US Digestive Health has one of the largest digestive health networks in the country. The network of practices, providers, and offices were interwoven in such a way that made it hard to hide the complicated relationship between these variables from the user. The client asked my team to build a new website  with a refreshed design, a more streamlines search functionality, and a more simplified provider database that would allow  patients to efficiently locate their colonoscopy provider and essential resources.

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Challenges faced:
 

1. Complex provider-office-practice relationship

   • Providers sometimes associate with multiple offices

   • Offices sometimes house multiple providers

   • No clear 1:1 mapping between these entities

   • Necessity to obscure the practice affiliations from the end-user

   • Not all practices have centralized portals or prep instructions

2. Vast resource database management

   • Extensive repository of providers, patient portals, prep resources, and other forms to manage​​

   • Critical need for patients to have instant access to these resources

3. Inflexible project timeline

   • Non-negotiable launch week​

   • Limited time for design and development

   • No time for pre-launch testing

4. High risk functionality

   • The project had a high, potential impact on business goals and organizational success

   • Critical and intricate functionality that needed a tight quality assurance protocol

5. Budgetary constraints

   • Limited development resources

   • Limited financial resources

 

Solutions:

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My role as the Digital Project Manager for this account was to develop a detailed and adaptable project plan that could anticipate risks and dependencies, include iterations and overlaps, and work within a tight budget and timeline with limited resources.

 

Firstly, the schedule included an overlapping design and development phase in iterations; it was critical that this project incorporated some agile philosophies in order to work within inflexible constraints.

 

Secondly, due to the complexity and importance of the search functionality, the schedule needed a lengthy and qualitative discovery and requirements phase. I enlisted the support of a  skilled information architect to collaborate in the development of complex wireframes and user journey maps.

 

Thirdly, I advocated for client transparency about the difficulties of the project. In collaboration with account managers and leadership, we negotiated with the client to have a more interactive launch plan. Perfection at initial launch was no longer goal, rather we would continue to make iterative developments to the search function post-launch, giving the agency time to make data-driven changes based on user behaviour.