EARLY RESEARCH
FutureNHS
MY ROLE
LEAD UX RESEARCHER,
PROJECT DIRECTOR,
MENTOR
SECTOR
HEALTHCARE
YEAR
2023
TOOLS
FIGMA, MIRO, TRELLO
FutureNHS is a SaaS enterprise platform with great potential to enhance collaboration within the NHS. Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are partnerships between the NHS and other health and care organisations. With the establishment of 42 of these ICSs across England, the way that the NHS collaborated dramatically shifted.
The FutureNHS team asked us to investigate how collaboration could be enhanced through their product. My team spoke to 24 users within ICSs all across the UK. We analysed its product-market fit and provided strategies for adopting and integrating the platform into users' daily workflows, contributing to a 67% increase in the growth rate of the platform.
Due to confidentiality reasons, I won't be able to provide any research insights or details, but this case study aims to give you an overview of my process.
OVERVIEW
The project in a nutshell
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The formation of 42 new Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in the UK's National Health Service has posed challenges for online collaboration. FutureNHS is a platform that can help, but isn't widely used.
THE CHALLENGE
Getting more users onto FutureNHS and integrating it into their daily workflows.
THE OUTPUT
5 deliverables that provide strategic and operational advice on how the FutureNHS platform can be implemented on a large scale.
THE IMPACT
Contributing to the scaling and adoption of the FutureNHS platform from 310,000 members to over 350,000 members and growing.
DEFINE SCOPE & GOALS
Refining the brief to solve the right problem
Leading the research on such a complex project, I wanted to ensure that we were solving the right problem. In the initial brief from the clients, we were asked to research and advise on how users could integrate the FutureNHS platform into their workflow.
However, I identified key areas of research that were missing from the brief before we could answer this question. I proposed that we expand our brief to cover two key research themes in order to better understand the problem space.
THEME 1
Collaboration Factors
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Methods of online and offline collaboration
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Areas of excellence and areas for growth
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Technical, operational and strategic factors impacting the quality of collaboration
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Collaboration enablers and blockers
THEME 2
Collaboration Tools
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Tools used for collaboration
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Features, capabilites and limitations of these tools
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Current usage of FutureNHS
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Underused features of FutureNHS
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Limitations of FutureNHS
PLAN & EXPLORE
Four types of research to uncover insights
After defining the project brief, I adopted a broad, multi-faceted research strategy for a more holistic understanding of the problem space. I first reviewed internally published materials and performed desk research on ICSs, later conducting a technical and feature analysis of the FutureNHS platform to grasp its capabilities and limitations.
Drawing on the insights from the initial stages of research, I began working on recruitment and planning the user research sessions. Although the client initially wanted us to only speak to key decision makers, I encouraged an alternate approach in which we interviewed not only senior staff but also individual contributors so as to get a richer and more nuanced understanding of collaboration in ICSs.
1. Literature review
Review of internally published documents about ICSs.
2. Platform review
Thorough review and feature mapping of the FutureNHS platform.
3. Desk research
Investigation and analysis of public-facing information from the NHS about ICSs, along with a review of all 42 ICS websites.
4. User research
1 hour user interviews with 24 participants. Of these, 12 were senior stakeholders and 12 were individual contributors (IC).
SYNTHESISE & DELIVER
Deliverables
Through synthesis, I discovered distinct and varying levels of collaboration maturity within organisations, directly influencing how the platform could be leveraged. Therefore rather than simply providing recommendations, we provided six different deliverables, designed to be used in conjunction with each other in order to support each stage of collaborative maturity.
While I cannot provide insights from user interviews due to confidentiality reasons, below is a list of these six deliverables that were provided to the FutureNHS team at the conclusion of this project.
DELIVERABLE 1
Organisational Personas
I developed three organisational personas that represented the 3 distinct collaboration maturity levels.
DELIVERABLE 2
Collaboration Blueprint
I created a document breaking down the types of collaboration, current practices and challenges, as well as opportunities where the the power of the FutureNHS platform could be used to streamline inefficiencies.
DELIVERABLE 3
Segmentation Matrix
The segmentation matrix provided a way for the clients to easily uncover the maturity level of an ICS, and thus provide targeted support and engagement with key decision makers on how to incorporate FutureNHS in their workflows.
DELIVERABLE 4
Map of Tools
A map was created of all the digital tools used for collaboration, noting their pros and cons, as well as where FutureNHS currently sat within this.
DELIVERABLE 5
Product strategy recommendations
My team provided feature recommendations to the client around the product roadmap along with strategies to increase the adoption of FutureNHS and integrate it into users' daily workflow, tailored to each of the organisational archetypes.
DELIVERABLE 6
User Research Report
I created a detailed report summarising the entirety of the project, and highlighting all of our key insights from user research sessions.
MEASURE
Impact
Prior to this project, the FutureNHS platform attracted roughly 4,800 new users per month. My team's work helped the FutureNHS team better understand how to encourage the use of this platform within ICSs of varying maturities and needs. This, along with the FutureNHS team's internal strategies helped boost the monthly growth rate to 8,000 new users.
Our work highlighted the platform's importance and potential, further contributing to the success of the FutureNHS team securing £1.67million in funding to continue their work in its development and implementation. Our research and strategic insights played a pivotal role in positioning the FutureNHS collaboration platform as a catalyst for improved collaboration within England's health and care sector.
REFLECTION
Challenges and wins
With 1.26 million people employed by the NHS, this project was vast and complex, demanding careful consideration of each challenge. Asking the right questions in the initial phase of this project was incredibly important as we needed to ensure that we were solving the right problem. Collaboration both internally within my team and externally with the clients was key here. I held frequent sessions with the FutureNHS client team in this phase, gathering their valuable input and experience from the very start, and sharing updates to bolster their confidence that the project and timelines were on track.
In this project I stepped into strategic leadership as the Project Director. Collaborating closely with the internal account manager, I served as the main point of contact for clients throughout the project, kept them informed on project progress, and oversaw all aspects of research, from recruitment and screening through to session planning and interview facilitation. Additionally, I was incredibly excited to develop in my mentorship skills through this project. I took a junior consultant under my wing, helping him build his confidence in core UX skills, and enhancing my agency's overall capability in the process.
A big shoutout to Radhika for her astute strategic leadership on this project. It's important to know a project is in capable hands and you are someone that can be counted on to deliver.
- Nomensa Client Account Manager