info@thinktribal.com
Capacity Grids
NHS
In recent years, healthcare has become increasingly reliant on digital tools and platforms to improve patient care and streamline processes. One of the key challenges in this area is to ensure that these digital tools are easy to use, efficient, and provide a positive user experience for NHS workers. One area ThinkTribal were asked to assess and improve was the Capacity Grids webapp which recorded and controlled NHS bed capacity.
The Capacity Grids webapp was originally designed for use on desktop PC browsers and therefore did not work efficiently on mobile devices. Much of the NHS had adopted, or was looking to fully adopt, mobile devices to replace PC’s for convenience - and to embrace newer, better technology. The webapp had not been originally designed to be responsive on mobile devices, which also meant it couldn’t adapt to different screen sizes. This made it difficult for users to access and navigate the grid on the webapp on smaller screens such as those found on mobile devices and often resulted in incorrect data input.
The challenge was to improve user experience for staff already using mobile devices but to also encourage those still using desktop PC’s to transition.
ThinkTribal took a service design-led approach, following GDS standards of phases of an Agile project. This included a Discovery phase working with Capacity Grids users to understand their digital journey and the issues they were encountering daily. Off the back of this the team were able to produce various prototypes that users could test and provide feedback on.
ThinkTribal provided a blended team of external consultants that worked with senior NHS resource to ensure all requirements were captured and prioritised prior to creating a full backlog.
Our solution consisted of enhanced responsiveness on mobile devices and across the major browsers to improve user experience. An improved user interface where the key criteria was repositioned and removal of criteria that was no longer required to reduce the size of the grid. Improved accessibility to bring the webapp up to NHS standards.
ThinkTribal’s involvement contributed to improved efficiency and productivity of NHS staff by providing them with a more user-friendly and intuitive interface, allowing them to perform their tasks more easily and quickly. This resulted in feedback that the improved webapp saved significant time, provided far greater accuracy which led to cost savings for the NHS and improve patient care.
From Discovery to Live was delivered in just 4 months and with minimal disruption to NHS staff. Overall, the successful project improved the user experience of a webapp for NHS staff and had significant benefits for the NHS, its staff, and patients.
