Navigation Redesign
The original design was outdated and was not optimized to scale to incorporate any changes to the application as it grew to include new features and products.
The Problem
Navigating the application was unintuitive, and many important features were too difficult to locate as they were buried under different layers of menus, and child pages. Making the user experience increasingly clunky and a frequent source of growing complaints among the clinicians and private practices that made use of the software for their business.
The Approach
Our aim was to not only redesign the layout and to establish a more intuitive flow, but to also allow the design to scale as new features and products were added.
Production version of the final redesign of the application and navigation.
The original design was divided into three main areas: top navigation, side navigation panel, and the content window. The top navigation acted as the primary anchor but took up too much vertical space for actions that were not always an immediate priority for users. The side navigation had no accordions or expandable menus, which oftentimes required users to rely on their browser’s back button to move between pages. Removing themselves from their current workspace to locate information they needed, which frequently disrupted workflows and slowed down task completion.
As a team, we conducted user interviews and screen sharing sessions with our clinicians, to understand the common issues they encountered, while also uncovering design concerns that affected their daily workflows. We took note of workarounds that our users would come up with to counter their workflow issues, and took note of common behaviors that would inform our solutions.
Original design and navigational layout, with inefficient use of space and limited navigation options.
Having identified the main pain points in the original layout—inefficient use of space, disjointed navigation, and workflow interruptions—we shifted our focus toward ideating improvements. Our goal was to simplify navigation while reducing unnecessary clicks and context switching for clinicians. We began sketching and prototyping multiple design directions, testing variations of top and side navigation, as well as different approaches to organizing high-frequency actions. These explorations were guided by the insights gathered from our user interviews and workflow observations, ensuring that each iteration directly addressed the real-world challenges clinicians faced in their day-to-day tasks.
Explorations
With the main challenges identified, we began exploring alternative navigation patterns and layouts aimed at streamlining workflows and reducing friction. Our explorations focused on three key areas: optimizing space usage, improving wayfinding through clearer navigation hierarchies, and surfacing high-frequency actions where clinicians needed them most. We explored a range of design variations to evaluate how each approach could better support task completion and reduce context switching. These explorations served as the foundation for validating design decisions with users before moving into refined solutions.
Introducing New Design Patterns
To support task completion without pulling users out of their workflow, I introduced slide outs as multi-level panels that allowed users to take actions or review contextual information in place.
Responsive Patterns
By prioritizing the content window, we explored consolidating application-level actions and workflow-specific actions, while introducing a collapsible side navigation panel for greater flexibility.
Full Screen Takeover
Some explorations resulted in unused patterns but still provided valuable learnings. User testing revealed that clinicians were willing to make an extra click if it kept them within their workflow and the action felt logical and convenient.
Phase One Solution
Our phase one solution combined insights from user interviews, testing, and multiple prototype iterations. It validated key explorations while establishing clear patterns and guidance that provided a foundation for ongoing improvements. Rolling out patterns that solved the immediate concerns our clinicians had expressed with the previous design.
We also restructured the visual theme—shifting from a heavy blue top navigation to a lighter gray side navigation—anchoring wayfinding while keeping focus on the content window.
Final Solution
The final solution introduced new patterns that clarified the distinction between application-level and workflow-specific actions, assigning each to logical areas aligned with user needs and jobs to be done. We expanded the design system with new iconography and detailed documentation to ensure consistency and clarity across the product.
With the new visual theme and design patterns, our team was able to further refine navigation and place a more intentional focus on wayfinding, while supporting core jobs-to-be-done workflows. The updated design system also facilitated smoother handoffs and even accommodated brand updates with ease.
We introduced contextual patterns that were not tied to specific UI elements but anchored to the window and layered over content. This approach upheld our philosophy of keeping users within their workflows, streamlining the way clinicians completed their tasks.
Profile and practice management flows with sub-level navigation
Contextual patterns for inputs and changes
Sub-page navigation with breadcrumb pattern and actions that trigger contextual slide outs
Retrospective
Prototyping our ideas not only helped us to have a progressive cycle of testing and learning, but it helped with support and leadership buy-in. Instead of updates with only static images on slide decks, we were able to show our decision making process and data from user testing and user feedback.
Curation is a design superpower, tell a story that explains the problem and how it can be solved. Gather feedback from design critiques and incorporate them into each iteration, while also acknowledging feedback and ideas that weren’t included. Use the design team and partners from other teams to evangelize your work, while keeping everyone in the loop of the project’s progress.