User insights changed, but the initial data was invaluable.

User insights evolve just like people do, which means always asking questions and seeking new insights. Through user surveys, interviews with current and perspective clients, and discussions with colleagues, we discovered a deep need for information about both provider and services, and a desire for relatability that was not being met with the original site.

I love asking questions and observing behavior; it's a big part of why I'm a UX designer. Insights can be surprising, confirmatory, challenging, and even frustrating sometimes, but when you get right down to it, they are vital to the development of a strong product, and asking the right questions can help avoid major headaches down the road.

Constraints:

Health Information Portability and Accessibility Act: Because this project was for healthcare, HIPAA compliance and confidentiality were paramount, and research data had to be anonymized at every step. Because structured interviews were conducted with real clients, they were not recorded, and individual interview notes were included in client records to maintain confidentiality after insights were distilled. Notes had to be taken carefully, ensuring that no Private Health Information (PHI) was included, and informed consent had to be obtained from every formal participant.

Budget Constraints: My initial project budget was $84.00 for the first iteration. The practice had paid $10,000 for the development of the original website, but the hired company had produced a poorly functioning site. I was brought in to fix the problem.

Time Constraints: 2 weeks to get a new site up and running, and 6 weeks to get traffic increased. I completed the first redesign in a week and a half with a minimum viable product, and iterated continuously.

For this project, I focused on interviews and competitor research.

Due to constraints, the only resources I had were my time and publicly available information. I embedded my interview questions into informational calls with perspective clients, semi-structured interviews with colleagues a conference, and structured interviews with real clients.

Over the last 15 years, I've been designing, iterating, and redesigning the public website for iCNS, in addition to customer experience design for the physical, digital, and procedural touchpoints of the business. It has been my responsibility to design for a user base that has changed over time as knowledge has changed, priorities have shifted, and the general attitude toward the company's services has evolved. Here are some of the insights I've found that are drastically different now than they were when I started.

2008:

• Less than 5% of clients who called the office knew what neuroplasticity, brain-computer-interface, or even brainwaves were.

• Interviews with referring providers found that academic information and contact info were their priorities, but interviews with actual perspective clients showed that they needed to know who Dr. Novian was as a person and as a professional.

• 68% of website users had located the site through one of the directories Dr. Novian had joined. Organic search was less than 1% of users.