About Rygma HMS

Rygma Health Management System is a B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution application that helps healthcare providers collect, store, retrieve and exchange patient healthcare information efficiently.

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Project Overview

This evaluative research project was conducted for Rygma HMS to address significant drop-off rates on the consultation screen of the health management system. This feature, designed to help healthcare providers record and manage patient information, faced usability challenges that led to data entry inefficiencies and incomplete records, impacting both user satisfaction and product effectiveness

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Our goal was to generate actionable insights that would inform the design team’s information architecture, improve the feature’s usability, and enhance the efficiency of patient data management—ultimately supporting Rygma’s business objectives for streamlined healthcare workflows.

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Role

UX researcher & strategist, UX/UI design support

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Methods

Field studies, In-depth interviews, and usability tests personas, customer journey mapping, brainstorming

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Skill

Interviewing, synthesizing, facilitating, design critique, presentation.

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Tools

Miro, Google analytics, Power point, Zoom, Figma, Sketch, Usertesting.com.

Problem Statement

• User Drop-Off: Medical practitioners often abandoned the consultation page, leading to gaps in data capture.
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• Inefficient Data Entry: The consultation page required data input, but low usage resulted in incomplete records and a reversion to manual methods.
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• Lack of Pre-Launch Research: As a new feature, the initial design lacked user research, leaving the product misaligned with user needs.

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Background and Goals

The product team needed empirical insights to inform product decisions for the consultation feature. Our goals included:

• Understanding the workflow of users (medical practitioners and nurses) when engaging with the consultation page.
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• Uncovering how the page aligned (or misaligned) with user mental models and information needs, particularly in areas of feedback, validation, and friction points that contributed to page abandonment.

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My Process

Pre-Research Preparation and Stakeholder Collaboration

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Before diving into the research, I conducted a series of preliminary steps to ensure a clear research direction

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• Stakeholder Alignment and Question Refinement: I collaborated closely with product managers, designers, and engineering leads to identify key objectives and refine the questions driving this research. Together, we established goals that would be relevant for all teams, thus creating alignment from the outset.
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• Stakeholder Involvement in Research Planning: I built the research plan alongside stakeholders, gathering their input on the outcomes they prioritized and refining our questions to capture meaningful insights. This collaboration allowed me to address immediate stakeholder concerns and build a plan that would have strong internal buy-in.
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• Background Information Gathering: I conducted a preliminary review of analytics on the consultation page to identify drop-off points and examined feedback data from medical practitioners. This context helped shape both the research plan and the recruitment criteria, allowing us to focus on gathering data from those most impacted by the feature.

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Research Methodology and Decision Making

Given the project’s limited timeline and the need for in-depth, actionable insights, I chose a mixed-method approach that combined field studies, in-depth interviews, and usability testing. Here’s how I approached this:

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• Method Selection and Rationale: I considered alternative methods, such as surveys, but determined that direct, qualitative methods would yield deeper insights into workflow patterns and mental models. Field studies allowed us to observe real-life interactions, while interviews provided contextual understanding. Usability tests helped pinpoint specific design friction points. Each method balanced depth of insight with feasibility under time constraints.
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• Creative Approaches for Tight Timelines: To make the most of our limited resources, I streamlined field studies and usability testing by prioritizing scenarios with the highest reported drop-off rates, maximizing the efficiency of our data collection. I also recruited participants through internal channels, accelerating the process and ensuring relevant expertise among participants.
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• Participant Recruitment: I recruited a diverse group of medical practitioners (doctors, nurses) from Rygma’s hospital network who used the consultation feature frequently. Given recruitment constraints, I leveraged stakeholder connections within clinics to ensure availability and relevance, focusing on participants who were familiar with the page but experienced usability challenges

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Research Methodology and Execution

Given the limited timeline and the need for in-depth insights, I selected a mixed-method approach of field studies, in-depth interviews, and usability tests:

