Enhancing User Experience:
Streamlining CLL treatment decision making tool
#DomainResearch
#Testing
​#InterfaceRedesign
#Ideation
Overview
14
Weeks
Domain Research
User interviews
Usability testing

Ideation
Redesign
Figma
Miro
Sketching
Main Goal
The aim is to enhance patient-doctor communication by visually comparing treatment options, considering patient preferences and associated pros and cons, facilitating personalized treatment recommendations.
Background
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a form of blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow's Lymphocytes, white blood cells that can infiltrate the human body.
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Navigating important treatment decisions significantly influences a patient’s cancer journey.
Objective
Research, analyze, and ideate solutions to redesign the CLL Mind map to help oncologists and patients communicate better.
Challenge
How might we help CLL patients understand their condition and available treatment options in detail to make an informed decision?
Our client portrait
Center for cancer research and education throughout Indiana University
CLL Mind map: A decision making tool used by oncologists to explain the CLL treatment options weighing multiple factors
Redesigned the interface by...
Understanding CLL
Evaluating the tool
Conducting interviews
Analyzing & ideating
Typical doctor-patient communication style...
Please list out your preferences of benefits from most acceptable to least acceptable...
Most important would be live longer, followed by complete remission, partial remission, and cure....
Doctor places the benefits along X-axis after discussing the preferences with the patient...
Doctor places the Harms along Y-axis after discussing the preferences with the patient...
Lets move on to listing out preferences among the harms...tell me what are most and least acceptable harms for you...
Most acceptable I think would be rapid heartbeat, followed by Bleeding, high BP, Tumor lysis, infection and least blood count...
Okay, based on your preferences of harms and benefits...the treatment option Acalabrutinib would be the most preferred...
Okay...I would like to know more about this treatment option in detail and need some time to think about it...
Doctor places the treatment options best suitable for the patient based on the harms and benefits and communicates it with the patient using the graph...
Usability issues identified for the above CLL interface...
1
User control & freedom
2
Help & documentation
3
Visibility of system status
4
Consistency & standards
What patients said when they used the CLL Mind map...
"The navigation and working of the tool is challenging, I think I will need guidance"
“Placing the cards along the axes is a bit challenging when I want 2 options on the same level”
"Understanding the quadrants in the graph is too much work! It's a bit confusing..."
Defining challenges after research...
1
Complexity in decision making
Weighing the harms and benefits among the multiple factors is a challenging task for the patients/family members
2
Overwhelming information
The information regarding the condition and treatment is overwhelming and it's important to find a reliable source.
3
Lack of medical knowledge
The information could be misunderstood or not understood by the patients due to complex medical terms and communication gap.
4
Psychological impacts
CLL patients need support from health care providers and family members as well. It is crucial for family members to understand their condition and treatment options.
Redesigning CLL Mind map...
Existing CLL Mind Map...
Button Visibility in UI Design?

UI design for the button diminishes its visual cues, making it appear non-clickable and lacking the typical characteristics of a CTA
Graph clarity?
The graph representation lacks clarity for mapping out the option cards considering the harms & benefits
Option Card Hierarchy?
The option cards placed in the coordinate plane are not self explanatory for the patients to understand the hierarchy of the preference advised by the doctor.
Precision in placement?

The functionality of placing the cards along the x-axis and y-axis is not intuitive and lacks clarity when two cards fall under the same preference range.
Redesigned UI...
Precision in severity range

Integrated Low, Mid, and High controls on the cards, empowering users to finely tune the severity and advantages of each Harms and Benefits card within the graph area for a tailored experience.
Enhanced option card mapping

Addition of grids makes the placement of cards easier & intuitive reducing the mental load.
Distinctive emphasis for clarity

Highlighting the recommended option by the oncologist helps patients understand better at the first glance
My learnings & takeaways from this project...
Empathy as design principle
Understanding the emotions, challenges, and perspectives of both patients and healthcare professionals contributes to creating a more compassionate and effective solution.
Usability Issues Identification
User testing revealed usability issues, highlighting the importance of continuous evaluation and iteration to ensure that the design meets the needs of both patients and healthcare professionals.
Understanding patient journey
Deep diving into the patient journey during cancer treatment allowed for a holistic understanding of the challenges patients face, providing context for the design decisions and ensuring the CLL Mind Map addresses real-world patient needs.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The project involved collaboration with healthcare professionals, patients, and, developers emphasizing the significance of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating solutions that cater to both medical and user experience needs.
Next steps
Interviewing health care professionals & patients
Analyzing & ideating new solution
Designing a new tool for informed decision making