Challenge

Brigham & Women’s Hospital sought to monitor infection rates over time in medically high-risk neighborhoods of greater Boston. Meeting the target date required cross-functional teams to quickly align and deliver for a successful study. As the lead designer for the Data Donation Platform, I needed to design several new study operations features within three months.

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Outcome

TestBoston became the Broad's highest-volume, fastest-accruing study. UX/UI design played an important role in enabling a large volume of participants to self-report data and study staff to manage data, monitor participant progress, track kits as they pass through chain of custody, and respond to test results. Findings from this study were used to provide crucial, real-time insights about the prevalence of COVID-19 in the city of Boston to help support public health efforts.

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Publications:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9619609/
2. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0269127

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Process

Utilizing service design methods to align on new processes

Adding five new vendors in the mix, our team needed a way to visualize interactions between parties. 
Together with product and engineering leadership, we drew up how parts of the process fit together.

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Evaluating UI/UX concepts with study coordinators

My initial design concept showed patient information quickly – too quickly. After testing with study coordinators, I revised the interface to better protect patient information with progressive disclosure.

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Predicting gaps in the patient experience

Because we were changing our standard process for registration, DNA sample collection, and participation (participants could now request ad-hoc kits if they suspected having COVID), we needed to rapidly anticipate potential pain points.

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In testing the sample collection process, we identified issues around locating the appropriate and nearby drop-off areas. With limited time, our quick design solution was to add a Help page to the study website which outlined how to use UPS to properly return your kit.

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Logo Design

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Lessons Learned

The introduction of five new vendors to our typical data collection process was an added layer of complexity to an already challenging situation. I learned the importance of "over-communication" and was able to use design methods to achieve mutual understanding.

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This was also my first time working on the clinician-facing side of the Data Donation Platform. Interacting with a new group of engineers and learning the constraints of the platform would help me collaborate more efficiently in future collaborative efforts. I was also able to learn first-hand about the logistical pain points of the study manager user.