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• Participant Selection and Recruitment: We recruited 10 medical practitioners (doctors and nurses) across various departments who frequently used the consultation feature. By participant 8, we reached saturation, with no new insights emerging. An additional two sessions were conducted to validate findings and ensure reliability.
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• Time Allocations: Each usability test lasted approximately 20 minutes, followed by 30-minute interviews, allowing us to capture user pain points in real-time and obtain context for their behaviors.
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• Method Selection and Rationale: I considered alternative methods, such as surveys, but determined that direct, qualitative methods would yield deeper insights into workflow patterns and mental models. Field studies allowed us to observe real interactions, while interviews provided contextual understanding. Usability tests highlighted specific design friction points
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• Creative Approaches for Tight Timelines: To maximize efficiency, I streamlined field studies and usability testing by focusing on scenarios with the highest reported drop-off rates. I also used internal channels for recruitment to accelerate the process and ensure participant relevance.

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Key Research Insights

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After synthesizing the data, several actionable insights emerged:

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• Workflow Misalignment: Observation revealed that nurses typically entered patient vitals, which then appeared on the consultation page. However, medical practitioners often didn’t engage further with the page, preferring manual methods or verbal communication. This highlighted a disconnect between the designed workflow and the real-world use, underscoring the need to simplify and streamline this feature.
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• Redundant Data Entry: Field studies and interviews revealed that practitioners frequently re-entered data manually, a practice that contributed to page abandonment. Addressing this required reducing redundancy and supporting seamless data flow between nursing and medical practitioner roles.
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• Lack of Feedback and Validation: Usability tests showed that users struggled due to insufficient feedback on data entry and completion. Practitioners felt uncertain about the necessary data fields, which led to incomplete entries. A clearer feedback mechanism with prompts or visual cues was needed to reduce drop-off and enhance confidence in system use.
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• Insufficient Training on Feature Benefits: Many practitioners were unaware of the page’s efficiency benefits. Socializing the feature’s advantages, such as record accuracy and time savings, would likely boost adoption.

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Data Analysis, Synthesis, and Stakeholder Communication

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Analysis Techniques: I used affinity diagrams and customer journey mapping to organize and synthesize findings. These tools allowed me to categorize observed pain points, workflow issues, and key themes, which I then translated into actionable insights for the product team.

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Ongoing Stakeholder Updates: Throughout the research, I kept stakeholders informed through weekly check-ins, sharing initial observations and preliminary data trends. This approach fostered transparency and alignment and allowed stakeholders to provide input on emerging insights.

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Sharing Deliverables and Securing Buy-In: Once analysis was complete, I organized a collaborative workshop to present findings, using visual aids like customer journey maps to illustrate problem areas. This workshop served as a platform to discuss solutions and secure buy-in by demonstrating how insights could directly address stakeholder needs.

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Socializing Findings Across Teams

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I first shared findings with product and engineering teams, followed by design, tailoring insights to each team’s interests and objectives. This targeted approach ensured meaningful engagement and clear understanding of the actionable value of our findings.

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Research Outcome and Impact on Design

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Based on the insights gathered, we implemented several key changes:

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• Streamlined Data Entry: We reduced redundant data fields, simplified information flow, and ensured key data fields appeared dynamically, reducing manual effort.
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• Enhanced Feedback and Validation: We added prompts for required fields and introduced visual cues to guide practitioners through data entry, building confidence in completing the workflow.
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• Awareness Campaign on Feature Benefits: I organized brief training sessions and created quick-reference guides to communicate the feature’s efficiency benefits.
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As a result of these adjustments, consultation page use increased by 70%, and data retrieval times dropped by 20%, aligning with Rygma’s goals for operational efficiency.

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Lessons Learned and Future Opportunities

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This project reinforced the importance of early-stage research in feature development, particularly for healthcare settings where workflows are intricate and often manual. Moving forward, I recommended integrating usability testing into the development pipeline to minimize post-launch adjustments and increase feature adoption rates.

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Additionally, the success of cross-functional workshops demonstrated the value of collaborative problem-solving. By engaging teams from the outset, we established a shared vision and secured the ongoing buy-in necessary to drive impactful, research-backed design changes.

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