Medical Examiners
In the wake of revelations from the Harold Frederick Shipman cases, a former gp who used massive doses of diamorphine to kill his victims, the UK's death certification procedure underwent a substantive reformation. This led to the conceptualisation and implementation of the Medical Examiner programme, aiming to instil heightened scrutiny and safeguarding measures. As a UX and Service Designer, I recognised that the programme necessitated a pivotal digital overhaul: envisaging and realising a comprehensive digital service to supplant extant manual methodologies, with a clear focus on refining user experience, quality, and operational efficiency. Collaboratively, with the Department for Health and Social Care, we assembled a competent multidisciplinary ensemble to meticulously design, evaluate, refine, and implement a digital solution attuned to specific user requirements.
Our journey spanned from initial research to enduring service maintenance, navigating every layer of design—from the tangible interface to the underlying core systems. Adhering to the 18 Service Standards, our agile and multifaceted team ensured a service design that was not only user-centric but also inclusive, addressing the needs of those requiring accessibility provisions.
Team structure
Delivery manager/Product manager
Lead the Agile delivery of the project
Run Agile ceremonies (show and tells, retros, stand-ups)
Upskill any DHSC staff in Agile methodology
Content Designer
Lead on content design
Create content for the Alpha prototype
Assist with workshops
Service Designer x2
Lead the design of the end-to-end MVS
Lead the design of the Alpha prototype
Map user journeys, create wireflows and wireframes
Run workshops
User Researcher
Create user research plan
Conduct interviews with users
Lead lab testing of the prototype
Feed into continual design and iteration workshops
Developer x2
Produce prototype ME solution
Advise on the technical feasibility of data model, design & interoperability
Solve technical problems
1x Developer prototyping the core MVS and data model
1x Specialist interoperability Developer to focus on IO
Technical Architect
Propose a solution architecture that is robust, scalable, open and secure
Produce data model
Input on interoperability implementation
Design Process
In orchestrating our design strategy, we traversed the Discovery, Alpha, and Beta phases of the service lifecycle. Embracing a 'fail fast' philosophy, during the Alpha stage we cultivated a multitude of potential solutions to the central issue. Subsequently, using the GDS design framework as our guidepost, we honed in on a promising concept, rapidly prototyping, testing, and validating its efficacy through continuous user research. This methodology not only ensured our adherence to rigorous standards but also endowed us with the agility to adapt to evolving project dynamics. Our steadfast commitment was to successfully navigate both the Alpha and Beta assessments throughout the project's duration.
Alpha delivery plan
We delivered the Alpha MVS in 4 two-week sprints. Upon completion of Alpha and the GDS assessment, a plan was then created to move on to Beta.
User interviews
In our team, we had a User Researcher (UR) who was dedicated to our project. During the inception phase, everyone in our design group worked together to talk with various healthcare professionals and stakeholders. As the project progressed, the UR took charge of conducting specialized user research with bereaved individuals, pilot and non-pilot sites, government departments, additional healthcare professionals, stakeholders, the National registration event, and at the Healthcare Design Innovation Studio. With the knowledge we gained from this research, my fellow designer and I started to come up with potential design ideas.
As-is blueprinting
Our approach was collaborative and workshop-focused. We conducted an initial workshop to verify the vision for Alpha and gain a clear understanding of the existing service using blueprinting, a technique that ensures we gather all user needs and business requirements in one place through a visualisation of the service.
We also explored how the Medical Examiner Digitisation program could combine the "front stage" with the "backstage" by incorporating user research insights from your Discovery, technology recommendations, policy requirements, organisational constraints, and business goals. This helped us identify problems, opportunities, and potential solutions, which allowed us to make informed decisions about the best technical solution and meet user needs in Alpha.
Future blueprinting
Following the as-is blueprinting workshop, we held a future blueprinting workshop to begin prototyping. We developed wireflows and wireframes to document the critical user journeys for primary and secondary user groups. Through multiple rounds of testing and incorporating insights from data and interoperability workstreams, we progressed from low to mid to high-fidelity prototypes.
The result was a cohesive Minimum Viable Service, an Alpha data model, and a report outlining user needs for national and local system setups and additional user requirements. Additionally, we formulated a clear plan and cost model for the Beta phase.
Initial output
As part of our proposal, we created a preliminary service design that outlines the essential steps. This gave us a better grasp of the process and helped us develop our ideas further. Through an iterative approach, we learned from our mistakes and made improvements along the way. This resulted in a successful outcome for users and an Alpha-MVS that could be further developed in the Beta phase. During the Beta phase, we followed a similar cycle of design, testing, learning, and iterating to ensure that we continuously met the needs of our users as we worked towards the MVS.