as you work, then submit. This tells Mr. Mendoza how you're doing so he can help the class. It does not replace turning in your producible through the submission route shown below.
Use the code Mr. Mendoza gave you, not your name. Saved on this device.
Unit 3.2 to 3.3: Medical surge, mobile response facility, public-health communication, app design concept. · Public-health design project
Open myPLTW and locate the Lesson 3.3 Information Sharing design or user-centered design activity. Use the platform guidelines to align your persona and wireframe work.
Platform prompts completed; personas and wireframe substantially done before the bell.
This is how Mr. Mendoza sees the class keeping pace with PLTW. Be honest, it only helps if it is accurate.
🎯 Student teams design a usable public-health communication app for a surge scenario.
- Record the SOP for the user-centered design cycle the team will follow.
- Define the target users and the variables that shape their needs.
- Draft user personas and a prioritized feature list for the app.
- Build a low-fidelity wireframe addressing key surge information needs.
- Plan a usability check and note one limitation of the design data.
Pre-lab: Team deliverable: two user personas, a prioritized feature list, a low-fidelity wireframe of two screens, and a written usability check plan with one stated limitation.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Use the checklist just below and upload by 11:29 PM for full credit. Absent with an excused absence? You get two school days for every day you were absent, so this deadline moves with you.
| Task | Who |
|---|---|
| Record the SOP for the user-centered design cycle the team will follow. | _______ |
| Define the target users and the variables that shape their needs. | _______ |
| Draft user personas and a prioritized feature list for the app. | _______ |
| Build a low-fidelity wireframe addressing key surge information needs. | _______ |
| Plan a usability check and note one limitation of the design data. | _______ |
Working solo? Put your own name in "Who" for every row.
- Team produces personas and a wireframe grounded in user needs.
- Plan a usability check and state one limitation.
- 1Do thisStudent teams design a usable public-health communication app for a surge scenario.
- 2Use this resource
- 3Submit thisPre-lab: Team deliverable: two user personas, a prioritized feature list, a low-fidelity wireframe of two screens, and a written usability check plan with one stated limitation.
- 4Submit it here
- 1Open the drop folder.
- 2Sign in with your district Microsoft account, not a personal one.
- 3Upload the file, named Lastname_Firstname__Assignment Title.
- 4Your own upload panel says Uploaded with a green check: that is your receipt.
Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not. Principles of Biomedical Technology (Principles of Biomedical Science) › Unit 3.2 to 3.3: Medical surge, mobile response facility, public-health communication, app design concept. › Pre-labOpen the drop folder
Learn it · deck, reading, and vocabulary▸
The deck carries the prior idea forward, lets you inspect an analogy, maps the rule to biology, and ends with the same evidence decision and exit ticket used on this page.
Generated from this lesson's canonical data with a red-team citation check.
A public-health message reaches people only when the interface is usable, so accurate information in a bad interface fails because users abandon it before they act.
A design serves people only when it is built around a real persona's needs, so a wireframe that ignores the persona is design fiction because nothing on it is ranked by real urgency.
A bridge prototype is tested against a load limit, cost limit, and user need before revision.
- Which requirement is a criterion?
- Which limit is a constraint?
- What test result should trigger a redesign?
A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
Biomedical designs also require , ethics, and biological validation beyond a physical prototype test.
- • Bridge requirements map to design criteria.
- • Load results map to E1-E3.
- • Revision maps to the next evidence-based iteration.
Driving question: Your team must design a surge-communication app in one class period. Before you draw a single screen, who is the specific Cleveland resident you are building for, and which of their needs decides what goes on screen one?
What you already know: A public-health message reaches people only when the interface is usable, so accurate information in a bad interface fails because users abandon it before they act.
New idea: A design serves people only when it is built around a real persona's needs, so a wireframe that ignores the persona is design fiction because nothing on it is ranked by real urgency.
Visual or model: F1. F1. A lesson illustration or teaching diagram for Public-health design project. Use it with E1-E3; it is a model or context image, not experimental or patient data. What to notice: Trace the labeled observation or evidence sequence before choosing an explanation.
- Observe or measure the relevant feature in Public-health design project.
- Organize the observation with a stable evidence ID.
- Apply this rule: A design improves when evidence is compared with explicit criteria and constraints.
- Choose the option the evidence supports and state the limit of the conclusion.
Real biomedical example: Your team must design a surge-communication app in one class period. Before you draw a single screen, who is the specific Cleveland resident you are building for, and which of their needs decides what goes on screen one?
What the evidence supports: E1-E3 and F1 support the daily take-home when the response meets the stated success criteria.
