Managing COVID-19 Lab Machines Remotely

The Challenge

Before 2020, Abbott’s field technicians relied on a manual software update process for over 100+ customer accounts per employee.

With the amount of accounts per employee, outdated contact information, time-consuming processes, and pandemic restrictions, technician efficiency was severely impacted. This lead to poor time management and an increased number of errors.

The Goal

Work around pandemic restrictions, digitize and manage the
software update process for ID NOW Lab Machines softwares.

The Solution

A web-based application to visualize the current status of the lab machines softwares. We created the app to import data from SalesForce, schedule remote updates, and manage the client/software database.

Uncovering pain points & opportunities through UX Research

The Research

CreateApe conducted more than 100 thorough interviews with Abbott’s internal stakeholders and field technicians get some information about the current process.

We studied all the details about a technician’s daily workflow over a two-month period.

The Takeaways

Pain Points

Inefficient communication, inability to go on-site due to the pandemic, disorganized process and documentation.

User Goals

Efficient time management, reducing errors, handling communication efficiently, feeling in-control.

Defining the target

Proto Personas were based upon data from the people we interviewed. Their personality traits, potential hooks, and frustrations were brought to light.

Constructing the product flow

After gathering information about the target user’s goals and frustrations, we began strategizing the information architecture & user flows of the web portal.

Product creation, in-depth user testing & quick iterations

Wireframes

Since it was the first time Abbott’s software update process went digital, the design team took potential friction points into consideration while creating wireframes and planning out content.

User Testing

The clickable wireframes were tested in Zoom meetings. We recruited participants that closely matched our user personas and asked to complete a series of tasks.

The design team drafted a series of questions to understand what worked, what didn’t, and what needed to be fixed before starting the
high-fidelity designs.

“The team had done such an awesome job at understanding our
users and provide them with a tool they now love to use”