Rebuilding a Legacy Cancer Research Platform
Streamlining Data Accuracy and Workflows
Lead UX Designer | Dana-Farber | Nov 2018- Feb 2019
Note: This case study has been sanitized to remove sensitive information, with select details and images blurred or redacted in accordance with security requirements.
Mission 🎯
Redesign an outdated oncology research tool to make it intuitive and efficient for oncologists and researchers documenting and tracking studies—reducing cognitive load and improving data accuracy.
Scope: End-to-end UX design from discovery through delivery. Modernized a complex research documentation tool to improve usability, navigation, and data clarity across researcher workflows.
Challenge
- Legacy tool was unintuitive with redundant navigation and visual clutter
- Limited user access early in the project
- Conflicting stakeholder priorities
- Short timeline to research, design, and validate concepts
Approach
- Conducted contextual inquiries and stakeholder interviews across 6 user groups
- Reviewed existing research and mapped workflows & system data flows
- Sketched process flows to align user needs with technical constraints
- Collaborated with engineering to ensure design feasibility
- Validated early concepts through user testing and iterative refinement
Impact
- Improved usability and reduced learning curves
- Streamlined workflows and modernized UI using a design system
- Reorganized navigation and content hierarchy to reduce visual clutter
- Enabled faster task completion and more accurate research tracking
Reflection
Wins: Simplified complex workflows and created opportunities for ongoing user feedback.
Challenges: Limited early access to key user groups led to assumptions that required later rework.
Next Time: Engage all user groups earlier and introduce asynchronous feedback methods to capture broader input.
Learn More
Diving into the details....
Rebuilding a Legacy Cancer Research Platform
Outcome
- Improve the usability of the application & reducing learning curves
- Modernize the look and feel of the application by leveraging a design system
- Improve efficiency by streamlining user workflows
- Improve navigation and context
- prioritize content & group items to reduce visual clutter
Scope
Produce End-to-end UX Design from discovery to product delivery & the continuation of feature development
Agency & Users
Oncologist and Researchers at the hospital
Duration
November 2018- June 2019
Research Team
1 UX Designer
1 Project Owner
6 Engineers
My Role: Lead UX Researcher
Mission & Challenges
Operational Problem
Oncologists and researchers needed a more efficient way to document and track oncology research tests, but the existing tool was outdated, cluttered, and difficult to navigate. Its unintuitive interface, redundant navigation, and excessive search options created unnecessary cognitive load and slowed researchers’ ability to find, record, and manage critical data.
Why it mattered
Researchers needed to quickly locate and track study information so they could focus on advancing research and improving patient outcomes, rather than struggling with inefficient tools and workflows.
Success Criteria
- Make the app more user friendly by reorganizing existing features & workflows
- Enable users to accomplish tasks more easily through a customizable landing page
Constraints
- Limited access to users
- Not all target user groups were available
- Stakeholder oversight & opinions
- Limited access to data and contextual inquiry/ observations
- Limited amount of time to develop a design concept and pitch
Discovery Research
Approach
Analyzing Workflows & User Behavior to Shape an Intuitive Design Solution
To address the operational challenges, I led a comprehensive discovery effort to understand how oncologists and researchers interacted with the existing system, where breakdowns occurred, and what they needed to work more effectively. Through a mix of user research, contextual inquiry, and technical stakeholder interviews, I identified key usability barriers and mapped opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce cognitive load, and modernize the experience.
The discovery phase began with a review of previous research to establish context and identify recurring pain points. From there, I conducted contextual inquiries with researchers using the legacy tool, observing firsthand how they documented and tracked tests across multiple screens and navigation layers. These sessions revealed major friction points in functionality, layout, and workflow that contributed to inefficiency and data inconsistencies.
To further understand the system’s constraints, I held developer interviews to map out where and when data was entered, processed, and displayed—exposing gaps between the system’s logic and the user’s mental model. Stakeholder and user group interviews across six different teams helped clarify diverse needs, workflows, and definitions of success.
I synthesized findings by sketching process and system flows that visualized how information moved through the tool and where breakdowns occurred. Finally, I conducted user testing to validate assumptions, refine task flows, and confirm that proposed design directions improved usability and reduced cognitive load. This research-to-insight process established a shared understanding of user needs and technical realities, forming the foundation for a more intuitive and efficient design solution.
Insights
Challenges
- Most search options and filters were rarely used, yet occupied significant screen space.
- Users were overwhelmed by excessive data displayed at once, making it difficult to identify key information.
- Frequent, repetitive clicking slowed workflows and increased frustration.
