Difficult user experiences in healthcare technology is an unfortunate, common reality. At first glance, core features of the DELPHI tool were obscured by cumbersome and hard-to-use forms, fields, and tables given the decade-old technology.

After a focused UX audit, we decided to propagate a few key changes throughout the tool. We drastically improved usability by clearly defining form styling, and introducing breadcrumbs, selection chips, and proper accessibility affordances.

PQCNC’s DELPHI tool is widely-used in health facilities across North Carolina, and predictably collects substantial data. However, the highly-customized, decade-old Drupal 7 platform was no longer capable of performing at the level required for their expanded needs and the experience suffered, adversely affecting overall performance. The sheer size and complexity made even simple queries and software updates cumbersome and unnecessarily expensive.

Using Symfony and custom API endpoints, we abstracted the data into a standalone framework that not only dramatically improves the tool’s performance, but also provides future-proof, flexible access to the core data. Third-party apps, like Tableau, may now easily interface with the data that is core to their researchers’ needs. 

No longer trapped in decade’s old software, the DELPHI data now exists in a comprehensible,scalable state, well-equipped to support current and future PQCNC initiatives.

A visual design aesthetic can make or break the usability of a user interface. Using the recommendations of our earlier UX audit as a base, we produced a holistic redesign of the DELPHI tool.

In addition to redesigning for usability, we found opportunities throughout the interface to build in surprise-and-delight moments; elements such as the PQCNC brand colors, a subtle repeating pattern, and reinforcement of a dashboard feel with a vertical navigation. The end result is an attractive and extremely usable interface that stands out among healthcare applications.