In 2018, our team was asked to help one of Poland’s biggest medical clinic chains, who are responsible for the health of thousands of people every day.
In 2018, our team was asked to help one of Poland’s biggest medical clinic chains, who are responsible for the health of thousands of people every day.
Like most public institutions, our client was working with paper document flow. As a result, he had huge problems with data management and processing at that time. Simply, dealing with tonnes of paper documents leads to a serious number of mistakes.
Our client specified the project’s goals quite simple:
For us, it was clear – the time for digitalization had arrived and a data management platform had to be developed. We quickly analyzed the project’s scope, prepared the proof of concept for the platform, and as soon as we thought we were ready to begin development, the problem occurred.
When we introduced to the nurses, who are responsible for patient documentation, the idea of digitizing document flow, they were against it. Most of them had doubts about how the new platform could manage the records, especially those who spent years working with paper documents. Some of them even stated that paper document flow is more convenient and that there is no need for digitalization. Medical professionals were simply accustomed to the old processes and solutions.
During years of experiencing similar problems, we knew that trying to fight with user habits often lead to project failure. We had to figure out how to reconcile their concerns.
Sometimes there is no better way to understand the user than to sit down and start chatting. Therefore hours were spent to understand the fears and needs of the clinic’s staff. We concluded that we needed to digitalize the working methods they knew first, so the employees felt safe in the new, digital environment.
Instead of designing a completely new user interface, we chose to digitize the patient card, keeping the elements the nurses already knew. We also decided to maintain and digitize the steps familiar to the data entering process. As a result, we created a platform interface that was familiar for medical professionals. This way, our client received a solution which wasn’t completely new for their employees. Clinics are now prepared to tackle the challenge of digital data management.
Having done the hardest part of the project, we began coding. In less than a month, we presented the first version of the application to the nurses. Here we once again saw how important it is to understand user experience.
Time spent on trying to understand nurses’ needs allowed us to build the platform they wanted. In addition, less time was needed for user training because the digital platform was similar to the work environment they knew.
When you start a new software project, do not assume that coding is the most important part. Start with your users, because the result depends on them.