Professional Work
Innovation ecosystem platform for global pharmaceutical employees
Building a central hub for knowledge sharing, collaboration, and inspiration
Year
2022
Duration
9 months in three phases with gaps in between
Sector
Pharmaceutical
Company / Location
Sanofi /Paris
Role
Involved across all three phases of the project - from research, design, to evaluation, as a Service and Interaction Designer
Project team
Design Strategist, Design Researcher, Visual Designer, Visual Director, Business Analyst, Front-end and Back-end Engineers, Animation Designer
Responsibilities
User research, Research analysis, Conceptualization, Stakeholder management, Prototyping, User testing
Context
The project aimed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of accessing information about innovation programs within the client’s company. With initiatives launched across multiple countries, maintaining an overview of past projects and ongoing efforts was challenging. To prevent redundancy and improve collaboration, the client sought to develop a centralized platform where information about programs, expertise, and collaborators would be easily accessible.
Challenge
A key obstacle was the fragmentation of knowledge across multiple channels, much of which existed as tacit knowledge within individuals. Success depended on building a centralized platform that provided an intuitive and powerful search experience, encouraged participation in knowledge sharing, and connected users to relevant projects aligned with their interests.
Approach
The design approach was rooted in user-centric principles, ensuring that user needs guided every decision. It involved mapping the user journey, identifying pain points and existing information sources. Facilitating collaborative workshops with stakeholders to align business objectives with user needs. And defining a scalable platform structure, balancing usability and adaptability.
Project outcome
The project resulted in a centralized knowledge hub, serving as a one-stop platform for innovation-related information. By aggregating and indexing data from multiple sources, the platform streamlined information retrieval and facilitated knowledge sharing. The UX was designed to encourage engagement, fostering a collaborative environment where employees could exchange ideas and gain inspiration.
(Due to confidentiality, I am unable to share the final design outcome.)
Key contribution throughout the design process
Understand and Define
Figure: Ecosystem map
Figure: Journey map
Design
✅ Translated user needs and business goals into a structured website architecture
✅ Prioritized platform features to optimize accessibility and usability
Figure: Early priority map for site structuring
Evaluate
✅ Conducted user testing to validate usability and refine the platform concept
✅ Identified furthur opportunities and iterated based on feedback
Figure: Interview notes
Figure: Finding patterns
Challenge and growth
Addressing clients decisions based on personal preferences and assumptions
Approach
Addressing clients who rely on personal biases for decision-making requires a clear articulation of design rationale. To bridge gaps between assumptions and user needs, I incorporate user testing sessions to validate their perspectives and evaluate design solutions. This approach ensures that decisions are data-driven, user-centric, and aligned with business goals.
Navigating solution-oriented stakeholder feedback
Approach
When stakeholders focus on predefined solutions rather than underlying needs, I take a problem-first approach. By probing deeper with "why" questions, I uncover the core challenges driving their suggestions. This enables me to propose alternative design solutions that directly address their objectives, fostering a more collaborative and strategic design process.
What others say
“Yeonju brought her point of view and challenged the design decisions / client requirements which led to a healthy discussion and ended up with her solution as a good fit.”
- Taaha Khalid, Senior Service and Interaction Designer at Cognizant
“I would like to take a little bit of time to recognise the amazing work you have done since the beginning and during the testing phase. I believe we received great feedbacks!”
- Martin Zucchini, Product Owner at Sanofi
Drop me a line at yeonjujuliejeon at gmail dot com
Currently based in the Washington D.C. Area