Expertise
Design Thinking
UI Design
Agile Development (iOS and Android )
Digital Marketing

The North East Transformation System (NETS) is a Lean methodology training organisation working within the NHS. They provide healthcare professionals with the tools and techniques they need to continuously monitor and improve the quality of their service.

Lean thinking has its origins in Japan’s automotive industry. Devised by Toyota, it is a philosophy of continuous improvement that is now being increasingly adopted across other sectors – including healthcare.

Rapid Improvement (or Kaizen) Events involve breaking down and measuring existing processes to identify where small improvements can be made. In order to do this, a large amount of data must first be accurately collected and analysed. This can be time-consuming and often becomes a barrier to implementation in real-world situations.

NETS wondered if there was a way of making Lean improvement tools easier to use. Knowing they could find a way of simplifying data collection and analysis, they could speed up improvement events and make them easier and more effective for their clients.

“We started with a concept that using Lean improvement tools could be easier. Could we harness mobile technology and develop an app that is both powerful and easy to use?”  Iain Smith, Head of the North East Transformation System.

In an initial discovery meeting with our design team, NETS discussed exploring the possibility of using mobile technology. Could we design and develop an app that was both intuitive and replaced the need for stopwatches, clipboards, spreadsheets, calculators and graph paper? In short, an app that recorded and analysed data on-the-fly.

Our goal was to first prove the business case for the investment to realise the product.

We worked with the NETS team to quickly prototype ideas and tested them with healthcare professionals during their training sessions. The feedback we received lead to further iteration and developments. Our first prototypes were no more than rough sketches on paper, but as we learned more, so we fleshed out the user interface – eventually presenting a fully worked-up, annotated schematic of how the app would work.

Flat UI screens were designed and tested on mobile devices and the positive feedback received from the target audience meant the project secured the investment it needed and moved into development.

The development followed a similar iterative process with agile development enabling us to incrementally build the app. Our development team collaborating closely and testing each stage with users, responded to changes throughout the continuous development. This negated the need for detailed documentation, speeding up development and ensuring input and ownership throughout the cycle.

The final product is a simple but powerful toolkit that allows users to quickly record processes ‘on the fly’. This data is interpreted immediately and a series of reports generated for sharing via email or Airdrop. The app is currently available to purchase from the App Store and Google Play or to healthcare professionals receiving NETS training.