Applied XL: Life Sciences
2021
Overview
A 12-week engagement to conduct design research with customers and experts from AppliedXL’s community, define customer opportunities, conceptualize the product solution, and create an MVP for AppliedXL’s informed data platform. This collaboration with the founders resulted in a high-impact MVP for their AI-driven data platform, aimed at translating complex experiences into an intuitive, user-centric product ready for market launch.
Roles & Responsibilities
Led UX/UI design, creating the platform's visual identity and intuitive user experience. Conducted user research and usability testing to inform design decisions and prioritize MVP features. Collaborated cross-functionally to define the platform's value proposition and user flow, aligning with business goals and the founders' vision. Iteratively refined the design based on feedback.
Challenge
AppliedXL, a startup focused on identifying disruptors to the health of people, places, and the planet, sought to leverage machine learning and computational journalism algorithms to surface contextual, real-time alerts on relevant industry shifts. Their challenge was to design a product that enables users to access early signals and plan ahead effectively within the Life Sciences vertical.
Solution
Our team worked closely with AppliedXL to deliver scalable product definition and design. Through field research in the Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical sectors, we developed a deep understanding of customer needs and identified key events they wanted to track. The solution included defining the MVP product’s value propositions, functionality, and designing the MVP release tailored for the Life Sciences market, enabling functional data tagging and commentary from experts.
User Research
We conducted user research with a targeted group of participants to gain insights into their daily workflows within the health field. Participants provided feedback on a proposed value proposition, offering valuable perspectives on the platform's potential relevance. Additionally, a Card Sorting exercise was conducted to identify the most useful tools and features, shaping the platform's design and functionality.
Based on this research, we developed Archetypes that encapsulate users' roles, daily responsibilities, and their emotional and functional needs, providing a foundation for a user-centered design approach.
What we learned
Emotional Needs
Skepticism Toward AI: Users are cautious about relying on AI-generated insights due to past unfulfilled promises, preferring to validate findings by reviewing source data directly.
Information Overload vs. FOMO: Despite concerns about excessive information, fear of missing critical insights ultimately prevails, as comprehensive data provides confidence in accurate assessments.
Pride in Methodologies: Users take pride in their refined methodologies and welcome tools that enhance and strengthen their existing approaches.
Uncertain Outcomes: There are no guarantees of discovering valuable insights, and time spent searching may sometimes yield no change in the status quo.
Functional Needs
Tool Comfort & Workflow Optimization: Users are comfortable juggling multiple tools but seek ways to optimize their workflows for greater efficiency.
Focus on Analysis: Users prefer spending time analyzing information rather than sifting through irrelevant data, underscoring the need for smarter filtering solutions.
Discovery vs. Search Tools: Discovery/alerting tools (e.g., newsletters, Twitter) are viewed separately from search tools (e.g., Cortellis, clinicaltrials.gov), presenting an opportunity to integrate these into a unified experience.
Enhanced Alerts: Alerts must provide more value than simple notifications to stand out from competitor offerings, offering actionable insights or curated content.
Mobile Usage: Mobile is used primarily for staying updated (e.g., news, Twitter) rather than as a core workflow tool.
Indirect System Contribution: Users are open to indirectly enhancing the system through search feedback and save-for-later features that seamlessly fit into their workflow.
Based on insights from our archetype research, we created user journeys tailored to the 'Makers' persona, focusing on their daily workflows. The journey starts with users searching for critical information across multiple entry points, often facing fragmented sources and time-consuming searches. AppliedXL addresses these pain points with smart search capabilities, personalized alerts, and content tagging with expert commentary, seamlessly integrating into their workflow to simplify information discovery and tracking.
UI Starter Kit
As part of the deliverables, we created a comprehensive UI starter kit containing reusable elements for consistent application across the platform. This included foundational design elements that defined the use of typography, color, and color application for core UI components, differentiating AXL from its competitors.
Our design exploration focused on achieving a balance between an editorial, journalistic aesthetic and a modern, futuristic feel—ensuring the system remains scalable as the platform expands to other verticals. The design approach also established a clear visual identity, providing distinctions across various content types to enhance usability and recognition.
Onboarding
We designed an onboarding flow that captures the user’s role and areas of interest, helping the platform tailor their experience. Upon landing on their dashboard, users are presented with their first personalized feed featuring recommended content based on their selected topics.
The Pulse
‘The Pulse’ allows users to seamlessly track and manage the feeds they follow or create, keeping them informed on clinical trial developments tied to their selected topics. Card treatments showcase the most recent trial updates, along with tagged themes. Users can expand cards to view timeline status changes or click through to detailed trial pages for comprehensive information. Additionally, users can access personal feeds or curated feeds created by AXL, offering snapshots of clinical trials grouped by specific topic feeds.
Design Exploration:
We explored various best-in-class inspirations for content display within feeds, focusing on user engagement and discoverability. This included examining intuitive layouts, interactive elements for user feedback to make the platform smarter, and robust discovery features such as feedback patterns, filter options, topic insights, and real-time updates.
Key features we learned from our participants
Search & Filter: Users expect sophisticated search capabilities in alerts tools, including filtering by specific topics such as compounds, molecules, or drugs.
Custom Alerts & Newsletters: Alerts and newsletters are baseline features, with users valuing relevant and regular updates. Preferences vary between real-time alerts and periodic newsletters.
Follow Topics: The ability to track specific topics throughout the product experience adds value and enhances user engagement.
“Help me quickly understand relevant updates so I know if I need to make a strategic change.”
— Makers, BioTech CIs
Event Summary
Users can view a detailed clinical trial page that displays additional content pulled directly from the trial, offering easy access to raw data for validation and due diligence. This ensures users can stay up to date and accurately track information. Additionally, users have the option to share relevant information with their team. AXL also resurfaces similar clinical trials to enhance discoverability, helping users explore related studies for a broader understanding.
Key features we learned from our participants
View Source Report: Users prioritize access to raw data for validation and trust verification when discovering new information.
Download & Share: Downloading and sharing information is a fundamental expectation, allowing users to provide evidence-based insights.
“Save me time so I can focus on providing high value insights to my stakeholders.”
— Specialists, Big Pharma CI