What it cannot prove: The package does not support claims beyond this lesson's or any real patient diagnosis.
- • : A health system's ability to rapidly expand staff, beds, and supplies to handle a sudden jump in patients during an emergency or outbreak.
- • : Healthcare delivered to people where they are, using vehicles or portable units to reach communities far from a fixed clinic or hospital.
- • : The science of protecting and improving the health of whole communities through prevention, education, and policies rather than treating one patient at a time.
- • surveillance: The ongoing, systematic collection and analysis of health data to detect disease early, track its trends, and trigger a timely response.
- • communication: Sharing information clearly and accurately between people, which in healthcare keeps patients safe and helps teams coordinate care.
- • usability: How easy, efficient, and satisfying a product is for its intended users to learn and use to reach their goals.
Use it now: Choose one decision option. Cite E1 and E3, then explain how the rule connects the evidence to your choice.
Go further, optional: The source links below are optional enrichment. Every fact required for today's local evidence decision appears in this lesson package.
A user persona is a realistic composite of a target user group: it names goals, pain points, and technology comfort level.
Limit: E1 supplies context or an observation; it does not by itself establish the explanation.
A design serves people only when it is built around a real persona's needs, so a wireframe that ignores the persona is design fiction because nothing on it is ranked by real urgency.
Limit: E2 is a teaching statement or comparison and must be checked against the task evidence.
Team produces personas and a wireframe grounded in user needs.
Limit: E3 supports only the result or product criterion named here; it cannot justify a broader clinical or causal claim.
PLTW-PBT-2026-12-04 · Simulated classroom evidence scenario
Your role: biomedical investigator
Decision: Your team must decide what the evidence from Public-health design project supports before submitting the pre-lab readiness record named on the lesson page.
- • Keep the current design.
- • Revise the feature that misses a criterion.
- • Run one more fair test before choosing.
Response: State one choice, cite at least two evidence IDs, explain the rule that connects them, and add one limitation. Submit it as the pre-lab readiness record.
Claim ceiling: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Public-health design project. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
- • The solution must address the stated need in Public-health design project.
- • The decision must be supported by E1-E3.
- • The final product must make the success criteria visible.
- • Complete the work inside the 80-minute block.
- • Use only supplied or teacher-approved materials and evidence.
- • Do not trade , accessibility, or privacy for speed.
- • and evidence quality: must pass before scoring other criteria.
- • User need and effectiveness: highest scored criterion.
- • Time, cost, and ease of use: compare only after and effectiveness pass.
Test evidence: For each option, record the E1-E3 result that supports or fails each criterion. Do not assign a score without a named observation.
- Version or option tested
- Criterion met or missed
- Evidence ID and result
- Revision made
- Reason for the revision
- Need and user
- Criteria and constraints
- Chosen option and evidence
- Test result
- Revision and reason
Students often think Students think a good app is one that looks polished and packs in the most features, so they rush to design screens before defining a user.. The trap: That is a trap, because a wireframe built without a persona serves an imaginary average user who does not exist. Features only earn their place by answering a real person's highest-urgency need, so without a named persona you cannot rank anything and the design is fiction.
SOP recorded: follow the user-centered design cycle: define users, list needs, prioritize features, sketch a wireframe, then plan a usability check.
Target users and the variables shaping their needs: language, data access, age, and health literacy all change what a user needs.
Persona 1, 'Rosa, 58': limited data plan, prefers Spanish, worried about exposing family. Top need: know if it is safe to seek care without traveling far.
Persona 2, 'Jamal, 19': smartphone-fluent, no car, relies on public transit. Top need: find the closest open mobile site and its hours.
Prioritized feature list (highest-urgency first):
- Live clinic and mobile-site map with wait times.
- Language toggle (English and Spanish).
- Low-bandwidth text-only mode.
- Symptom self-check with 'when to seek care' guidance.
Wireframe (two screens, low fidelity):
- Screen 1: big 'Find care near me' button, language toggle, last-updated stamp.
- Screen 2: map list of sites with wait time and hours, one tap to directions.
Usability-check plan: have three classmates find the nearest open site in under 30 seconds; count taps and note confusion points.
Limitation: our personas are composites we invented, not real users, so the feature priorities are our best guess until we test with actual community members.
This model shows the level of evidence and organization needed to complete: Completes the design project prep: two user personas, a prioritized feature list, a low-fidelity two-screen wireframe, and a usability-check plan with one limitation.
- Identify the purpose, hazards, and required controls.
- Write the procedure in a usable order.
- Confirm materials, measurements, and waste handling before starting.
