Jyllian Thibodeau · Product Builder · Leadership, research and experience design · Sydney

2021: A GP Odyssey

A journey-mapping workshop became a story, and the story became a three-minute 360-degree VR film of a GP practice in 2021.

At a glance

Situation
Medical Director was rebuilding their flagship product and rebranding. Customers needed to see where it was heading, and few had ever tried VR.
Task
Map a typical GP visit to shape the roadmap, then turn the ideal version into something customers could experience at the national GP conference.
Action
Ran a journey-mapping workshop with design and product, storyboarded an achievable future visit, then produced a 360-degree film with a creative agency in our own offices.
Result
A very positive reception at the conference. Many customers had their first VR experience and took it home to share, and the company came across as forward-thinking.
Situation

Customers couldn't picture where the product was going

Medical Director's first project for its new design team was a journey map of a typical GP visit, to inform the backlog and roadmap. A company rebrand was coming, and the product was being reimagined. Customers would need to see the destination, not just hear about it.

Task

Map today, then show tomorrow

Map the experience of a GP visit with the people who knew it best, find where it could be better, and turn the best version into something customers could feel for themselves.

Action

From sticky notes to a film set

Map the visit together

I ran a workshop with the new design team and the established product team to share what each knew, then mapped a typical visit cycle with standard UX tools.

The journey map of a GP visit cycle, with touchpoints for the patient, reception and doctor.
The journey map of a typical GP visit.

Borrow ideas from other industries

We looked for touchpoints to improve and borrowed from consumer experiences. Could patients check in by themselves, like at an airport? Update their own details, like a social profile? Could waiting rooms be more engaging, doctors see data from wearables, and a smart system link a patient's history to predict what might come next?

A storyboard of the ideal visit, from patient check-in to the consult and follow-up.
The storyboard: an ideal visit, achievable with today's technology.

Set the target, then film it

The ideal journey looked achievable with existing technology, so we set it as the target for 2021 and a direction for the roadmap. With a rebrand coming, it was the moment to share it with customers. I contracted a Sydney creative studio, turned a few rooms of our office into a practice for a one-day shoot, and cast colleagues as extras.

A still from the 360-degree film: a GP and patient in the consulting room, with possible diagnoses floating beside them.
A still from the film: the system suggests what might be behind the patient's pain.
Result

The future, in customers' hands

  • Very positivereception at the national GP conference, where we presented it.
  • First VRexperience for many customers, who took it home to share with colleagues.
  • Forward-thinkinga modern image for the company, at the moment of their rebrand.
The Helix stand at a GP conference, busy with visitors, one of them watching the 360-degree film on a VR headset.
The Helix stand, with a visitor inside the film on a headset.
The film. It's 360 degrees: drag to look around, or open it on YouTube on a phone or headset.