Project 1- Driving efficiency and usability in a clinical studies management system
Project Type
Professional project at Boehringer Ingelheim
My Role
UX Researcher and Designer
Methods
User interviews, service blueprinting, wireframing and prototyping, usability testing
Deliverables
Personas, User stories, Service Blueprints, Research reports
Tools
Figma, Dovetail, Klaxoon, Excel, JIRA
How I mapped the service design of a clinical studies management system, saved $2M in data costs, reduced time on task by 41% and increased user satisfaction by 40%.
01
Context
Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with a focus on the research and development of human and animal pharmaceutical drugs
The product I worked on was an Analytics Clinical Study Management System.
02
The Problem
The system was originally built to handle the approval and execution of a small number of clinical studies. Over the years the scale increased and had become challenging for users to navigate through it. It required better usability, project management, stability and scalability.
03
Research Approach
Method
Details
Rationale
Stakeholder interviews
1:1 interviews with project manager, project owner, process owner, director
To gather context about the project, the goals and expected outcomes
User interviews
1:1 semi-structured remote interviews with 5 users from each user group-requesters, reviewers and analysts
To learn in depth about users experiences from the previous version and identify pain points that needed to be addressed in the new design
Service blueprint
Developed service blueprints to evaluate the user interactions, touchpoints and backend processes for different study types
The system redesign involved not only front-end actions but also numerous back-end processes that needed evaluation, which could be effectively mapped using a service blueprint.
Service blueprints are instrumental artifacts that help not only researchers but also stakeholders in visualizing the current experience being delivered.
User stories
Translated insights from user interviews and journey maps to user stories
To kickstart the agile product cycle
User testing
Once the mid-fidelity prototypes were developed, I tested them with 3–4 users from each user group. 1:1 testing with observation (task based) and think aloud
User testing not only helped in evaluating the usability but also the efficiency of the new processes for request submission, approval and tracking of requests
With the constraints of an NDA, I am only able to briefly explain my research process
04
Impact
The processes were streamlined using the future-state service blueprint I developed, and the new application was designed based on user stories.
Automating certain steps and enabling self-service reduced users' dependency on colleagues.
Transparency in the system was improved, saving $2M in data costs, reduced time on task by 41% and user satisfaction increased by 40%.
Project 2- Redesigning a user journey in a data ecosystem
Project Type
Professional project at Boehringer Ingelheim
My Role
UX Researcher
Methods
User interviews, prototype mapping, usability testing
Deliverables
Personas, research presentation
Tools
Figma, Dovetail, Klaxoon
How I facilitated the scaling of the "demand submission" process and reduced support tickets by 30%
01
Context
Dataland is a data ecosystem in Boehringer that aimed to provide quick access to large datasets. It offered multiple services related to creating data products, analysis and managing large drug related internal and external research data sets in the organization.
02
The Problem
The Dataland program and its offerings were seen as intricate and overly technical from a user’s point of view. When I began, the problem space was fairly wide and vague. I’ve outlined my research approach and methodology in brief below.
03
Research Approach
Method
Details
Rationale
Persona development
Engaged with past and potential users to uncover needs, pain points, and expectations related to system interaction.
The project stemmed from many negative experiences being raised to IT leadership. Since the real problem statement was vague at that point, my first question was who are the users of this system. The project was built without prior research. It was important to first identify the user group of the system.
Pivot in project
User interviews+ Journey mapping
Conducted user interviews with 3 persona groups previously defined and subsequently mapped their “demand submission” journeys Designed persona and journey mapping templates for the organization
The persona development activity resulted in the discovery of usability and process issues across the system. Since, IT leadership wanted to see quick results, my manager and I brainstormed to pivot the focus of the project to just one process first and incrementally address the rest of the user journey across all the system. The first process I investigated further was - “The demand submission” process.
Prototype mapping
Based on the findings gathered from the user journeys, we conducted a workshop to review all the concepts proposed by stakeholders, designers, researchers
This method helps teams to brainstorm and review all concepts, determine which one to prototype and take forward for testing
Usability testing
Observation based, think aloud and task completion tracking
04
Impact
Usability of touchpoints
It became easier for users to start working with the service – easy forms, help materials, reduced friction and need for hand-holding
Impact:
Changes were implemented for Data Foundation users ( a segment of Dataland users). As a result, the support tickets were reduced by 50%.
Reflections
Advocating for users in a low UX maturity environment
In a low UX maturity setting, I’ve driven user advocacy by educating stakeholders, demonstrating impact through insights, and embedding user needs into decision-making. Through storytelling, workshops, and quick wins, I’ve influenced teams to shift from assumption-driven to evidence-based approaches.
Navigating an enterprise environment
Enterprise environments often come with complex organizational structures, multiple stakeholders, and lengthy decision-making processes. My experience in such settings has taught me how to navigate cross-functional teams, align diverse perspectives, and balance business priorities with user needs. I have learned to tailor my communication strategies, distilling research insights into actionable recommendations that resonate with leadership while ensuring execution teams have detailed guidance.
