Delta Dental Product Unification

Problem Statement

When I came in to Delta Dental we were beginning a transformational phase of the product lifecycle. It was a growth and refinement phase, where we moved from producing a product, to now making this product something refined and scalable.

However, most of the product team was not ready for that transition and it caught many of them off guard. Many of them were in a survival mode, building and patching the current platforms.

The platforms themselves were a melange of different design "systems" and tech stacks built into a precarious digital "Jenga tower". It was functional, mostly stable, but it was confusing for both the end user and the product team.

There are also three fully separated lines of business as well as hundreds of laws that varied from state to state we had to make sure were accounted for when creating each feature.

Integrating Delta Dental's two user portals—one for Dentists and one for Patients—while accommodating the diverse needs of three distinct lines of business and the wildly inconsistent legal requirements posed a complex challenge.

The goal is to create a cohesive user experience that streamlines and combines interactions for dentists and patients, that accounts for all legal requirements, and will be stable and scalable across all lines of service.

Roles and Responsibilities

As the orchestrator of this integration effort, I lead a collaborative team consisting of four UX designers, two UX researcher, five development and technical devs, and three project managers.

I direct the UX designers and researchers, shaping the overall strategy, research, and design efforts.

In close collaboration with the PMs and the SMEs, I ensure alignment with business goals,

And I worked directly with the dev & technical teams to focus on the integration process and tech stack alignment, as well as any blockers that may arise.

Overview of the Process & Strategy

I ran multiple workshops to gather and define the expectations, requirements, and get group consensus of scope and timelines for the projects.

Working in tandem with business and product teams, UX and CX maps features, identifies overlaps, and addresses gaps to create a seamless user experience.

The process encompasses conducting usability testing, user interviews, and data-driven analysis. We craft wireframes and interactive prototypes, iteratively refining them based on user feedback and requirements.

The integrations explorations started with an extensive analysis of the existing Dentist and Patient portals, considering the tech stacks and user interfaces.

I also spent a great deal of time negotiating the organization of feature upgrades and deployments. I wanted to make sure that as we built different features with different teams we were doing it in the right sequence across the two portals.

This was the hardest part as we realized during the process that there are some significant dependencies on both portals that needed to be addressed before we could implement critical parts of teh sequences.

This 4 phase sequence needed to be completed in the order I set up, essentially unifying and building the product around the core element.

‍Phase 1: Eligibility & Benefits, Patient Profiles, and Spend Overviews‍

We began by refining and rebuilding Eligibility & Benefits. This is actually were the whole process had to start as E&B (Eligibility & Benefits for short) is the true heart of the product offerings for all of the user groups.

I built out a brand new approach to E&B. Before it was a simple search functionality that returned results that were not contextual and both Doctors and Patients had to sift through data to get to the right information.

I reimagined the E&B platform to incorporate Patient Profiles that contextualized a patients life within the context of their current and past medical history, their current and past coverages, as well as other important factors and information that are provided to Doctors and Patients.

I also changed E&B from a simple search to a highly automated information engine that also acts as a report builder. Instead of searching for a patient and getting general information about them, Doctors can create work lists using dental codes to build out a full service contract for the patient and then communicate that service to them.

The patient would see how much this would cost them with their current coverages, as well as what their current spend is. This way Doctors can allow patients to have control and understanding of their care, and make smart decisions with the doctor.

Basically we're giving the patients and doctors the same exact information, ability to collaborate with each other, and also considerably bring down barriers to access information about a patient's coverages. None of this was able to happen on any iteration of the old platform. Automating all of this has been a huge win for patients and doctors, and has brought down disputes by 60%.

‍Phase 2: Claims, Payments, and Communications‍

The reason Disputes dropped is because the E&B feature being transformed into a report builder allows the patients and doctors to use the work-lists created to automate the claims process. Patients approve the work being doing to them, doctors them submit the work-list as a claim, and upload any documentation.

Previously approvals were done on paper, sometimes verbally. This caused a lot of confusion between patients and Doctors. Similarly, doctors would have to enter every code in by hand when filing a claim. This caused a large space for human error.

By automating these through a pre-built report it made everyone's life so much easier.

We are still in the early phases of this integration but the features we have put in have been extremely popular.

‍Phase 3: Medicaid, State Echange, and other Specialty Builds

‍The next phase of work we have to approach int he sequence is to review the "specialty builds" that companies, the government or other entities have paid for us to create for them. These are rare, but they do have peculiar conditiond and requirements that we will need to account for.

‍Phase 4: Support Features & Noncritical Systems

Finally once we have all of those pieces in place we will do the "final looks" aligning and adjusting non-critical systems and other support features that may or may not overlap to finally get us to a "sisters-not-twins" unified product.

Ok... so there is one more phase... but it doens't really count RIGHT NOW...

‍Phase 5: Iteration and further alignments

‍Once everything is together we have to keep it together. This is really about gardening and upkeep of the product & features to ensure parallel growth and upgrades.

Validations & Research

Unfortunately there was not a ton of testing or data easily accessible. Delta Dental did not have a robust testing / research team in the past. So we had to piece together what we had to come up with some early understandings, validate those with further testing and research.

Myself and the UX designers conducted heuristic evaluations and user interviews, gathering insights into pain points and preferences. A/B testing and usability testing validated design decisions, ensuring a seamless user experience.

This research-driven approach enabled data-backed refinements, enhancing the integration's success.

Strategy

The integration strategy revolves around a unified design, but more importantly unifying and automating as much of the process as possible, and using those outputs to product goals.

Finally creating a communications platform for patients and dentists to quickly and easily connect and talk to each other using the same information.

I had to collaborate closely with technical teams, andfocus on ensuring that the user experience remains intuitive, consistent, and visually cohesive across the different lines of business. Also that we were aligned on the sequence of the build and requirements from a tech perspective.

Implementation

Technical teams undertake the task of aligning the tech stacks of the Dentist and Patient portals, while my team of UX designers ensures a seamless integration of design elements.

Regular design reviews serve to maintain synchronization between design and development efforts. Usability testing plays a critical role in validating the combined interface, driving iterative refinements.

The close collaboration between UX and technical teams is instrumental in the successful implementation.

Reflections

The unification of Delta Dental's Dentist and Patient portals, spanning three lines of business, exemplifies the power of collaborative UX design and product strategy.

By meticulously considering user needs, iteratively testing design decisions, and partnering closely with technical teams, we achieve a harmonized user experience that meets both technical and user-centric requirements.

This integration showcases the value of a holistic approach, where UX research and iterative design bridge gaps between technology and user satisfaction. The integration effort underscores the significance of collaborative efforts between UX designers, product managers, and technical teams.

By integrating diverse user portals and catering to multiple lines of business, we achieve a seamless and user-centered experience that aligns with Delta Dental's goals.

This stands as prime example of how a multidisciplinary, sequenced, approach can successfully merge different platforms, enrich user experiences, and bridge complex technological gaps.