the client

optum technology

Optum delivers solutions to help modernize the health system and improve population health. They combine technology, data and expertise to improve health care delivery, quality and efficiency.

an off-the-shelf sleep solution

The product team was looking to develop a sleep improvement program that would leverage the vast network of health coaches within Optum. The vision was a series of off-the-shelf solutions, completely contained within a box. The nickname for the project became "health-on-the-shelf" since the solution needed to be something they could sell in a store.

everything you need in a box

They had already partnered with a wearables company to include a sleep tracking device, along with a cognitive sleep therapy program, and so the solution would combine these products, along with Optum sleep coaching services, into one box.

the challenge

combine three products into one seamless experience

The box contained three distinct products: a sleep wearable, a cognitive behavioral sleep management program, and access to sleep coaching from Optum. Our goal was to design a seamless and intuitive experience across the product website, physical packaging, and included start guide.

launch in three months

Since this was the first version of the "off-the-shelf" line of products, our client wanted a proof-of-concept up and brought to market in three months. This would mean we needed to use lean UX and product ideation methods in order to move quickly and get a prototype in front of users as soon as possible 

MY ROLE

I served as user experience designer, alongside the UX lead and a user interface designer throughout the entirety of the project. My responsibilities included:   

driving product ideation 

Myself and the rest of the experience team partnered with the architects, engineers, and business leaders to participate in a 2-week rapid product ideation phase, during which we lead white-boarding sessions and product ideation activities that would define the Good Sleep user experience.  

developing an experience strategy

I worked with the experience team to create a journey map and storyboard that defined how the user would interact with our product, including all of the touch-points we would have with the user, from initial purchase, user on-boarding, support channels, to completion of the sleep therapy program.

defining the experience

I produced wireframes, user flows, and frameworks to define and communicate the experience. I produced an Axure prototype that was used as a user-interface specification and for user testing the site over the course of the design and development stages of the project.  

testing the design

I partnered with another user experience designer to plan and conduct user test sessions that gave us feedback directly from our target audience. Afterwards, the two of us consolidated our findings into a report and presentation that we delivered to the client team. 

Co-Design Workshop

We initiated the project with a two day collaboration and product ideation event we called "Fusion". This brought together the business leaders, sleep specialists, a physician, product team, architects, engineers, and experience team to participate together in a series of activities that would help us rapidly design the sleep solution.

The event helped us form a central vision of the product, develop a central persona - Jenny - who represented our core users, and determine a product development strategy and timeline. 

our central user Persona: jenny

rapid product design phase

Immediately following Fusion, we hosted a two-week co-location phase. During these two weeks, all project team members met daily for brainstorming and product ideation sessions. We defined the user experience using a variety of activities.

a user journey map guiding jenny to a better night of sleep

We built a journey map that documented the overall user experience and the touch points and feedback channels we would need to offer support for our customer. Below is a small part of the map we built. It starts with the statement "I can't sleep." It documents the user's thinking and steps to finding help. We wanted to highlight how and why our persona would find our product and the steps they take to address their sleep issues using our product.

storyboarding the experience

I developed the story board for the online shopping experience (shown below). We offered a small yes/no screener that helped users understand if the product was right for them by answering a series of questions to learn more about their sleep issues. This required close collaboration with the sleep specialist on the project who gave us insights and guidance in creating the screener. 

defining the purchase experience across devices

I built and assembled wireframes that would define the product page, checkout, user activation and on-boarding experience. Our site had to be mobile friendly as we needed to have users transition from a mobile website, to a mobile app for Android and iOS after they received the product. 

Hallway usability testing

Initially, we worked through multiple iterations of the process using a wireframe prototype and hallway usability tests. This involved grabbing folks from around the company who were unfamiliar with the project and walking them through the flow, getting feedback fast and honing the instructions. 

The initial findings from these tests told us that users were having trouble grasping what exactly the product was. We infused additional visualizations into the design and had our user interface designer add a style and mood to the overall site. 

getting user activation just right

The box and online website included a step-by-step user activation guide that walked users through the process of downloading the necessary apps and setting up an account with sleep coaching services. I created wireframes for Account Creation that communicated the information we would collected from users and help and guidance we would provide to support them. 

Designing and testing the unboxing experience

It was critical that we designed and tested the full purchase and unboxing experience to ensure the included instructions and guidance materials we designed were effective at getting the user up and running with the program and using the sleep tracker. 

recruited users with sleep issues

We recruited local participants, all of which had significant sleep issues. We also screened to ensure they were interested in finding a solution that didn't involve going to a doctor. We tested in person within our testing labs at Optum. 

test all aspects of the experience

The tasks of the test had the user performing all steps of the experience:

• Browsing the Good Sleep product page
• Making the purchase
• Receiving, opening, and exploring the contents of the Good Sleep box
• Following the included instructions to get their account activated
• Beginning the sleep improvement program

User testing the unboxing and account setup experience showed us there were gaps we needed to fix before launch. It told us that users would complete the setup for the sleep tracker on their phone, but didn't realize they needed to setup their account for the online sleep improvement program. We went back to the drawing board and rearranged the order of the steps in account activation to keep the user on track.

we launch!

Getting this product out the door was a major achievement for my team. But the real joy came when we began getting positive feedback from users. The system was helping them get a better night of sleep! What more can you ask for? The client was extremely happy with the end product and, shortly after launch, work began on the next "health-on-the-shelf" product.