Representative Case Study - Practice Management

Disclaimer: The following is a hypothetical scenario created for educational purposes. It does not relate to any actual products, organizations, projects, or proprietary information.

Context

As the lead designer on a legacy practice management solution used by thousands of clients—many of whom have relied on the platform for over a decade—introducing change required exceptional care. While more efficient workflows could enhance the user experience, disrupting established patterns risked alienating long-term users who had grown accustomed to specific flows.

The challenge was to balance innovation with familiarity, improving efficiency without compromising the trust and comfort users had built over years of engagement with the system.

Problem

The process of provisioning new users was unnecessarily complex and fragmented. Administrators had to navigate across five separate sections—User Administration, User Rights, Group Administration, Group Rights, and Care Providers—to complete even basic data entry tasks. The system did not retain user context, forcing administrators to repeatedly input the same data when adding multiple new hires.

Key pain points included:

• Repetition and inefficiency: Tasks involved redundant data entry and continuous toggling between disconnected screens.

• Error-prone workflows: The lack of validation or guidance increased the likelihood of mistakes.

• Time-consuming processes: Administrators spent significant time on tasks that could have been streamlined, detracting from more meaningful responsibilities.

This inefficient workflow contributed to administrator frustration and increased the risk of burnout, particularly as practices onboarded multiple new hires.

Objective

The goal was to streamline the user management process, enabling administrators to:

1. Complete tasks with fewer clicks and less duplicated effort.

2. Reduce errors through clearer guidance and data validation.

3. Maintain flexibility to accommodate both common and edge-case scenarios.

4. Preserve familiarity for long-term users, minimizing disruption to established workflows.

By consolidating related tasks into a centralized, intuitive design, the objective was to significantly reduce task completion times while improving overall user satisfaction. This redesign aimed to not only optimize efficiency but also alleviate stress for administrators, enabling them to focus on higher-value work.

My Role

As the Senior UX Designer leading this project, I was responsible for:

• Conducting comprehensive research to uncover pain points and identify user needs.

• Designing and prototyping new workflows and interfaces that balanced efficiency with familiarity.

• Collaborating with stakeholders and development teams to refine solutions and ensure alignment with business objectives.

• Leading usability testing with administrators to validate and iterate on design concepts.

My primary focus was to simplify the user management experience while respecting the workflows that users had relied on for years. By adopting a consultative, user-centered approach, I aimed to deliver a solution that felt both innovative and intuitive.

Methodology

To ensure the redesign met user needs and business goals, I employed a user-centered, iterative design process that emphasized collaboration and evidence-based decision-making. Key steps included:

1. Research & Discovery

• Conducted stakeholder interviews with administrators to understand their workflows, challenges, and priorities.

• Analyzed usage data to identify the most common and time-consuming tasks.

• Mapped out the existing workflows to pinpoint inefficiencies and areas for improvement.

Key insights:

• Administrators spent excessive time navigating between separate sections for related tasks.

• The lack of contextual guidance increased the likelihood of errors, particularly for new or infrequent users.

• Users desired a more streamlined process but were hesitant about changes that might disrupt familiar workflows.

2. Ideation & Prototyping

• Developed low-fidelity wireframes to explore different ways to consolidate tasks and simplify workflows.

• Created interactive prototypes to simulate new user management flows, focusing on reducing redundant steps and improving task efficiency.

• Incorporated modular design principles to ensure flexibility for handling both common and edge-case scenarios.

3. Iterative Testing & Refinement

• Conducted usability testing with administrators to validate the effectiveness and intuitiveness of the new design.

• Gathered qualitative feedback to ensure the redesign preserved familiarity for long-term users.

• Refined prototypes based on testing results, improving clarity, efficiency, and adaptability.

Notable refinements during iterations:

• Consolidated five separate sections into two: User Management and Group Management.

• Introduced smart search functionality to replace dropdown menus, reducing time spent locating options.

• Added contextual guidance and data validation to minimize errors and improve confidence during onboarding.

Solution

The final solution involved consolidating the fragmented user management process into two centralized sections:

1. User Management:

   • Combined key user information, account details, and configurations onto a single profile page.

   • Allowed administrators to complete the entire setup for a new user in one location, significantly reducing toggling between screens.

   • Introduced bulk editing capabilities, enabling administrators to apply default settings for multiple users in a single action.

   • Included an edit tool for custom settings, accessible via a modal, to handle unique cases without disrupting the streamlined flow.

2. Group Management:

   • Enabled administrators to configure settings for teams or user types with shared requirements.

   • Allowed predefined groups (e.g., medical staff) to be managed collectively, reducing redundant tasks and ensuring consistency across users.

By addressing the 80/20 rule, the redesign ensured that 80% of common tasks could be completed within the User Management section, while the Group Management section provided flexibility for more complex scenarios.

Additional improvements included:

• Condensed tables for clearer data presentation.

• Smart search functionality to replace dropdowns, reducing friction in selecting options.

• Guided workflows to ensure tasks were self-explanatory and error-free.

Results

The redesigned user management experience delivered measurable improvements in efficiency, accuracy, and user satisfaction:

• 40% faster task completion: Usability testing showed administrators could complete the onboarding process for multiple new hires in significantly less time.

• 25% fewer errors: Improved guidance and data validation reduced the likelihood of mistakes during user setup.

• 60% decrease in multitasking and task switching: Consolidation of related tasks allowed administrators to focus on completing workflows in one location.

Qualitative feedback:

• Administrators praised the improved organization and logical grouping of tasks, which eliminated the need for tedious screen toggling.

  • “It’s so much easier to get everything done in one place now.”

• The intuitive design and guided workflows made tasks feel effortless:

  • “I don’t have to think so hard about what comes next—it just makes sense.”

• One administrator noted the redesign had a significant impact on their daily work:

  • “This new design has breathed life back into my days. I finally have time to focus on things that matter.”

Quantitative metrics:

• Post-task surveys revealed higher job satisfaction and lower perceived workload among administrators.

• Time savings allowed administrators to dedicate more focus to engaging, high-value duties, improving overall productivity.

Takeaways

This project demonstrated the importance of respecting legacy workflows while introducing meaningful improvements. By prioritizing user needs and adopting a consultative approach, I was able to:

• Deliver a streamlined solution that significantly reduced task completion times and errors.

• Preserve familiarity for long-term users while introducing innovative features that simplified workflows.

• Build a future-proof foundation for user and group management, ensuring scalability and adaptability as needs evolve.

Through this experience, I honed my ability to navigate the complexities of redesigning legacy systems and create solutions that balance efficiency, usability, and user trust. I’m excited to apply these skills to future projects, tackling challenges that require thoughtful, user-centered design.