Product and UX: A Guide for Effective Collaboration in Biotech/Healthcare
Understanding the Unique Challenges in Biotech/Healthcare Collaboration (and how to overcome them)
This is part of the series of newsletter articles, where I meet with guests to tackle topics about product management and career advancement. If you are not a subscriber, here are 2 previous articles in this series on landing your dream job in biotech and healthcare as well as insider tips to navigate the product job application process and beyond.
In the dynamic world of product management, effective collaboration is paramount. In this article, I chatted with Eric Karofsky, founder of VectorHX, about navigating collaboration between Product and User Experience (UX).
Common challenges
In the biotech/healthcare sector, UX (User Experience) and Product face the challenge of having an extremely wide range of user personas, user capabilities, and user journeys. Additionally, regulatory issues, compliance concerns (such as Personal Identifiable Information), data consent, the size of data, the lack of uniformity of data, and UI accessibility further complicate the work.
To address these challenges, Product and UX need to work together from the very beginning of a project to make sure they are delivering value to both the users, and meeting business needs.
Steps to overcome these challenges
Understand the problem
It starts with bringing the people with the appropriate background into the same room. For example, if you are working on a data product that utilizes the OMOP (the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership) data model, it’s important to have domain knowledge about this data model so you get a correct understanding of the problem and come up with the right solution.
Organize a workshop
Next, work together to define shared goals, scope, and responsibilities. Include UX during this innovation stage, rather than later. To foster collaboration, innovation, and open communication, you may consider a workshop. There are many different types of workshops, focusing on discovery, design, prioritization, user feedback, and many more. Oftentimes it’s more productive to bring in a coach who can recommend the right type of workshop, provide an external perspective on strategy, and focus on the big picture.
Here is a concrete example that a workshop could address: given the wide range of personas, limited time, and limited resources, you likely need to make some hard prioritization decisions about who your product should target first, what levels of capabilities during the initial phase, and how you balance this initiative with other works. A facilitator can guide the team to make the decision in a timely manner.
Create a project brief document
One output from this stage could be a project brief document, which includes the project’s goals, scope, deliverables, timelines, approach, communication methods, links to previous research, and ideas for future state.
Additionally, include each team’s roles and responsibilities in the brief document. Tackling the problem together across teams could blur the lines of responsibilities and it’s crucial to have a clear shared understanding. There are pros and cons for various frameworks, such as the RACI Matrix (RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed) - the key is to identify what works for your organization and project.
The goal of the document is to synthesize all relevant information so people can come up to speed quickly with a shared understanding, and discuss any misalignment early in the process.
The rhythm: a healthy tension
It’s worth noting that a certain level of tension between UX and Product can be healthy. UX can push the boundaries of what’s possible, while Product ensures feasibility and alignment with business goals. The roles could even be reversed at times, but the point is that this tension can lead to innovative solutions that meet user needs and business objectives.
In conclusion, navigating the common challenges between UX and Product collaboration requires a clear understanding of each team’s role, open communication, shared goals, and a willingness to embrace a healthy level of tension. By doing so, we can create products that not only meet user needs but also drive business growth.
What challenges are you running into? Leave a comment or reach out directly to me! I’m here if you need a soundboard on improving collaboration between UX and Product in your organization.