myMED-EL for Professionals ~ a Healthcare Portal

Due to professional restrictions and / or the collaborative nature of these projects, specific research artifacts (e.g., user flows and interviews, heatmaps, internal documentation) cannot be shared; illustrative artifacts will be used instead. This case study focuses on design rationale, visual direction, and my role in the creative process.

THE CHALLENGE

Between January 2013 and August 2015, I worked on the redesign and consolidation of myMED-EL for Professionals, a secure portal for audiologists, surgeons and other clinical partners. I was the lead designer on the project. The work covered how professionals accessed training, downloaded software such as MAESTRO and found material that had previously been spread across different parts of MED-EL’s online presence.

The portal had to work across different user types and languages, while fitting the security and regulatory requirements around a medical-device company. I worked with clinical trainers, regulatory stakeholders and the digital team in Innsbruck while the portal was being redesigned and built.

myMED-EL for professionals home page

RESEARCH → PRODUCT DEFINITION

Research included stakeholder interviews, a content audit and the usage data we had available. I spoke with audiologists, clinical trainers and internal support staff about how they were using the existing material. Finding fitting software came up repeatedly: downloads could sit behind inconsistent menus or outdated links, alongside a large amount of documentation spread across separate pages.

We also used a simple card-sorting exercise while reorganising the resources. I mapped journeys for different roles, from an audiologist working in a private clinic to people working inside larger institutions. That work fed into decisions around access, localisation and onboarding.

From research findings to product decisions

Fitting software was difficult to find Inconsistent menus and outdated links made downloads harder to locate.	DECISION Give software downloads a clear destination and surface them among the dashboard’s core actions.
Professionals had different roles and needs Journeys varied across audiologists, clinic administrators and trainers.	DECISION Collect role and relevant preferences during onboarding to shape the initial dashboard.
Resources were spread across separate pages Training and documentation required users to search across different parts of the online experience.	DECISION Bring the main resources together through a card-based dashboard and persistent navigation.

STRUCTURE → USER FLOWS

I used lightweight personas and user journeys to work through how audiologists, clinic administrators and MED-EL trainers would use the portal. We also mapped the systems behind it, including Salesforce, SFTP, regulatory content and training systems, because several of the things users saw in the interface depended on those connections.

I started with low-fidelity wireflows and later developed mid-fidelity screens. We reviewed the work regularly with the team in Innsbruck. During that process, onboarding was reduced to a three-step wizard rather than asking new users to work through the portal without much guidance.

PRODUCT DIRECTION

Once the main flows were in place, I started working through different interface directions. The concepts were reviewed against the tasks we had heard about during research and the technical limits of the portal.

PRODUCT DECISION 1/4 · ROLE-BASED ONBOARDING

Guide setup around the professional’s role

During an early soft launch, we introduced a small group to parts of the application with a basic onboarding experience. The platform was still at an early stage, and the initial approach gave users considerable freedom to explore.

That freedom made the experience more complicated than we expected and raised new questions about how to use the platform. We collected those questions, reviewed them together and shared the findings with the wider team.

The review led us to introduce a guided onboarding wizard with three core steps. It collected context such as profession, implant focus and language preference, helping shape the dashboard from the first login. The aim was to give new users a clearer understanding of the platform and support adoption by providing guidance before open exploration.

PRODUCT DECISION 2/4 · TASK HIERARCHY

Bring core tasks into the dashboard

Designed a lightweight interface with core actions (Software Downloads, Training Hub, Resource Library) surfaced as interactive cards. Emphasis was placed on clarity, hierarchy, and adaptability across devices.

PRODUCT DECISION 3/4 · CLINICAL RELIABILITY

Prioritise reliability in clinical use

Tested more dynamic ideas like a draggable “resource shelf,” but deprioritized them due to performance concerns and the need for reliability in clinical environments.

PRODUCT DECISION 4/4 · PERSISTENT NAVIGATION

Keep navigation visible across modules

Final direction included a fixed, minimal sidebar allowing users to quickly jump between modules without losing orientation ~ ensuring role-specific workflows remained intuitive and efficient.

IMPLEMENTATION & DELIVERY

After the designs were approved, I worked with development and QA during implementation, including responsive behaviour and the different language versions.

REFLECTION

This was the first time I had worked on a product specifically for healthcare professionals. Their day-to-day context was very different from a public website: they were logging in to find software, training or documentation and usually had a specific task they wanted to finish.

The work involved clinical trainers, regulatory, development and localisation, so changes often had consequences outside the interface itself. One piece of feedback I remember was that trainers found it easier to guide new clinics through setup after the new onboarding was introduced.

If I were to revisit this project, I’d love to go deeper into personalization based on implant types, and explore lightweight ways to visualize patient progress as part of the HCP experience.