An impactful project that positively impacted the business beyond our dreams.
Empyrean’s "Emergency Care" (called this because of the predicament we were in) project was one of the most urgent and impactful projects I’ve worked on at Empyrean Benefits Solutions. It started with some tough feedback—our clients were unhappy with our product and considering walking away after their contracts ended. That was a wake-up call for us, and it pushed the Product, Marketing, and UX teams to come together to figure out how to turn things around.
What followed was a deep dive into the root issues, from integrating AI to improving communication and reducing friction in the user experience. I led the Research team through this process, turning ideas into action with a clear plan and collaborative effort. This wasn’t just about solving problems—it was about reshaping how our product served its users and making sure we exceeded client expectations moving forward.
My Role
Senior User Experience Researcher
Tools
Marvin, Figma, Figjam, Userlytics
Project Background
The Product, Marketing, and UX teams got together to brainstorm and identify the main areas that needed work. After some deep discussions, we landed on three major issues we needed to tackle head-on:
AI Integration: Clients felt our product was behind the times without any AI features. They wanted smarter, more efficient tools to help them with their benefits.
Better Communication & Engagement: Users were frustrated with unclear communication about their benefits and wanted more personalized, consistent updates.
Reducing Friction: Many users found it difficult to compare and contrast healthcare plans and other benefits, which created unnecessary frustration.
From there, we developed a research-first approach, prioritizing these issues to make the biggest impact. This wasn’t just about fixing what was broken, it was an opportunity to transform our product into something innovative and user-focused that would keep clients engaged and excited about staying with us.
Process
The process for this project started with gathering all the feedback we had from clients and diving into the key pain points they raised. Leading the charge, I worked with Product, Marketing, and the rest of the UX team to kick off our response to this urgent situation.
Laying the Groundwork
I began by writing down ideas and organizing the feedback into actionable categories, which helped give structure to our approach. Once the issues were clear, I facilitated a brainstorming session with the team. The goal was to turn concerns into opportunities, exploring potential solutions for the three core issues:
1. AI Integration
2. Better Communication & Engagement
3. Reducing Friction in Benefit Comparisons
We shared ideas, debated priorities, and discussed the best ways to move forward. From this session, I crafted a clear plan of action that split the work into manageable parts and delegated tasks based on team members' expertise and interests.
Driving the Research
As the lead for the Research team, I took ownership of the AI project. I outlined a detailed research plan, which included creating a project overview, defining goals, and developing questions to uncover how clients and users perceived AI integration. I also developed a survey on Userlytics to gather quantitative insights while a colleague conducted qualitative interviews with participants, asking deeper questions about their expectations for AI.
Analyzing and Refining
Once the data came in, I analyzed the results and identified key insights. These findings were essential not only for the AI integration piece but also to inform the broader team about user needs and preferences. I pulled everything together into a case study that demonstrated the depth of our research and its relevance to the product’s future.
Collaborative Presentations
With the insights in hand, I presented our findings to internal teams and designers in a collaborative presentation. This session was about more than sharing data—it was about empowering the team with actionable knowledge they could use to guide their work.
From start to finish, this process was about combining structure and creativity. Leading the project meant not just organizing and delegating but also staying deeply involved in the research and driving the momentum that turned client concerns into an actionable path forward.
Analysis & Insights
Analysis
After completing the research, we dove into analyzing the data using several methods to ensure a thorough understanding of the findings. The process was a mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis, designed to uncover themes, insights, and actionable next steps for the design team.
1. Affinity Mapping:
We grouped user feedback and survey responses into clusters to identify patterns and relationships. This helped us visualize key issues and opportunities across the three focus areas: AI integration, communication and engagement, and friction reduction.
2. Thematic Analysis:
Using this approach, we identified recurring themes across participant responses. It allowed us to spotlight the most significant pain points and user desires, forming the basis for our design recommendations.
3. AI Analysis through Marvin Repository:
To tackle the AI-specific project, we utilized the Marvin repository to analyze responses and categorize insights related to user expectations, hesitations, and desired outcomes for AI in benefits management.
4. Highlighting Key Quotes and Insights:
We highlighted impactful user quotes and key findings that resonated with the research team and stakeholders. These insights became the storytelling elements in our presentations, helping to humanize the data and connect it with the user experience.
Team Presentation
To bring all the pieces together, the team held a collaborative session where we presented each project’s findings to one another. This step was crucial for aligning on the outcomes of both the individual and collective efforts. It was also an opportunity to integrate insights from multiple angles, ensuring our recommendations were as comprehensive as possible.
Design Team Execution
With the research insights clearly laid out, the design team got to work. The designs they produced were not only deeply informed by the research but exceeded expectations, bringing to life solutions that went above and beyond. Seeing the research come full circle into innovative and user-centric designs was a testament to the power of collaboration and data-driven creativity.
Conclusion
The "Emergency Care" project was a remarkable journey that showcased the strength of collaboration, thorough research, and user-driven design. The feedback we received from Product, Marketing, and other teams was overwhelmingly positive. They were impressed by how deeply we delved into the core issues, our ability to uncover actionable insights, and how seamlessly those insights were integrated into innovative design solutions.
Most importantly, our clients loved the work and the results we presented. They expressed excitement about the new direction and are eager to see these updates in development. This project not only restored their confidence in our product but also strengthened our relationship with them, showing our commitment to innovation and meeting their needs.
It was incredibly rewarding to see our efforts make such a tangible impact. This project set a new standard for how we approach challenges, paving the way for a brighter and more competitive future for Empyrean Benefits Solutions.