I got clarity on what needed to change about our most important digital product, an online prescription system for aesthetic practitioners and prescribers.
Project summary
Customer service and sales were reporting more regular calls about difficulty with the prescription system, particularly with new clients. I created a survey that mixed quant and qual questions to gather feedback on our entire prescription system, and then I investigated common trends further through discovery sessions with individual users.
We’re currently in the design phase, and I’m super clear on areas to improve in the next version, thanks to my research.
I found that a significant minority (35%) found our prescription system hard to use
Approx two thirds of our prescribers would use a bulk prescription feature if it was available
Users found the most friction in bulk creating prescriptions, prescriber/ practitioner handoff, editing a script, and checkout.
My process
Define project goals → write hypotheses → define research questions → conduct survey → analyse data → hypotheses are supported/not supported.
Prescriptions account for more than 70% of revenue, so I couldn’t mess this up.
Based on conversations with management, I set the project goals:
To identify pain points in the current prescription process.
Assess demand for new functionality - specifically a bulk editing feature - so we can prioritise meaningful improvements for clients.
Now I defined specifically what we wanted to learn from the research, I wrote the hypotheses.
H1: Clients find the current prescription system hard to use, and want it to be easier
H2: Clients want a bulk prescription feature
Next, I wrote research questions that I needed to ask to test our hypotheses.
RQ1: Where in the prescription flow do clients experience the most friction, confusion or delays?
RQ2:Do clients feel confident and informed throughout the prescription flow?
RQ3: Is there meaningful demand for a bulk editing feature with our current users?
RQ4: What bulk editing capabilities would be most beneficial to our users?
I chose a survey that mixed qualitative and quantitative questions for the research method, since it would be quick for our clients to answer, and easy to get a large amount of data. The survey was split into two sections, and each section tested one hypothesis.
GDPR considerations
Because our users had to be logged in to view this survey (identifiable), it would class as personal data. I made sure that I included:
Told users what we was collecting and why
Got their consent before collecting non-essential data, like their name and email address (and provided an anonymous submission option)
Store data securely
Allow them to request deletion or access data about themselves
Only keep the data for as long as necessary - I plan to anonymise the results once the project has been completed.
Finally, I added a few lines into our Privacy Policy that outlined the above
From the research, I found these key insights:
Prescription flow works for most users, but a significant minority (35%) find it hard to use
There is demand for a bulk prescription feature: ~60% of users would use it
Most friction for users in bulk creating/editing, prescriber/practitioner handoff, editing a script, and checkout.
Recommendations I proposed to management:
Add an optional bulk prescription feature
Supporting evidence:
64% of users answered ‘Occasionally’ or ‘All the time’ when asked if they would use a bulk prescription feature
“Being able to split a single basket to multiple patients to stop the faff of having to go back and start a fresh order for the next patient.”
Name redacted
Add a 'buy again' or 'repeat' prescription feature
Supporting evidence:
“Buy a prescription again [would be beneficial]“
Name redacted
“Be able to repeat prescriptions at the next site visit by clicking on a previous prescription I.e. ‘buy again’ to avoid having to create
prescriptions from scratch every time.
If that was possible, make the name of the drug and dose visible on the prescriptions page as well as the patient names - so one could click next to the name to ‘buy again’ “
Name redacted
Allow prescriptions to be edited before they're signed
Supporting evidence:
“Allowing to edit once it’s on the system pre signing“
Name redacted
“Being able to actually edit [a prescription]“
Name redacted
“If an item comes out of stock that is in your prescription, you should be able to remove this yourself on the website”
Name redacted
Optimise the cart and checkout process
Supporting evidence:
Most feedback from the survey references delivery address issues.
This requires further investigation - I'm going to conduct discovery sessions with different groups of users to find out what parts they find the most friction with.
Research questions and hypotheses
Did I answer my research questions?
Q1: Where in the prescription flow do clients experience friction, confusion or delays?
We know where the main friction points are, (bulk handling, prescriber <> practitioner handoff, checkout/cart issues like delivery addresses) but not why.
Q2: Do clients feel confident and informed throughout the prescription flow?
Majority (~65%) are confident (Easy/very easy). Their confidence dips during bulk prescription orders and in the checkout.
User interviews required to gain more context on what is creating the most cognitive load during the process.
Q3: Is there meaningful demand for a bulk editing feature with our current users?
Yes, as ~60% of users would benefit from this feature.
There is meaningful demand, but it’s not universal. It should be an optional feature for power users.
Q4: What bulk editing capabilities would be most beneficial to our users?
Repeat / “buy again”
Batch add to basket
Split a basket across multiple patients
Assign prescriptions individually after bulk add
Did I prove or disprove my hypotheses?
H1 Clients find the current prescription system hard to use, and want it to be easier
Partially supported.
The majority (65%) say the website is easy/very easy.
However, a significant minority (35%) answered difficult/very difficult, so we would still benefit from making improvements.
H2 Clients want a bulk prescription feature
Supported.
Clear demand from ~60% of users.
However, 40% say “never,” so it must be optional, or not be disruptive to single prescription orders.
Project deliverable
I presented a full research readout to management, which used the minto pyramid principle to give management the entire picture regardless of how much they choose to read. I started with key insights, recommendations, insights support, then finally full research documentation including process, survey data, next steps, risk assessment etc.
I was in a very strong position to propose a redesign to the prescription flow and bulk prescription feature to management, because I had data to back me up.
I knew what we need to change, but I still don’t know why - why are users getting stuck at certain points, and how would bulk editing fit into their real workflows?
My next steps in the project are to conduct discovery sessions with a small number of both prescribers and practitioners, to get deeper insight into how they are using our product in their businesses, and how we could suit their workflows better.
Outcome
I was in a very strong position to propose a redesign to the prescription flow and bulk prescription feature to management, because I had data to back me up.
I knew what we need to change, but I still don’t know why - why are users getting stuck at certain points, and how would bulk editing fit into their real workflows?
My next steps in the project are to conduct discovery sessions with a small number of both prescribers and practitioners, to get deeper insight into how they are using our product in their businesses, and how we could suit their workflows better.
Reflection
I'm confident with what I need to be focusing on in the project. I'm sure I'll get some extremely valuable insights from speaking to some of our users. Presenting the information to management in an easy to digest way was great to show the value I'm providing to the team.