Photo by Nathaniel Yeo on Unsplash
PFIZER GCS
2020
Blockchain
8 Weeks
UX Design
Overview
Clinical Researchers used paper-based forms to track their Intellectual Property (e.g. Drugs, Vials, Solutions). With the advent of technologies, the company saw an opportunity to transform the traditional process of paper forms into an efficient digital process that can be tracked and monitored.
Current Scenario
Members of the supply chain process found it difficult to track the IP (Drugs, Vials, etc.) on paper forms as the manual process results in a widely known problem of one-up-one-down. The current process adds to the complexity as multiple versions of truth are created by different members of the supply chain.
Outcome
After our first release, the results highlighted a positive impact on the supply chain process. The solution helped the members to complete their daily tasks more efficiently. They were able to track the IP until the last member of the supply chain with adequate information to confirm the successful handover of the IP. The supply chain managers had end-to-end visibility of their IP and could use data analytics to make the process more efficient and streamlined.
My Role
-
Leading the User Experience across all features of the solution.
-
Study the context and gather data points from existing research conducted by the business analyst team and client stakeholders.
-
Develop a plan of action for UX deliverables by collaborating with the Visual Design and Engineering team.
-
Develop wireframes, communicate design direction and get sign-off on wireframes.
Design a pilot experience to make the supply chain more transparent by digitizing their existing workflow using Blockchain Technology
Estimating Timelines
The approach was focused on understanding the context using the documentation provided by the stakeholders. We were informed beforehand that we would not be able to engage with the members of the supply chain. The 'discovery' and 'define' stages were outlined based on the secondary information provided in the format of documents and presentations.
Fig. 1: A snapshot of a high-level design plan for the project
Fig. 2: A list of detailed tasks to monitor different milestones
Planning Milestones
The team members got together to discuss their checkpoints and dependencies before the project started. Given the short scale of the project, the estimations and tracking were done using Excel.
In hindsight, this could have been tracked better on more automated platforms such as JIRA.
Understanding
Business
We created journeys and process diagrams that helped us understand the role of various members in the supply chain. For the purpose of this release, we focused on 6 types of members in the process
Fig. 3: Diagram of the supply chain process
Understanding
People
Documenting people’s goals and tasks helped us understand their role in the supply chain process. The information was received second-hand by client stakeholders in the format of word documents and presentations.
Fig. 4: Documentation of different roles in the supply chain process. Illustration Credit: Freepik.com
Prioritising Focus Areas
I collaborated with business analysts to understand the most important focus areas based on the Scope of Work (SOW) signed with the client.
We used the MoSCoW technique to prioritize the use-cases. The exercise was done on Miro to make use of its collaborative nature.
Information
Architecture
The IA helped us organize the information into relevant clusters. These clusters were later to understand the overall navigation. We used miro to create the information architecture as it's easy to create branches and search specific information
Fig. 5: Snapshot of the information architecture
Solution
Assigning Shipment Statuses
One-up-one-down is a core issue in the supply chain model. We identified different touchpoints of IP handover and assigned them unique status tags. This provided the stakeholders with the ability to track the IP more effectively and remove any potential blind-spots.
Fig. 6: Adding status tags at key points of exchanges
Solution
Personalised
Filters
While providing status for each activity was very helpful it created an issue of providing participants with too much information. To resolve this issue we identified the core statuses for each participant and applied them by default. Participants still had the option of setting their own default.
Fig. 7: Adding default filters based on the member’s role in the supply chain
Prototype Showcase
We stitched the individual solutions to create a single prototype to demonstrate the overall vision. The prototype was created in Adobe XD as it allowed us to convert the flows into videos that can be sent for approval as they initially struggled with using inVision.
Fig. 8: Prototype displaying the ideal journey of creating a shipment request
Visual Exploration
Below are some visual explorations created after the completion of the project. The focus for visual design was on exploration and building on my skillset as an experience designer. The activity sensitized me to the constraints a visual designer faces while building production-level designs.
Learnings
Working with blockchain technology helped me understand the pros and cons that the system poses on the design decisions. We later worked around a presentation to share this learning with the design team in the Deloitte studio.
Blockchain and Design
-
Once you add something to the Blockchain you cannot remove it.
-
Blockchain technology does not allow the altering of information once it is added to the chain
-
It's quite simple to backtrack information
-
The best use-cases for this technology would be around transferring ownership from one party to another.
Understanding Trade-offs
Understanding the MVP is a priority from a business perspective, it’s important to weigh the importance of which features add more value during the product development process.
Collaboration is key
Understanding the technology on which the product is developed can drastically impact the experience. For example, “A good experience should be forgiving” however, in this case, participants can’t edit the information once it’s on the blockchain ledger, hence, we had to think of alternatives to design around it.
Impact
After a month we received a mail from our on-site team highlighting the success of the MVP product. All the participants were able to use the product with minimal training. They were able to seamlessly handover the IP from one member to another. The client reached out to us for the next release to add more details to the flow. Creating a sustainable business for the company I work for, is an important achievement for me.
Recognition
The project would not be possible without my wonderful teammates. They have been very tolerant of our absurd design recommendation in the given timeframe and thank you for accommodating last-minute changes which were highly crucial for the success of the project.
Key Collaborators
Reba Thomas Parel (Visual Designer)
Aishwarya Bhargava (Business Analyst)
Prabal Tandon (Project Manager)
Lakshman Battula (Android Developer)
Nitin Pant (iOS Developer)
Kshitij (Blockchain Architect)
Accolades
I received a few humble words and two awards from the internal leadership on the successful delivery of the project despite having very little information to work with. The biggest achievement for me was when the end-users were able to use the solution with minimum guidance.