Context

Shifting from in-person to a self-guided onboarding training experience 

In 2022, we successfully launched a beta version of AutoDVT to conduct clinical trials and collect data for FDA clearance. However, the initial release did not include training features, which meant that training had to be conducted in person at each deployment site. This approach was not sustainable in the long term, leading to the idea of creating a self-guided training experience. This new system would streamline the onboarding process for new users.
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I was tasked to investigate the feasibility of implementing an interactive manual as part of the onboarding flow to replace the need for in-person training.

impact

We successfully rolled-out and validated the interactive manual as a viable solution to train new users independently.

5/6

nurses completed their third practice exam successfully

Role

Wearing different hats

Small startups require generalists who are comfortable with many tasks. At big companies, you focus on one thing, but at a five-person startup, resourcefulness is key. Knowing a little bit about everything and how to find answers is helpful. Some of my responsibilities for this project were research, interaction design, visual design, usability testing, and video production.

The solution

A self-guided learning experience in the onboarding flow

During the project, I collaborated closely with the engineering team and shared a vision of creating an interactive onboarding experience to guide new users through practice scanning by breaking down the exam into small chunks of information. 
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We hypothesized that a guided walkthrough with context-sensitive tooltips and rich content could be an effective training modality. However, there were a few questions we needed to explore before the design phase.

Research

Outlining the training steps before wireframing

The first challenge I faced was outlining the steps and instructions to help new users successfully scan a patient. Through secondary research and a workshop with stakeholders, who had extensive knowledge of the exam protocol and trained new users, I was able to outline a first draft of the steps. Since there are many steps involved in each of the five scans in the exam, I decided to work incrementally. I focused first on the initial scan (Knee Point 1) to learn, create wireframes, and observe how it evolved before progressing to the other four scans.

Choosing between video, 3D and VR

Initially, 3D and VR seemed ideal for training new users because they offer interactive features like zooming in and rotating a 3D environment, which creates a more immersive experience with details from various angles. However, we realized they come with high upfront costs and require significant development effort.So, we shifted to video to validate the concept with minimal investment of time and effort and, more importantly, to stay agile by making quick updates as the learnings came.

UX FLOWCHART

To ensure a seamless integration of the interactive manual into the onboarding user flow, I created a wireflow that mapped out the screens and interactions required for users to complete the scans. With many steps in each scan, the wireflow provided a comprehensive view of the pathway users would take to reach their final destination. This deliverable was used regularly during design reviews and design iterations.

User testing

One challenge I encountered was finding target audience participants with domain knowledge to test with. Due to budget constraints, recruiting high-paying nurses or doctors was impossible. To address this issue, we divided the research into two stages. The first stage involved recruiting participants from outside the target audience who were easier to find. We used this stage to identify navigation and major usability issues. We also investigated if the interactive manual provided all the necessary steps and content to scan successfully. In the second stage, we tested the product with our target audience to determine if medical professionals could complete a third-time exam successfully, which was the main success metric for the project.

We conducted a total of 16 usability sessions:
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‍10 sessions with participants outside our target audience.
6 sessions with medical professionals.

Design REFINEMENTS

Overall, medical professionals performed better than non-medical participants in testing due to their experience working with patients and being comfortable with close physical interaction. Most non-medical participants appeared hesitant when moving a patient's underwear to scan the groin. Although this was not an issue for most medical professionals, we still introduced a looped video that highlights the importance of clearing the groin area to ensure proper scanner placement.

We observed that participants were skimming the instructions rather than reading them thoroughly, which impacted their ability to scan the patient effectively. To address this issue, we simplified the written instructions and added checkboxes. This design change resulted in an increase in the number of tests completed on the third attempt

Before

After

AutoDVT uses anatomical terms of location, such as lateral and medial, instead of left and right. We tested both terms, but we learned that medical professionals preferred anatomical directional terms because they reduce ambiguity, help visualize positional and spatial locations of structures, and navigate directionally from one area to another.

Conventional terms

Anatomical directional terms

Training videos proved to be highly effective in educating users, so we decided to expand their use beyond the interactive manual to include scanning, which is the core experience of the app. However, we faced a constant design challenge with AutoDVT: making features easy for new users to find while ensuring they are not intrusive for experienced users who are already familiar with the app. To address this, we redesigned the scanning flow to make videos available both before and during the scanning process.

The final Design

Interactive manual demo

The video below is a 3-minute partial walkthrough of the interactive flow. It demos the beginning of the interactive manual experience.