Role
Lead Product Designer, Consultation, Facilitation, Strategy, Research

Platform
Web App, Internal Software

Team Formation
Hybrid Product Team, Agile, Scrum

American Healthcare in a Nutshell

The American healthcare system stands out for its myriad challenges and shortcomings when compared to other developed nations. Struggling with issues of accessibility, affordability, and equity, it lags behind other systems in providing comprehensive care. Despite the high cost, the U.S. ranks last in healthcare quality among developed nations.

To put it bluntly, the American healthcare system is a mess. The complexity of the system is so great that a single person can’t possibly understand the intricacies of the entire process. Even if they could, the for-profit motivation of the industry provides enormous friction in simplifying and bettering the system.

Who is Centene?

Centene Corporation is a multinational healthcare company that provides a range of services to government-sponsored healthcare programs, focusing primarily on underinsured and uninsured individuals. As of writing this, Centene is listed as number 25 on Fortune 500 with 74,000+ employees. It is one of the largest providers of Medicaid and Medicare services in the United States, also offering services through the Health Insurance Marketplace and the TRICARE program for military personnel and their families.

Of the 33 developed nations in the world, the United States sits among them alone as the only predominantly private, for-profit health insurance model. 

Medical Bills Are the #1 Cause of Bankruptcy in the U.S.

1 in 4 Americans have medical debt.

The average ER visit can cost more than a month’s rent.

The healthcare industry spent $568 million on lobbying in 2020.

Over 28 million Americans are uninsured.

Increase claim validation speed, minimize claim errors, and simplify the refund calculation process.

Building Alignment

New product teams come with a myriad of hurdles. With the complexity of this project and the quantity of 35+ folks on the team, it was clear we were going to need additional attention to team communication, scale, and process.

Building Process

As the sole product designer on the project, I led and facilitated a hybrid product team through a lean, iterative approach to product development. This process included the introduction of dual track agile enabling the team to break down the project into smaller pieces.

Introduced Dual-Track Agile

With multiple development teams assigned to this project and a focus on a Agile, I introduced the team to a Dual Track Agile framework. Dual Track Agile enables then entire team—design and development—to have a consistent workload without having to wait for the next handoff to continue building toward an MVP. 

Every team is different—each with their own constraints, politics, and and goals. Based on this team, below is the design cadence I enforced to alleviate potential friction, dictate communication points, and enable a mindset of delivering value quickly. 

Product Canvas

Research began by facilitating a product canvas with key stakeholders on our team. The goal is to better understand areas of focus, gain team alignment, and build momentum with all parties moving forward with the same level of understanding.

This process narrows down the main objective, business goals, users, and user needs. 

With an agree upon objective as well as goals, users, and user needs, we can can already see some common themes emerging from the early stages of discovery. 

Manual Effort

The majority of the process exists in excel and requires manual entry. 

Hand-off Centric

The current process involves dozens of stakeholders, each requiring touchpoints along the process. 

Slow & Opaque

Each portion of the process requires stakeholder sign-off. In some instances, this could take months. 

Hypothesis Statements

Hypothesis Statements were written as a method of narrowing down potential directions for the first iteration of effort. Based on the user research up to this point, these are arguments that require challenging, prioritization, and testing. 

Hypothesis Prioritization

To maintain communication among all stakeholders, I facilitated a team-wide Hypothesis Prioritization workshop to prioritize which hypotheses in the previous step should be the focus of effort for the upcoming iteration. 

In this exercise, product owners and various stakeholders are able to debate the value of each outcome. Once value is determined, developers and engineers can estimate the amount of effort for each proposed solution. 

Team Alignment

• Agreement on a main objective
• Agreement target audience
• Agreement on friction points

Success Criteria

• Understanding of prioritization
• Understanding of desired impact
• Understanding of potential solutions

Defining the MVP

A loose MVP was defined and a rough timeline created. Moving forward, each iteration should be a step closer toward that MVP. 

High-Fidelity Iteration

Based on our two-week sprint cycles and values of a lean, agile workflow, value of effort is better spent on quick high-fidelity mockups over wireframes.

To communicate iterations and effort, we use a process called Slicing.

Slice 1: Dashboard and Claim View

The first iteration of the Centene Recovery Platform prioritizes building momentum. This slice builds momentum toward solving the agreed upon hypotheses while building a foundation for the entire application moving forward. 

Test and Measure

To validate the momentum of this iteration, I demo with various stakeholders and users to challenge if the output drives toward the intended outcome. Upon validation, the intended outcomes and built features are documented enabling any stakeholder to quickly see how the application has progressed and what effort is currently being prioritized. 

Outcome Rollout

Began documenting which outcomes were prioritized and solved for.  

Slice 2: Filter, Search, and Additional Dashboard Columns

Additional functionality is added with the intention of solving the next prioritized outcomes. 

Test and Measure

Iterations continued to be demoed and tested with stakeholders and users. In more dramatic iterations, usability tests are created to formalize and measure understanding. 

Outcome Rollout

Continue developing and prioritizing outcomes. 

31

Developed Iterations

182

Hypotheses Tested

125

Hypotheses Developed

35

Unique Personas

49

Formalized Business Goals

207

Formalized User Needs

Function Before Form

Because this product is working toward its MVP launch, every iteration above prioritizes functionality over form. While this application is perfectly functional and succeeds at decommissioning our previous software, there are still many opportunities for improvement. 

As this project continues, we’ll continue to prioritize and tackle outcomes, improve the quality of life by addressing user needs, and reinforce our business goals by targeting specific impact.