Transforming complex, disconnected systems into a human-centered experience

WCG, a regulatory and ethical review service, engaged our team to envision the future of the IRB submission with the use in mind.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) protects the welfare of human research subjects in clinical research studies. While the primary user is clinical trial associates, WCG’s process occurs within a complex ecosystem of stakeholders and tools, resulting in inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and delays.

We designed a future experience driven by themes of efficiency, transparency, and connectedness.

User-centered Approach

We formed our initial concepts using research insights, which were developed through several activities:

• On-site contextual observations

• Design ideation workshop with stakeholders

• Early concept testing

What did users need and want?

Users described the current submission process as a black hole. They didn’t know how to prepare for submissions, when they had to take action, or what happened after sending submissions for review.

Actionable dashboard that emphasizes quick status information

We envisioned a dashboard that showed multiple levels of detail on submission information, useful for multiple needs and contexts. A high-level visualization gives users an “at-a-glance” view of all submissions, driving them to view important issues and take action.

Transparency and smarter preparation

We saw the opportunity to collect key information about a submission in order to help users prioritize their tasks and manage expectations. The calendar tool allows users to estimate the date of each milestone of their submission. By entering their target launch date for their research study, the system will calculate and inform the user of the date that they must submit by in order to reach their launch date. Users can manage their time effectively and launch conversations with their managers and stakeholders.

Technology as an accelerator

Our concepts leverage AI to auto-categorize documents as soon as they’re uploaded; a tedious 30 minute task could become instantaneous.

Centralize and facilitate collaboration between users

In our contextual observations, we learned that several people work together and are dependent on each other in order to complete submission. Users were making phone calls and sending emails back and forth, making it confusing to track progress and negotiations. The document editing feature brings all communications into the system, providing an up-to-date source of truth for all users involved.