People working in roles in which they care for others (such as nurses, allied health professionals and social workers) have unique information management needs. Through an in-depth understanding of their environment, mental model, and work relationships we can design products that allow them to do their jobs effectively. This case study in UX research and design will provide food for thought for anyone designing products or services for a highly-specialized audience and hopefully spur a lively discussion of methods and experiences.

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Design for the Caring
Professions
KAT JAYNE
EVANTAGE CONSULTING
April, 2016

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Kat Jayne
Title: Senior UX Consultant
Other titles: UXPA-MN Past President, Librarian,
Mentor, Mom
Evantage Consulting
Evantage is a business consultancy that helps
organizations capitalize on change and how they
interact with customers.
Introductions

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Experiences
Interactions
Touchpoints
Procedures
Systems
Source: HBR | A Framework for
Building Customer Experiences
Beginning “outside in” gives the
customer a real seat at the table
in designing the most effective
experiences.
Methods
• Observations
• Contextual inquiry
• Wish fulfillment exercises
• Co-creation workshops
• Prototype feedback sessions
Our customer-first, “outside-in” approach

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DON’T JUST FIND
THE ISSUES
GET A FULL SUBSCRIPTION

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Framework for Users and Design
MINDSET
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
ENVIRONMENT
THE CARDS ARE STACKED AGAINST
YOU
EXPECTATIONS
ACCOUNTABLE TO MANY
NEEDS

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CARING PROFESSIONS
What society
thinks I do
What I think I do What I actually doWhat clients think I do
How management
sees what I do
What my boss
thinks I do

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The Mindset
Triage. Focus on high-priority cases,
but don’t let anyone fall through the
cracks.
Deadlines. Don’t drop the ball on
routine stuff.
Time Spent vs Impact. It’s not the
number of seconds, it’s the outcome
of the work.
Chronology of Care. We’re just
having one long conversation that
twists and turns over time.
Make a difference!
FPO

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Try It Out
Find a partner and learn
about their MINDSET.
Sample questions
• What’s the first thing you do each
day when you get to work? What
about second? Why?
• What parts of work stick with you
after you’ve gone home for the
day?
• Tell me about the last time you
“pitched a perfect game.”
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The Environment
Frequent Interruptions. The phone
rings and the whole day changes.
Missing Puzzle Pieces. Information is
spread across the care team and
stored in disparate systems.
Outdated Technology. Using ancient
operating systems and browsers and
lack control over technology choices.
Ineffective Training. Formal training
is too high-level, impractical, and a
nuisance. On-the-job training is
short-lived at best.
The cards are stacked against you.

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Try It Out
Learn about your partner’s
ENVIRONMENT.
Sample questions
• How’d you learn how to do your
job? How did that work out for
you?
• If you could wave a magic wand
and get rid of any work obstacle,
what would it be?
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The Expectations
Care professionals enter notes as a
series of conversations, highlighting
care plans, client goals, and
assessment results.
Administrators want to easily
monitor adherence to standards, get
metrics such as cost/case.
Higher authorities need high-level
overviews and access to critical
documents.
Clients want progress reports written
in lay terms.
Accountable to many needs.

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Try It Out
Learn about your partner’s
EXPECTATIONS.
Sample questions
• Who is just before and just after
you in the information food chain?
• How is your work measured?
• How do others know how your
work is going?
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DESIGN GUIDELINES

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Design for the Caring Professions
1. Make it easy
to set priorities
When looking at the day ahead, users should be able to see at a
glance what are the most critical and urgent tasks.
2. Help the routine work
go quickly
Mundane tasks that don’t impact clients should be as efficient as
possible so users can get back to more meaningful work.
3. Allow for flexibility
in the face of change
As unexpected client needs cause plans and priorities to shift,
users should be able to quickly redesign their day.
4. Simplify case noting
and assessments
Documenting the myriad conversations that happen should be
the easiest thing the user can do.
5. Provide multiple ways
to access information
Different users with different needs and mindsets should all be
able to find information in ways that make sense.
6. Facilitate information sharing
and case collaboration
Users who are teaming up on a case should be able to use the
application together and inform anyone else involved.
7. Create a sense of
accomplishment
At the end of the day, week, or month users should feel like they
did a lot more than just “tread water.”

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Design Guidelines
1. Make it easy to set priorities
2. Help the routine work go quickly

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Design Guidelines
3. Allow for flexibility in the face of change
4. Simplify case noting and assessments

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Design Guidelines
5. Provide multiple ways to access info
7. Create a sense of accomplishment
6. Facilitate sharing and collaboration

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Takeaways
An “outside in”
approach to design
helps us develop a rich
empathy for our users.
Applications for caring
professionals should
fit the user’s heroic
mindset, their chaotic
environment, and the
myriad expectations
they face.
Design guidelines for
this user group center
around prioritization
of work, simplicity of
authoring, and
flexibility of access.
✓
✓

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For More Information
Read the white paper -- Helping Those
Who Help Others: Design for the Caring
Professions (available at:
http://evantageconsulting.com/design-
for-the-caring-professions.pdf )
Contact me -- @KatJayne or
kjayne@evantageconsulting.com
Contact Evantage --
19© 2016 EVANTAGE CONSULTING
212 Third Avenue North, Suite 400 I Minneapolis, MN 55401
612.677.0640 I evantageconsulting.com

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Evantage Consulting
Evantage is a business consultancy
that helps organizations capitalize
on change and how they interact
with customers.
With a deep focus in healthcare and
consumer industries since 1999,
Evantage has a legacy of driving
business outcomes through
unrelenting customer focus, digital
expertise, and operations know-how.
Our clients engage us as proven
partners in unraveling and solving
strategic, customer experience, and
operational challenges.
Customer Experience
Design + Delivery
Strategic
Advisory Services
Operations
Design + Delivery
20© 2016 EVANTAGE CONSULTING

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THANKS