Time: March 2021 - Current
*project under NDA - limited information shown
As customary with start-ups, during my time working there I was assigned multiple tasks and roles, both relating to UI and UX design, but also to other areas such as marketing, social media management, customer success and sales. Some of the biggest challenges were learning about the new industry and fully understanding the product and all the background processes in a short amount of time, being the only designer and being fully in charge of the whole design process, fast-iteration loops and the urgency of pushing the new design to the developers, as well as managing all the different tasks and organizing my time to complete all of them.
Medical device developers, clinicians, doctors
The company’s product is a web-based SaaS enabling users to upload a model of their medical device, select their desired patient group (e.g. adult patients with heart failure), and perform virtual implantation of the device in a patient, in a 3D environment. This enables medical device developers to validate their device design before performing clinical trials on humans and animals.
Getting the design requirements – The first step would be to meet with the product manager and product owner to discuss the requirements for the new feature and make sure I understood its purpose and the value it would bring to users.
Sources of feature backlog: product roadmap, customer requests, usability testing results.
Image 1: A big fan of putting things down on paper
Making a flow map – To make sure I cover all the cases and steps in the user journey, I would make a flow map to see which path the user might take and which screens are needed. This map would then be discussed with the product owner and developers to see whether something is missing or is not feasible.
Most commonly used tool: Draw.io
Image 2: An example of a simple flow map covering all possible use cases
Making the first rough draft – After knowing the requirements and having a flow map drawn out, I would go into the ideation process where I would organize the requirements and explore different possibilities for incorporating them into the existing interface. Depending on the feature complexity, I would start either with a paper prototype or go directly into Adobe XD using our design system.
Methods used: Paper prototyping, medium-fidelity prototype
Image 3: A screenshot of the design system
Rounds of feedback and iterations – Following the first draft, I would translate the design into XD frames (at this point pretty rough but still in line with our design system). These designs would be presented to stakeholders for a round of feedback. Based on the feedback, I would adjust the design and validate it again with the stakeholders.
Challenges: Fast iteration loops, presenting and explaining design choices
Image 4: A screenshot of couple of screens designed in Adobe XD
Preparing it for export for developers –This stage includes preparing the assets (icons, images) for export, preparing tasks in Azure with detailed descriptions, and meeting with the developers to walk them through the design. Based on the time we had to implement the feature, we would sometimes compromise on some solutions.
Tools used: Zeplin
Image 5: A screen in Zeplin, exported for handover to developers
Post-implementation work – After developers finished implementing the feature, I would review their front-end PRs, leave comments on what still needed to be fixed, and/or meet with them to review it together. I would also do QA and test the whole platform as well as communicate the latest changes to our users via release notes and e-mails.
Tools used: Zeplin, Local manual testing (VSC), Azure
Image 6: Example of a front-end PR review
Getting feedback from customers – Most of our customers agreed to meet for a feedback call. Here we would discuss whether they had any difficulties using the interface, how their experience was with the newly implemented features, what else they would like to see, and make sure we are there for them if they need assistance.
Methods used: Interviews, Surveys
Image 7: An excel sheet for tracking the customers feedback. Was used in conjunction with other documentation for user testing, which included a list of scenarios to be tested, and a script
Iterating on the design – Based on the feedback calls and suggestions we received from our users, I would iterate on the design again.
Our team was working in 2-week sprints and each design task would usually fit within the sprint. This meant I had to do a lot of rapid prototyping and adapt the design quickly after the feedback session with stakeholders. This kind of a process also helped me with presenting my design ideas and explaining the logic behind it.
I was heavily involved in planning new features together with the stakeholders and deciding how we should scale the interface and how the product should evolve to align with the business goals as well as with the users’ needs. Being informed and aware of the company mission, vision, short-term, and long-term goals facilitated maintaining a balance between business goals, user goals and product goals which in turn enables a better user experience and helps to achieve planned revenue numbers for the sales team while maintaining a satisfying user experience.
Since the product was only one year old, there was a big backlog of features that plan to be added in the process. These features were coming as requests from current users, anticipating the needs of future customers, covering the requests of investors and were a product of the company’s mission and vision. Due to budget restrictions and the low number of developers in the team (4 developers), we had to break down the features into smaller tasks and prioritize which ones to complete now and which ones to work on later. However, this also required thinking ahead and designing with the future product in mind.
Previously to working at Virtonomy, I had no experience working with medtech products nor was informed about the medical device industry and its target audience and users. This meant I had to quickly learn about it in order to start working on tasks immediately. I was able to learn about how the product works in a short amount of time, about current customers and target users and had the most of the required information to be able to start with the design tasks within a month. After two months, I was able to present the product and demo it to potential customers, explaining every feature and answer their questions and work independently.
Being in charge of multiple roles, I had to organize my time accordingly and make sure I finish all the tasks on time. This also required me to make an accurate estimation of task duration to be able to deliver the design to the developers, prepare marketing materials for the scheduled LinkedIn posts, prepare for meetings and feedback sessions with customers and collaborate with other teams within the company.
©2022 Petra Stefanec. Made with 💗 and 🍵.