A UX Journey into the…

Nikiforos KaramanisFrancis RowlandJennifer Cham

World of Early Drug Discovery

European Bioinformatics InstituteCambridge, UK

Overview

❏ Helping scientists to develop new medicines❏ Helping our team achieve consensus❏ Helping our team understand the users’

perspective❏ How are we doing?

@francisrowland @technorasis

@francisrowland @technorasis

Target?

@francisrowland @technorasis

@francisrowland @technorasis

Aim:Help R&D scientists identify the right

target!

CTTV

@francisrowland @technorasis

(Potential) Target for a new drug

Disease

Scientific evidenceCTTV

@francisrowland @technorasis

Overview

✓ Helping scientists to develop new medicines❏ Helping our team achieve consensus❏ Helping our team understand the users’

perspective❏ How are we doing?

@francisrowland @technorasis

@francisrowland @technorasis

UX Designer as a catalyst in a balanced team

www.balancedteam.org

Communicating

• Team grew fast

• Diverse expertise

• ‘Startup-like’ environment

What did we do?

• Agile approach

• Weekly UX meeting

Challenges

• Haven’t worked together

• Different perspectives● Share

● Discuss

@francisrowland @technorasis

Co-designing

• Don’t own team

• UX woven through

What did we do?

• Include team in design process

• Help understand user needs

Challenges

• What is our role?

• What is our contribution?● Influence

● Facilitate

@francisrowland @technorasis

Externalising

• Working in the same room

• Unused space in one corner

What did we do?

• Create a meeting area

• Put designs on the wall

Challenges

• Access designs and ideas

• Share ownership● Visualize

● Review

@francisrowland @technorasis

Overview

✓ Helping scientists to develop new medicines✓ Helping our team achieve consensus

✓ Communicating✓ Co-designing✓ Externalising

❏ Helping our team understand the user’s perspective

❏ How are we doing?

@francisrowland @technorasis

@francisrowland @technorasis

Consolidating

• Insights from user research

• Details vs big picture

What did we do?

• Cross-check learnings

• Diagrams on the wall

● Triangulate

● Encapsulate

Challenges

• Share with team

• Drowning in documentation

@francisrowland @technorasis

@francisrowland @technorasis

Generating

• Rapid & iterative sketching

• Individual & team work

What did we do?

• Plan together with team

• Team members act as facilitators

Challenges

• Identify important questions

• Interact with actual users● Reflect

● Participate

@francisrowland @technorasis

Testing

• Feedback from potential users

• Started early and kept testing

What did we do?

• Test main feature of sprint

• Team members observe and take notes

• Analyse together

Challenges

• Align with sprint objectives

• Involve team members

• Share insights ● Collaborate

● Iterate

@francisrowland @technorasis

Overview

✓ Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation (CTTV)✓ Helping our team achieve consensus✓ Helping our team understand the user’s

perspective✓ Consolidating✓ Generating✓ Testing

❏ How are we doing?

@francisrowland @technorasis

What can we do better (UX view)

• Playing ball with Agile.• Inviting and providing useful critique. • Keeping track of important decisions.• Engaging with more senior and distant

stakeholders.

@francisrowland @technorasis

What can we do better (team view)

• Planning• Communication• Specifications• Empathy

@francisrowland @technorasis

Feedback from team

Achieving consensus:

✓ Communication✓ Involvement✓ Perspective

@francisrowland @technorasis

Feedback from team

Understanding users’ perspective:

✓ Participatory workshops✓ Involvement in testing✓ Advocacy✓ Focus

@francisrowland @technorasis

I like it. I have found it straightforward to navigate around and assume it will get

better as more links are added in!

Well done, the layout is intuitive, it was great to see

things we had suggested in the workshop on screen!

Powerful resource, clear links and easy to use without training, especially for a

non-bioinformatician!

Feedback from users

@francisrowland @technorasis

Overview

✓ Helping scientists to develop new medicines✓ Helping our team achieve consensus

✓ Communicating✓ Co-designing✓ Externalising

✓ Helping our team understand the user’s perspective✓ Consolidating✓ Generating✓ Testing

✓ How are we doing?@francisrowland @technorasis

Many thanks to…

• Our team• Our design and testing participants• Xavier Watkins, Sangya Pundir, Ryo Sakai and Michele Ide-

Smith• Bren Vaughan (our line manager)• Ewan Birney & CTTV Leadership team• Holly Foster for day-to-day help

Questions?niki@ebi.ac.ukfrowland@ebi.ac.ukjcham@ebi.ac.uk