Software Redesign for a Leading National Drug Store Chain All Case Studies
Bring usability to bear for all users
The Challenge
The drug dispensing application of a leading national drugstore chain is a workhorse – it’s designed to handle more than 5,000 locations across the United States. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians use it nearly 300,000 times a day – to perform searches, data entry and checks on patient status, medication history, and potential drug interactions. It’s literally used for every last prescription request.
To handle this workload, an application has to be nimble, intuitive and easy to use. But two key challenges inspired the client to seek the help of Electronic Ink:
- Veteran users indicated that the application required data input and re–entry across multiple screens.
- Newer users also found the application difficult because of its initially steep learning curve – with too many choices on screens, sequenced tasks were not easy to follow, or complete.
The challenge: redesign the application – improving its overall usability for the full range of users, simultaneously. Streamline the interaction process for experienced users, and help new users to see interactive tasks more clearly.
The Electronic Ink Solution
To assist multiple levels of users, Electronic Ink conducted three highly targeted, customized rounds of usability testing:
- Testing cycle 1 documented issues related to new user adoption. Testing methods included eye–tracking and time–to–task measurements.
- Testing cycle 2 focused on recently trained users – Employees who had used the application for two to three months – in order to detail their time–to–task efficiency and to obtain their qualitative feedback.
- Testing cycle 3 addressed the needs of veteran users who had used the application long–term. Their time–to–task efficiency and user feedback were solicited with regard to advanced application tasks.
Electronic Ink then analyzed testing data across the board – resulting in a three–part Findings and Recommendations Report that elevated key understandings about the software, and described synthesized improvements for all three user levels.
Recommendations for redesign included integrating key tasks and consolidating onscreen features to better align with user onscreen eye tracking. The client was in agreement: the suggestions were adopted, and Electronic Ink completed the project with a full set of detailed design concepts for the development team. Shortly after that, the software updates were implemented in a phased rollout across the enterprise.
Net Result and Impact
Electronic Ink’s comprehensive testing yielded a highly focused, integrated solution for the redesign of the application – satisfying both new and experienced users alike. New users now find the application easy to adopt, and the employee training program is experiencing greater efficiencies. Veteran users are also responding well to the helpful improvements – their daily work is easier, and the time–to–fill cycle for customers is faster.