Healthcare Corporation

Project Description

A large publicly-traded healthcare enterprise that serves as a major intermediary for both government-sponsored and privately-insured health care programs. The company creates healthcare solutions for the under-insured and uninsured through specialty services that align with a focus on whole health.

The client had a large number of MicroStrategy desktop dashboards that were already in use by multiple business groups.  They wanted to redesign these dashboards in iPad format, with an improved interface and consistent look and feel.  The company also needed a number of additional dashboards to be created for both their internal teams and external partners.

My Role

My role was to perform UX/UI tasks to design the front-end dashboards.  What I did:

  • Met with the client’s multiple teams to learn about user needs
  • Gathered and documented requirements for the dashboard
  • Lead sketching sessions with users
  • Designed a series of low-fidelity wireframes
  • Created high-fidelity final mockups that were sent to development
  • Established new new design standards and created a comprehensive style guide for future developers
  • Performed design oversight during the QA process

Tools Used

  • Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Adobe XD
  • InDesign
  • PowerPoint
  • Whiteboard

The Process

This was a very large project that spanned a couple years of time and involved a large team of BI professionals.  I was the sole designer on the team that included a number of architects, developers, and data analysts.  We began by meeting with the client’s executive team to understand their goals for the project, familiarize ourselves with the existing dashboards, and create a game plan for the work involved.

During this initial phase our team did not have a project manager or business analyst.  So my first task was to meet with various user groups (about 5 groups in all), assess the number of dashboards to be redesign or developed, and to document requirements for the projects.  We then met with the executives to prioritize the work for their various user groups.

The dashboards were being developed in MicroStrategy, but the client wanted them to have a navigation structure that was similar to a regular iPad app.  Starting with wireframes, I designed an outer shell that included navigation menus, a filter panel, a tools panel, the dashboard title and client logo.

The client determined that a series of executive dashboards was the first to be developed.  So my team met with executive users to understand their needs and craft the story for their dashboards.  We then spent a number of days in working sessions to sketch our ideas on a whiteboard.

Once the sketches were in place a set of wireframes were created in Adobe XD and delivered as functional prototypes.  I worked closely with the users to modify the wireframes as needed.  We also included developers and business analysts in the project to be sure the designs could be achieved in MicroStrategy.
Project Wireframes: 
Once the wireframes received sign off, a series of high-fidelity mockups were created.  When the final look and feel was in place, I created an official style guide for the development team to use when developing the dashboards.  The style guide detailed our fonts, color schemes, layout positioning, commonly used table styles, and graph styles.
Style Guide Samples: 
With the executive group completed, I transitioned to working on dashboards with the other 5 user groups.  Each group was treated as a unique entity and the process differed a little for each.

 

The Outcome

Over the course of two years I traveled to the client’s corporate headquarters many times, working closely with each of the various user groups. Our team of BI professionals implemented dozens of dashboards and set the standard for dashboard design and development for this client. 

Final Design Samples: 

Landing Page

Clinical Executive Dashboard

Clinical Popup

Regional Trends Plan Compare

Regional Trends Month Trended

Navigation

Filters

What I Learned

I learned a great deal about the world of healthcare from many angles (executive, financial, clinical, and quality). Since I was new to the industry the learning curve was steep but, fortunately, the users were patient and very helpful.  It’s been one of the most rewarding projects I’ve working on in my career.

One of the challenges with this project was the sheer volume of work to be done within the various user groups all competing for time from a single designer.  I learned how to manage multiple projects simultaneously through careful prioritization (and some late nights!). 

I also learned how different user groups require a different UX design process.  There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to design.