How to design user experiences (UX) for Oncology. My presentation made for UX Poland 2015. Healthcare itself has a very complex eco-system with medical staff, legislation, patients and pharma companies being just a small part of it. And if we focus on deadly diseases, like cancer, things are getting even more complicated. So how can we create compelling user experiences for cancer survivors? Disclaimer. Some slides presented at the conference were taken away due to privacy reasons. There are not images of real patients and doctors, due to confidentiality reasons. During the research we have made many of these, I do not have permission to use them in a public presentation. The story of Elise is true, but I have changed the details for privacy reasons.

1. DESIGNING FOR SURVIVAL
developing healthcare apps for cancer survivors
Adrian Iacomi, UX Lead
@adrianiacomi

2. photo by flickr.com/emagic

3. This is NOT a persona, but one of my
best friend’s story
23 years old
red hair, quite tall
student
linda-hop dancer, passionate about drawing,
surfing, pasta, jazz and love cats
ELISE
illustration by flickr.com/giovana_milanezi

4. ELISE -THE REAL STORY
photos by stf-o, pustovit, benswing, denise_rowlands, scubasteveo, agecombahia, lfamily, worldbank, hawaii, brothers-brick.com, lilivc (on flickr.com)
Her good life
as a student
surfing
friends
dancing
love
Treatment
and surviving
Cancer
discovery
tired
investigations
more investigations
tumor
surgery
chemotherapy
getting support surviving

5. same cancer form
same treatment
same doctor
just one survivor, out of five patients
no prior oncology knowledge
no special treatment
no access to specialists
medical student
father - doctor
photo by flickr.com/pustovit

6. THE NUMBERS
1. 2012: 14.1 mil new cases, 8.2 mil deaths
2. developing world: 1/3 people will develop cancer
during their lifetime
3. 1/9 people have a chance of a recurring cancer
4. 5 years time frame for surviving
5. 100+ forms of cancer, anybody can be affected
6. 1/3 of cancer forms can be detected early

7. THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET !
JUSTTHE UX PROCESS image by flickr.com/dangergraphics

8. UX DESIGN PROCESS
1. domain knowledge
2. identify stakeholders - stakeholders meetings
3. contextual interviews
4. create personas
5. user journey map
6. create mockups for internal usage
7. iterate: advanced working prototype [limited users] - usability testing - doctor’s feedback - design
8. paperwork and politics in parallel - to be able to test the app with patients and doctors
9. mass-market MVP test

9. photo by www.futureatlas.com

10. DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE
just understanding
chemotherapy it takes a lot
of time: patient, nurse and
doctor’s perspective
photo by flickr.com/linusekenstam

11. IT’S ABOUTTHETEAM WORK
photo by flickr.com/brianneudorff
Doctors, nurses, other medical staff,
Patients, Friends, Family
Support groups, NGO

12. John, Doctor
STAKEHOLDERS MEETINGS
Ana, Nurse
Elise, patient Mary, Elise’ mother Steve, MD
Carla, Hospital Manager
Jake, Cancer Survivor
Kristy, NGO member
July, support group member
photo by flickr.com/clement127
Understand all your stakeholders

13. LACK OF INFORMATION &
COMMUNICATION ISSUES
photo by flickr.com/choffee
Many times the patient feels left in the dark

14. MAJOR ISSUES
1. no direct access to patients
2. doctors are hard to get
3. no user centred approach in design
4. the patient is not an active part
5. inefficient communication
6. high stress for doctors and patients
7. not enough time
photo by flickr.com/denise_rowlands

15. CONTEXTUAL INTERVIEWS
doctor
patient
do you have a good work/life balance?
what is the missing communication link?
what would you improve in the system?
what is the patient not telling you?
what is her/his life?
what is missing from the treatment?
what are the greatest challenges?
is there any family support?
photo by flickr.com/kbrookes
Understand both the doctor and the patient

16. PERSONAS
Steve, cancer survivor
32 construction manager
iPhone, PM tools
i want an efficient tool
Elise, patient
23, medicine student
HTC M9, Spotify
being connected, music lover
Mike, family member
57, math teacher
Samsung Mini, basic usage
I loved my old Nokia
Paul, doctor
43, oncology expert
AppleTablet, medical tools
time is of the essence
photo by flickr.com/dangoodwin

17. USER JOURNEY
photo by flickr.com/clement127
Where is getting lost vital information?

18. LOW FI PROTOTYPES - INTERNAL USAGE
ADVANCED PROTOTYPES
SKETCHES
USERTESTS
The following slides are not available due to confidentiality reasons.

19. DESIGN CHALLENGES
• time is of the essence - iterate fast, many times
• doctor’s opposition to change - must provide an easy to integrate solution
• doctors and patients want to test a real product - advanced prototype
• design process - lack of domain knowledge - work with an expert/doctor
• high level of stress in the system - patience and empathy
• access to patients - collaborating with a medical centre

20. Adrian Iacomi
@adrianiacomi
Thank you :)