BLINCYTO iVA & Website

Interactive Visual Aid for pharma sales reps

THE BRIEF

We have legacy sales reps leaving their iPads and sticking with the printed ones.

— The client

Amgen

MY ROLE
THE TEAM

I conducted user research, facilitated content strategy workshops, created wireframes, interactive prototypes, usability testing, designed high-fidelity mockups, and created final UI assets with functional annotations deliverables.

  • UX / UI designer
  • Project manager
  • Business analyst
  • Development lead
  • Content strategist
APPROACH

Amgen was launching a new treatment for cancer and needed to launch a Health Care Provider, and Patient site, along with a sales rep native app to utilize during their interactions with HCPs.

Blyncyto was an important new product and a successful launch for a new drug is critical. The websites would have 3 versions for launch at different stages of the launch. Amgen provided brand guidelines, and preliminary content. As for the sales rep app, content from a similar app, which was poorly received by it's users.

The approach was to a website that quickly communicated it's message, while giving enough breathing room for the content (which included a lot of regulatory required information), to flow through the page. White space, readability, and simple graphics that communicate.

The native tablet app required user research to understand the the benefits of the print version legacy sales reps would use and what could be brought over to the digital version to improve the adoption rate, while moving forward the app.

EXECUTION

I began by first reviewing the native app while drafts of the content was still to be delivered by the client.

What does the print version do well:

  • There is no need to turn it on, wake, launch the apps, etc...
  • No need to charge it. It's ready to go anytime.
  • The rep can leave it behind, allowing for reading later.
  • Rep can turn to a page very quickly, and once it's well known by the rep, even more quickly

What the print version do NOT do well:

  • Rep has to carry many around with them. Not very travel friendly.
  • Not cost efficient. Printing is costly, with enough inventory to cover needs
  • Distribution from a central point, to regional offices, and to reps is costly and wastes time.
  • Once printed, there cannot be any changes made, unless reprinted and redistributed.
  • Looks outdated compared to other reps.

I created a survey that was sent to the reps with various questions for each assumption to gauge the sentiment to this perceived issue and to gain insight to what else we did not know that we didn't know.

The feedback from the survey was helpful and gave insight on what to ask about. Generally my questions follow a certain script:

  • Tell me about the last time...
  • What was hard about that....?
  • Why was that (pain point) difficult/frustrating?
  • How do you solve it now? (indicates severity, and solution we have to be better than)
  • Why was that situation not awesome? (I know that it's bad, but why was it not good?)

Answers to these help by telling me about their past actions, which are good indicators of future behavior.

We've got a draft of the copy, let's see what we're working with. I facilitated a card sorting exercise with the team, which included members more familiar with the material. The goal was to fit the content into logical buckets.

Tip: If you're OCD like me, avoid lining up the cards in columns and rows. When the exercise starts, the participants will assume the top card is the bucket category. I had to shuffle them a bit to avoid this.

Wireframes

Based on the feedback on the current app, there were a few takeaways.

  • The rep is always the one using the app. The client is never handed it to use.
  • Screen real-estate for content is critical. It is what is being presented.
  • The app needs to work inside the Veeva platform, which has it's own interface on top.
  • Pharma specific regulatory elements need to be considered. Namely the Prescribing Information (PI) and the Important Safety Information (ISI).

The functionality needed to be fleshed out. I created wireframes and interactive prototypes in Axure RP. Early on we used cognitive walkthroughs with the team to be sure we had not missed any steps in the process. Then ran usability tests with participants. We gave them a series of scenarios and tasks to complete. They were asked to think aloud as they performed the tasks.

The websites was being designed along with the iVA app. Content was organized based on the iVA.

Key performance indicators

  • Client approved the designs and how the product was presented.
  • Usability tests had a high success rate.
  • Sales rep feedback for the iVA was positive and improved usage from early reports.
CONCLUSION

Lessons learned

Pharma is a niche industry, the more projects you're a part of, the more best practical experience you gain.

  • Sales reps want to execute on a plan, so the iVA needs to have simple interactions and present the content clearly.
  • How to take legacy sales material's advantages, and combine it with its digital counterpart.

Where are they now?

The iVA was well received by the client. Unfortunately we weren't privy to their usage stats. The HCP/Patient site successfully launched. The client continues to use the design for their related products.

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