Novo Nordisk
Healthcare
The one-stop-shop for all clinical data review
Outcome
An all-in-one, visual, and collaborative SaaS platform that enables Data Managers and Medical Reviewers to manage more effectively all clinical trials data. It improves patient recruitment and follow-up and allows clinical teams to monitor more trials simultaneously, giving Novo Nordisk a strategic advantage over its competitors.
100
Clinical trials
500
Total users
250
Daily users
>1000
Potential new users
60%
time saved performing daily checks
95%
satisfaction (compared to 32% with the previous software)
Challenge
Until now, monitoring clinical trials has been particularly laborious for Data Managers and Medical Reviewers: data was handled exclusively in Excel files containing thousands of rows, without any visual aids or an overview.
Identifying discrepancies and outliers was time-consuming and errors could easily occur, directly impacting patient health, drug efficacy and potentially delaying the clinical trial by several years.
My contribution
As part of a Product Trio, I led the creation of an MVP to convince management of the need for a new internal tool and, working closely with a development team, I oversaw the design and implementation in PowerBI of the first version of a reliable and user-friendly data visualization platform.
Throughout the project, I ensured the tool’s relevance to users by conducting interviews, workshops, and usability testing with a focus on the hierarchy, the navigation and the accessibility of the charts.
Key decisions
1) I turned technical complexity into straightforward user journeys
This project wasn’t the first attempt to make clinical data easier to use but previous solutions had failed because they focused on the technical aspects rather than on their users.
To focus on solving users’ pain points, I changed the approach by first seeking to understand and map out the goals, interactions, tasks and tools used by clinical teams, as well as the friction they encounter. By presenting this research in clear and simplified visualizations, I enabled my Product team to look beyond the technical complexity and make user-centered decisions.
2) I demonstrated to stakeholders the need and viability of a new tool using an MVP
In a company as large as Novo Nordisk, digital transformation is primarily hindered by slow decision-making and management’s difficulty in envisioning the future.
I chose to use an MVP to convince my managers of the strong interest of users for a new tool, its technical viability and the next development steps. After just three months of collaboration with a front-end developer, we presented a functional React prototype that generated a lot of enthusiasm and engagement, and paved the way for the launch of a first operational version of a SaaS solution developed in PowerBI.
3) Data Insight at everyone's fingertip. Accessibility isn't an option
I improved usability and user satisfaction by enhancing accessibility. That's why I made a point of improving readability by redesigning the graphics, so that no information would be misinterpreted.
Using an eye-tracking system, I was able to measure the improvement between the old and new versions among twenty users: they were three times more efficient and no longer made any mistakes.
