The Problem: Moving Past MVP
DxWound is a DNA-based diagnostic testing tool to help clinicians rapidly determine a clear course of therapy for patients with suspected wound infections. VIRA is the application that clinicians use to rapidly submit specimens and then receive reports, usually within a one day turnaround time.
We made our launch date for our minimal viable product (MVP) for internal users but we knew that there were problems in the design and implementation. Before we moved past MVP, several issues needed to be addressed in order to market the application to external customers.
We needed to gain a better understanding of our external customers. For the initial launch we had mostly created our own components, which increased development time and introduced hard to track front end issues.
The Solution: Refocusing on our Users - Medical Practitioners
Creating New Personas – After completion of the MVP version of the app and before we started on an updated design, we did a deep dive back into user research. We interviewed both internal and external users. The product owners, developers and sales stakeholders came together as a team to align the user experience and the business strategy. We created new user personas and refocused back on our core users’ needs and intentions.
Medical Practitioner Personas
Persona 1
Same 'Ol Samuel
Owner of the practice. Has always done things the same way so will need extra information to buy in to DNA diagnosis. Needs to access current patient progress easily.
Persona 2
Cutting Edge Kim
Interested in advancing her knowledge and open to new medical innovation. Short on time with patients so needs to make a big impact on treatment. Relies on data to make educated decisions.
Persona 3
Fixed Felicia
Invested in her practice. Likes to spend more time with her patients than administrative tasks. Isn’t as well educated about wound infections so could use education and stats. Usually good with computers but not willing to dig very deep into data.
Persona 4
Traveling Ted
Works in several locations and isn’t invested in any particular practice. Knows wounds better than he knows patients. Needs to get through diagnoses quickly. Will not invest significant time using the app.
Refocusing on Our Value Proposition
We also went to work on what we were really wanted to offer to our users and how could we distill the value of our product so that our Sales team could rally around it and, ultimately, increase revenue. So we simplified/consolidated our value proposition:
Moving to Material Design
I decided that the best way to learn how Material works was to learn Angular. I took an e-learning class in Angular 2 on Udemy, learning the way that Angular is structured, the basics of TypeScript and Flex layout using Flexbox. I installed the latest build on my machine, then experimented with Angular.
I also learned how the Material controls work and how to create a custom theme in Angular. The more I learned the more I learned to love Material!
Design System v2
Our MVP version of app was all over the place. It looked good but with so many front-end developers working on the app, the styling got way out of control. As I began to standardize the design, I started working on a design system. The best way to accomplish standardization was to atomize the design by using the Atomic Design methods created by Brad Frost. I created every element from the most basic level inside of Sketch until the entire design was updated to strictly Angular Material:
Material may not be the spiciest approach but it more than makes up for that by taking the guesswork out of responsiveness, and it works the same way every time and that’s a beautiful thing.
User Dashboard
Based upon user testing and interviews, we needed a quick way for users to navigate through their pending patients and orders. I designed a dashboard where our customers could find everything they needed in a click. I created a quick wireframe to show to the Product Manager and BSAs so that we knew which screens would link to the dashboard.
Final Dashboard
Based on user research compiled after interviewing our customers, the customer dashboard was comprised of tutorials for using the app, and how to read the data, specimen stats, patient stats and report stats. Recent patient data and pending orders are one click away.
I’m hoping to work on more Angular Material projects in the future. If you’re looking for a UX Designer who is well-versed in and passionate about Angular and Material, then please get in touch with me!
