Project Info

Duration: Jul 2022 – present

Company: Optum, Inc. / UnitedHealth Group

Team: Optum Financial UXD ( team of 10 )

Role: Lead UX / UI designer & researcher

Tools: Figma/Figjam, Procreate, UserTesting, Dovetail, Jira & AHA

Note: Due to the proprietary nature of the products developed in my time at Optum, Inc., I will not provide detailed case studies. The designs shown are either already currently public-facing, already in production, or have been edited to remove sensitive or specific details. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

In my time designing for Optum, Inc., I have been integral in helping the launch of a number of large company inititatives. Optum is a leading health solution and care delivery organization which ia a subsidiary of Fortune 5 UnitedHealth Group. The work is complex but the mission always remains clear: create a healthier world, with patients and providers at its center.

As part of the Optum Financial UX Design team, I am tasked with researching, structuring, and designing intuitive and delightful product features at the intersection of healthcare & fintech.

Understanding the Problem or Feature

Understanding the acceptance criteria of product feature(s) the business has prioritized for UX is the core of my process to developing an outstanding user experience. I explore current state, dig in on how we can best serve and delight our users, and work with researchers for insights.

I collaborate closely with stakeholders spanning across VPs, sales, engineering, product, customer service and more. These collective insights help craft the narrative our users will see and hear during their journey through our products.

After discussing the roadmap, we lock in where features might fit in the sprint timeline for launch. Some features take many months, or some have taken less than a couple days. 

Research & Actionable Insights

Depending on the feature or timeline, I will either source a UX researcher within the company to help… or I will take initiative to write a high-level research plan, interview and/or setup usability testing to see what insightful nuggets of information I can find.

I find Dovetail incredibly helpful when synthesizing qual/quant data help generate buy-in on the direction UX needs to go in.

User Stories & Task Flows

As an ex-architect, I value a solid foundation and structure in design. Writing user stories and creating task flows is the absolute structure to my UX design process. With them, I will find your edge case scenarios, error notification & signifier placements, and eliminate “trap loops”. These flows can prove or invalidate how the user moves through the product in the most intuitive way.

I love to keep a project-specific Figjam file dedicated to being a “task flow playground”. It is interesting to see over the lifespan of UX involvement how the design of each flow is different, yet similar.

Sketching & Lo-Fidelity Wire-framing

I use Procreate on the iPad to sketch and iterate ALOT. Sketching allows for rapid iteration without investing too much time, and they often serve as a visual aid to get early feedback from stakeholders. (Not to mention, hand sketches are a little more human. 😉 "You drew that?!")

Hi-Fidelity Design & Prototyping

As one can imagine, Optum has quite a few DPLs (design pattern libraries) of components and elements used company-wide which greatly increases the speed of design in the hi-fidelity phase. I use prototypes as early as possible, and maintain a project-specific "prototype links page” forl stakeholders to bookmark for the latest UX iterations.

Final Deliverables and Lessons Learned

By working closely with stakeholders, fielding questions and participating in weekly UX design team critique sessions, I am able to minimize post-launch revisions and maximize results. I’ve learned a lot about communicating UX design intentions, presenting clearly, and ensuring everyone knows they have a safe space to discuss thoughts, ideas and feedback with me.

In the end, I prioritize cultivating a great relationship with cross-functional teams and brainstorm how to make everyone’s day happier. I’ve grown so much as a lead UX designer on the Optum Financial UXD team, and am looking forward to creating many more delightful experiences for our users. ❤️