Keep the structure. Replace the question, facts, measurements, and evidence. Then recheck units, vocabulary, and whether the conclusion goes beyond the evidence.
Also due today: One team member turns in the design package on the class site under the Wednesday Design Project assignment; all names must appear.
- CER:
- Claim, Evidence, Reasoning: make a claim, back it with evidence, explain your reasoning.
- SOP:
- Standard Operating Procedure, the exact steps to follow (especially in a lab).
- Tracker:
- Your PLTW progress log where you record completed evidence.
- myPLTW:
- The PLTW course site where you do the online activities. Find it in Clever with your Microsoft sign-in, right next to Schoology.
Tap the speaker to hear a term. Add two of these to your notebook glossary with a definition and an example in your own words.
Pick just 2 or 3 words from today and make them yours: write what each one means in your own words, name the context clue or evidence that helped, then give one example from what you actually did in Public-health design project. Try your own words first; the glossary is there if you get stuck. This is voluntary and counts as extra credit, so keep it short.
Saved on this device. Show Mr. Mendoza or add these to your notebook glossary to claim the extra credit.
Hand-picked readings and interactives for this lesson, from authoritative open organizations and PLTW's own public course outline.
Check yourself · commit, then reveal▸
Claim ceiling for this check: The supplied lesson evidence can support an observation, pattern, classroom mechanism, or next-step decision about Public-health design project. It cannot by itself prove causation, establish a real clinical diagnosis, or justify action outside this classroom task.
Your persona is a grandmother with an older phone and no reliable data connection. Should 'live animated map with real-time video' be a top feature? Justify using her persona.
Write an answer and pick a confidence to unlock the key.
Fast retrieval with instant answers, not the commit-then-reveal check above. Try each from memory first: write what you remember about the earlier units, then check yourself here.
Go further and get help▸
I can name the procedure's purpose and the evidence I will record. I can identify each named hazard and the control that reduces it: Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start. My data table is ready before materials are handled.
Finish the checklist before you handle any material.
- • Wear the required PPE, keep the bench clear, handle equipment only as directed, and know where the eyewash, sink, and spill kit are before you start.
- • Human samples and data stay private: label with a code, never a name, and dispose of materials in the correct waste container, then wash your hands.
- 1Before materials are handled, identify the purpose, variables or comparison, controls, measurement units, and stop-work condition.
- 2Record the SOP for the user-centered design cycle the team will follow.
- 3Define the target users and the variables that shape their needs.
- 4Draft user personas and a prioritized feature list for the app.
- 5Build a low-fidelity wireframe addressing key surge information needs.
- 6Plan a usability check and note one limitation of the design data.
- 7Record each result in the prepared table before interpreting it. Mark missing, repeated, or invalid results truthfully.
- 8Complete the named cleanup and waste route, remove PPE safely, wash hands when required, and confirm the station is ready for the next group.
| Trial or sample ID | Independent condition | Measured result with units | Observation before interpretation | Quality-control note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Before the procedure, predict the result and cite the rule behind the prediction.
After the procedure, compare the result with the prediction and name one limitation or source of uncertainty.
What today's skills lead to. These are real health-science careers this course builds toward. Tap one to see, on the US Department of Labor's O*NET site, what the job actually involves, what it pays, and how fast it is growing.
Group public-health design project: teams build personas, a prioritized feature list, and a wireframe for a surge communication app, then plan a usability check.
Digital.gov: User-Centered DesignThen submit your Pre-lab. Turn this in at the drop folder with your district Microsoft sign-in, or hand it to Mr. Mendoza in class. Both count as submitted. Doing the activity in myPLTW does not.
Class still runs. Complete the online activity above (it's self-guided). Need the concept taught without a teacher? Use this authoritative explainer:
Ready.gov: pandemic and large-scale health emergenciesYou've passed Unit 2, so the optional extra-credit track is open. Complete reserved-unit work from home, including virtual labs, for extra credit. Each item shows its correct submission route.
Open the extra-credit track- CompleteEvery required part of the artifact is present, nothing left blank.
- AccurateThe science and the data are correct and match the evidence.
- Scientific reasoningYou explain your claim with evidence and reasoning (CER), not just an answer.
- Professional communicationClear, organized, labeled, and written the way a clinician or scientist would.
- SubmittedTurned in the right way, on the class site or handed to Mr. Mendoza in class, and confirmed. Not in Schoology: that is where the report-card grade appears later.
- Error analysis and method · counts doubleName a specific limit of the method and how it moved your result, and compare what you predicted to what happened. "Human error" does not count; say what about the procedure or instrument caused it.