Personal challenges

Imposter Syndrome

I was intimidated by the gravity of UX for medicine. Checking the scope of the work (and day rates) with a mentor gave me the nudge to take the job on.

Timescale

The deadline for 10 new screens dropped from two weeks to one. The whole job in four.

Steep learning curve

Time invested levelling up on InVision helped to prepare, rebuild and bring animation to the process.

Best practice

Investing in a component library and style guide paid off when I had to bring in additional resources to stay on schedule.

Hiccups and surprises

One week in the client was unable to access the prototype (some combination of Invision upgrade, Catalina OS release and Dubai Wi-Fi). I repaired the design/feedback loop by emailing exported screens and picking up WhatsApp voice messages.

Distributed team

With the Client/CEO based between Thailand and Dubai activity was coordinated across three time zones, via Skype and WhatsApp, using Basecamp to manage assets.

On the downside it was time-consuming to align on requirements and constraints. Additional UI work was caused by parallel visual design changes.

On the upside, I leveraged my client-facing experience to set the design agenda. Developers were booked in so proceeding and signing off in batches would ensure they had something to work on.

This was a new experience for almost all involved - Client, Agency and myself. The development team provided a useful touchstone in terms of delivery expectations and schedule.

Process

The work did not unfold as anticipated. The existing wireframes, exported from Illustrator, had not been scrutinised. The InVision prototype file was not shared so I had to rebuild it to incorporate the missing screens. The scope for design and amends broadened.

The brief shifted further as new screens were defined by a parallel design process, along with a new look and feel. This broad brush work was done in InDesign. I drew on my visual experience to improvise and implement this across the product.

The experience design process was limited to troubleshooting on the fly. Doctors and medical staff were reviewing the work-in-progress but questions and feedback was mediated via the CEO.

I was disappointed to miss out on opportunities to improve the product but I was now under pressure to incorporate and animate new design and functionality.

Half way through a visual update InVision failed.

Once I'd rebooted production in XD I negotiated an additional designer to recover lost momentum and meet the demand of the unexpected workload.

Visual design and usability

Taking Doctors 15 minutes to enter clinical data for a simulation it was highly likely they'd be interrupted. It was critical to help them rejoin the process and get to the 'gold'.

From studying usability and UI patterns I'd learnt the importance of orientation and feedback. I instinctively began incorporating these into the product and challenging visual design decisions that might frustrate users. I lost the battle for breadcrumbs but successfully advocated for in page navigation and removal of confusing additions to global navigation.

To minimise impact on impact on the prototype I continued to advocate for usability as the visual design moved forward.

We worked together to identify opportunites for users to explore their data and defined functionality in features such as the timeline, body map and numerical display.

Outcomes

This seemed to be a complicated and technical version 1.0 but wholly necessary. The primary objective for DXC was FDA approval for clinical use. This would unlock further investment and development.

The success of the product rests on straightforward accurate data entry and the ability to modify simulations to optimise surgical choices. Doctors were concerned that the interface would feel crowded by the iOS keyboard so rollers and dropdown menus were specified in the UI. Ease of use versus accuracy would be high priority for usability testing.

Entering data to create new patient files and simulations would be laborious and unavoidable. Users would carry the ultimate responsibility for surgical risk. The goal was to make the process clear and give users the confidence to save their progress and pick up where they left off. Orientation would be another goal for testing.

The design presents summary information and status in dashboards, makes it easy for users to access greater detail and iterate on surgical simulations. Journeys for registration and log in of new users were added, along with support and technical guides. It will be interesting to hear feedback from new users.

At time of writing the UI was approved by a happy client and the product handed off to developers.

Personal learnings

• An appreciation for Agile as a framework to make targeted improvements.
• Value of Design Systems - consistency is easily lost
• Invest in processes for effective collaboration
• Believe in my abililties as a highly capable & adaptable designer

What would I do differently?

• Challenge existing content earlier
• Learn more about ease vs accuracy in medical data entry
• Map user journeys to know the product better
• Reach out to peers to share problems and share learning

Achievements

• Gained confidence facing down the Imposter
• Validated my learning and previous experience, adding value to the process
• Advocated effectively for the user
• Demonstrated professional commitment and resilience