Diagnotes Usability Study

Solution Snapshot

Conducted a two-phase usability evaluation of the Diagnotes healthcare communication platform. The study identified navigation issues, low feature awareness, and workflow barriers. Findings led to targeted design recommendations and training improvements that increased usability and supported better adoption.

Impact Summary

Revealed critical usability challenges, improved messaging workflows, increased feature awareness, and raised the SUS score from 53.3 to 67.5. The findings informed Diagnotes’ roadmap and guided future UX improvements.

Role

UX Research Analyst

Team

Emily Mueller, Tommy Starks, Wayne Smith, Andy Deddens, Clint Krotzer

Client

Diagnotes, Inc. (Academic Partnership)

Timeline

6 Weeks

Tools

Miro, Zoom, Survey Tools

Project Overview

Diagnotes is a HIPAA-compliant communication app used across IU Health. Our team performed a structured, two-phase study to evaluate usability, uncover workflow issues, and identify opportunities to improve feature discoverability and user satisfaction.

Client Background

The platform replaces traditional paging systems with secure messaging and team collaboration tools. It is widely used at Riley Hospital for Children, where frustrations with message workflows and navigation triggered the need for deeper usability evaluation.

Study Objectives

  • Evaluate the usability of the Diagnotes mobile experience
  • Identify high-value and underutilized features
  • Surface workflow barriers through direct observation and survey data
  • Provide actionable recommendations for design and training improvements

Methodology

Phase 1: Qualitative Research

  • 6 moderated usability sessions using think-aloud protocol
  • Captured task success, error patterns, mental models, and pain points
  • Heuristic evaluation using Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics

Phase 2: Quantitative Survey

  • Survey distributed to 100+ healthcare professionals
  • 57 responses collected in 36 hours
  • Measured feature awareness and SUS usability scores
Think Aloud protocol
Think-aloud sessions revealed mental models and workflow barriers.
Task analysis visualization
Task analysis showing patterns in navigation errors and message failures.
Heuristic evaluation results
Heuristic evaluation revealed issues in visibility, consistency, and user control.
Phase 1 demographics
Phase 1 demographics: nurses, residents, and pediatric clinical staff.
Phase 2 demographics
Phase 2 demographics showing expanded participation across clinical roles.
Function familiarity chart
Function familiarity chart showing major gaps in awareness of Rooms, message completion,
and group tools.
Competitive analysis graphic
Comparison with OnPage and Trillian showing gaps in learnability and reliability.

Key Findings

Usability Challenges

  • Low discovery of advanced features like Rooms
  • Inconsistent navigation patterns
  • Users relied on external tools due to trust issues with schedules
  • Message completion icon caused confusion and task failure

SUS Results

  • Phase 1 SUS: 53.3
  • Phase 2 SUS: 67.5

Design Recommendations

Increase Feature Awareness

  • Short in-person walkthroughs
  • Assign feature champions for hands-on help
  • Create micro-training videos for Rooms and message completion

Simplify Message Completion

  • Use familiar mobile patterns like swipe to complete
  • Add text labels to critical icons

Strengthen Navigation Patterns

  • Make navigation bars consistent across screens
  • Replace logo-based nav with a standard hamburger menu

Improve Room Search

  • Add auto-complete and recommended Rooms

Strengthen Schedule Reliability

  • Clarify provider shifts and role designations
  • Cross-check schedules with supporting systems

Key Takeaways

This project strengthened my ability to conduct full-cycle usability research and turn complex findings into actionable improvements. It highlighted the importance of pairing UX improvements with effective onboarding and training in high-stakes clinical environments.

Future Opportunities

Expanding this usability study across more hospitals and clinical roles would reveal broader workflow patterns and offer deeper insight into long-term opportunities for communication improvements.