Introduction
In 2021, I had the tremendous honor of collaborating with Vitas on the new version of GlycoCheck. GlycoCheck is a medical application used worldwide (though they intend to launch the new version in the U.S. first) by researchers in hospitals and universities to measure glycocalyx.
However, there were some challenges. Most of the stakeholders were in the U.S., which meant dealing with a different time zone. Additionally, they were not familiar with UX and preferred to minimize design expenses. They also held a monopoly on glycocalyx measurement technology due to their patents.
As a result, argumentation like increasing product adoption ratio (conversion), reducing churn, or focusing on retention didn't apply. This made it harder to demonstrate the impact of UX. To make things more challenging, I had a limited allocation of 16 hours per week to help them understand the value of UX and work towards a user-friendly product.
Key challenges
- How can I convince stakeholders that UX adds value when many success metrics are redundant because they hold patents for glycocalyx measurement technology?
- How can I validate the concept when my target audience is preoccupied with battling COVID-19 and situated 7,500 kilometers away?
- How can I manage expectations with only a limited 16 hours per week for this project?
- How can I enhance usability to streamline the process for doctors and nurses?
- How can I validate functionalities in the UI controlled by external hardware?
High-level process
I always start by collecting project insights: What's the problem or market opportunity? What's the goal? Why is it so important? What is the scope? What do we already know? Are there assumptions and hypotheses, and how can we validate them to measure success?
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After the briefing, I knew that there are a few important things that I needed to tackle.
- Vitas needed to convince the client to hire a UX designer, as they don't know what UX is and don't want to spend money on the 'design' of the application.
- The target audience consists of doctors and nurses. During COVID-19, this could pose a challenge for user testing.
- Both target audience and most of the stakeholders are so far away.
This led me to my first hurdle.
Challenge(s) and solution(s)
- How can I manage expectations with only a limited 16 hours per week for this project?
Clearly defining our way of working together is always important. However, when dealing with a team in another country and limited time, it becomes even more crucial. By specifying my needs and reasons, I can manage the situation better.
Additionally, it's important to be honest and set boundaries. For instance, to keep the project on track, I communicated that I only allow two feedback rounds for my design proposals (one after the initial presentation and one after the iteration).
One of the first things I did after establishing the Way of Working (WoW) was to gather more insights about the current product, the business requirements, wishes, and needs for the new version. To do this, I requested a demo and recorded it so I could take snapshots for later analysis. I also facilitated a session with the Vitas Team and local stakeholders to map things out.
Doing so allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the context, identify opportunities for improvement, and comprehend the complexity by witnessing it firsthand. This, in turn, helped me understand how to align it with the business.
I then used this knowledge to work on the designs. During this time I encountered my next challenge.
Challenge(s) and solution(s)
- How can I enhance usability to streamline the process for doctors and nurses?
Based on my analysis of the current product, I noticed that there were a lot of opportunities in regards to usability that can be improved. As a result, I wanted to conduct a remote moderated A/B test, in which I am going to compare the user experience of the current product with the new concept. To do so, I used the findings to work out an improved design of the concept and prepared a research plan.
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To get the most out of my usability test, I created a prototype. However, there was one thing that presented a challenge.
Challenge(s) and solution(s)
- How can I validate functionalities in the UI controlled by external hardware?
There are limitations in Figma, but I tried to replicate the 'effect' as closely as possible by linking Figma variants together and animating it. However, I advised the stakeholders to validate the real product when it's developed.
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You might wonder, it's all nice and flashy, but does your improvement work? Where is the research plan that you mentioned? Well, you have a fair point. To conduct the remote moderated A/B test, I have prepared a few deliverables:
- The research plan itself. I need this to elaborate on the idea to stakeholders, even though they reluctantly accepted it (as they don't see the need for it), they did wanted to give it a shot.
- The test form, which contains the context for the test, the link to the prototype for B-users (A-users validate the current product), the tasks they need to complete, and link to the post-survey.
- SUS surveys, to capture feedback and measure usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS).
Challenge(s) and solution(s)
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Just when I was about to set things in motion, a major problem struck: COVID-19 became more severe in the USA. As a result, the stakeholders didn't want to burden the doctors and nurses with our project, as saving lives is far more important than any user tests. I completely agreed with them, but this did lead to my next challenges.
Challenge(s) and solution(s)
- How can I validate the concept when my target audience is preoccupied with battling COVID-19 and situated 7,500 kilometers away?
- How can I convince stakeholders that UX adds value when many success metrics are redundant because they hold patents for glycocalyx measurement technology?
To tackle these challenges, I tested both products with the stakeholders. While I was initially disappointed that I couldn't validate it with my target audience, who are unbiased, I realized that validating with biased individuals is better than not validating at all. Sometimes, you have to choose your battles, and pushing busy doctors and nurses while they're saving lives isn't one of them.
On the bright side, I had an excellent opportunity to let the stakeholders witness the added value of UX themselves. Here's a pro tip: Telling someone why they are wrong or providing arguments for embracing UX isn't always the smartest way to convince someone. The trick is to let them come to that realization on their own ;-).
An important point to mention is that I had two stakeholders perform Part A and two perform Part B on separate weekends. The following weekend, I switched their roles. This was done to prevent their first session's experience from affecting the second session.
After reviewing both test results, I shared the SUS scores from both products, demonstrating to the stakeholders that the new concept is more usable than the current one. The benefit is that they offered their own answers, reducing the perception of bias on my part. So that made them understand the benefits of UX a little bit. With this in mind, I concluded by recommending that they should validate the actual product with real users in the future to make their product even better (as the results are biased).