- Redundant and unnecessary information cluttered screens and distracted from critical data.
- Terminology (e.g., requisition statuses such as completed, missing, canceled) was unclear and inconsistent.
- Navigation and layout were unintuitive—key actions (like “Requisition Order”) were placed in unexpected locations.
Suggestions for Improvement
- Introduce a dashboard view to provide a quick, high-level snapshot of key research data.
- Implement progressive data layers so users can access detailed information only when needed.
- Add filtering and sorting features similar to online shopping interfaces to help narrow down key data efficiently.
- Simplify navigation and reposition high-frequency actions to align with user expectations.
- Clarify terminology and status definitions to reduce confusion and improve workflow comprehension.
- A short project timeline constrained the depth of research and iteration possible in the initial phase.
- Limited access to key user groups early in the project restricted initial understanding of all roles and use cases.
- Early design assumptions had to be made based on partial insights and evolving requirements.
- Some user and stakeholder needs were misaligned, requiring reconciliation of priorities.
- Additional research was later needed to capture the full spectrum of user needs, pain points, and workflows.
Problem Framing
Problem Statement
OncoTracker users need an easier way to order and track OncoPanel requisitions because the current application is outdated and not very user friendly.
– “ We believe that by reorganizing the existing features on OncoTracker and incorporating the ability to personalize the landing page, we will make the app more user friendly and therefore, allow users to accomplish their tasks on the app more easily.” –
Core Jobs To Be Done / Use Cases
Primary Users
- CRC & Disease Center Staff
- Make orders for research tests, comment on specimens track testing progress & view results
Secondary & Tertiary Users
- Surgical , Lab Control, CAMD, Steakholder & Admin
- Stakeholders: are looking at aggregate data & numbers
- Lab Control: is searching and making comments about a specimen for quality control
- CAMD: is looking at reqs and comments to begin testing process
- Surgical: Receives requests & follows up on specimen abstraction & scheduled dates
Design Objectives
- Support requisitions for three distinct test types within a unified workflow.
- Enable flexible search with customizable parameters to accommodate varied user needs.
- Introduce grouping and filtering options to streamline data exploration and comparison.
- Make key information easily scannable across requisitions, specimens, tests, and reports.
- Clearly display patient details, disease center, ordering user, and specimen type within a single view.
Design Strategy & Exploration
Iterative User Testing
“I want meaningful statuses”
“I want to know the dates along the testing process to know when reports will be ready"
“I would like better communication between ordering user and CAMD, some way to leave comments in the application"
“I need an efficient layout & structure to order and view Reqs.”
- User "I" Statements
UI Designs
I redesigned an outdated application to streamline workflows and reduce cognitive load, helping users focus on the data and searches most relevant to their needs. The new design unified three distinct test types into a single workflow, introduced flexible search with customizable parameters, and added grouping and filtering to simplify data comparison. Key patient and specimen details were consolidated into one clear, scannable view—improving efficiency, clarity, and user confidence. Due to a tight timeline, the designs were developed at a low-fidelity level to quickly iterate and validate concepts.
Design Contribution &
Collaboration
Design
- Led end to end UX design & Steakholder alignment
- Delivered low-fidelity UI & prototypes
- Facilitated user interviews & testing
Collaboration
- Worked with engineering and Product owner to determine stories and deliver product updates
- Worked with users to validate workflows & UI testing
Reflections
Outcomes &
Reflection
What worked
- Simplified complex workflows, improving overall task efficiency.
- Created a platform for user feedback from groups that previously had limited input opportunities.
- Uncovered valuable insights into how the system could be modernized and tailored to meet distinct user group needs rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.
Challenges
- Limited access to key user groups early in the project restricted initial understanding of all roles and use cases.
- Some user and stakeholder needs were misaligned, requiring reconciliation of priorities.
- Early design assumptions had to be made based on partial insights and evolving requirements.
- Additional research was later needed to capture the full spectrum of user needs, pain points, and workflows.
- A short project timeline constrained the depth of research and iteration possible in the initial phase.
What we would do different
- Align on primary user needs and shared priorities with stakeholders earlier in the process.
- Incorporate additional feedback channels—such as surveys or asynchronous sessions—to broaden user input.
- Engage all user groups early to capture diverse needs and reduce upfront assumptions that could lead to rework later in development.
Leadership Insight
- This project reinforced the importance of leading with alignment—ensuring that user needs, stakeholder goals, and technical constraints are understood early and revisited often. By fostering open feedback loops and adapting research strategies midstream, I helped the team stay focused on evidence-based decisions while building trust across diverse roles.