Internship at Philips:
Enhancing Medical UX in Image-Guided Therapy (IGT)
Introduction:
As a UX intern at Philips, I was privileged to be part of an internal business champion within the Image Guided Therapy (IGT) segment. This initiative was dedicated to validating innovative concepts that leverage advanced technology to enhance customer experiences in interventional surgeries, targeting vital areas such as the brain, heart, and vascular system. I collaborated closely with four distinct teams, aiming to refine customer journeys, bring future concepts to life through storyboard, and develop UI mock-ups for customer validation. Our collective goal was to demonstrate the substantial business value of these concepts, ensuring they merited further development and funding from the company.
NDA: Given the sensitive nature of the projects, some details are protected under an NDA. Feel free to contact me for more info or discussion on the work I contributed to.
Project overview:
My internship focused on providing XD support across four IGT teams. By joining forces with various teams, our goal was to streamline customer journeys, brainstorm and materialize future concepts, and produce visual mock-ups for both internal and external business validation.
Duration: June - August 2022
Responsibilities and Contributions:
Workflow Analysis: I conducted in-depth analysis of medical procedures to identify inefficiencies and propose enhancements, utilizing both qualitative insights and quantitative data.
Storyboard Refinement: I collaborated with medical experts to refine storyboards, ensuring accurate and impactful visualization of complex medical procedures for diverse audiences.
Visual UI Mock-ups: I designed and developed UI mock-ups for various medical devices, focusing on intuitive user interfaces that cater to the needs of healthcare professionals in high-stakes environments.
Voice of Customer Interviews: I planned interviews with healthcare professionals to gather critical feedback, analysing Voice of the Customer insights into the design process.
The Process and My Experience
The internship was a journey of learning and contribution. Starting with a deep dive into the existing workflows of complex medical procedures, I engaged in collaborative sessions with medical experts to refine our approach. This hands-on experience with storyboarding and mock-up creation not only honed my design skills but also deepened my understanding of the critical role UX plays in healthcare business.
Challenges were part of the journey, especially in translating complex medical processes into intuitive designs. Through iterative design and feedback loops, we overcame these challenges, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
Learnings
Visual Storytelling: I discovered the power of visual storyboards in facilitating effective internal communication and aligning cross-functional teams on complex concepts.
Strategic Interview Planning: Learned the art of planning and conducting interviews that yield actionable insights, setting quantitative metrics to validate assumptions in a business context.
The Impact
The culmination of our efforts was the securing of funding for further development of all four projects, a testament to the effectiveness of our design and validation process. While my internship concluded before the final presentation round in October, the foundation we laid contributed significantly to the projects' success.
Conclusion
This experience underscored the importance of UX in the medical field, teaching me invaluable lessons in teamwork, design thinking, and user-centered innovation. It has prepared me for future challenges and opportunities in UX design, especially in healthcare, where the impact of design on user experience can be life-changing.