SHS Orcas

The team used persona- and scenario-based methods to drive the design of an integrated suite of clinical, case management, and financial tools, which culminated in a set of user archetypes, called personas.

Abstract

SHS.com (Shared Healthcare Systems) provides software solutions and services for the senior healthcare market. In 1998, SHS engaged Cooper to help design a next-generation healthcare information system that would for the first time provide true integration of clinical, financial, and case management information, allowing comprehensive management of long-term healthcare facilities.Cooper had an opportunity to design a product that not only improved the efficiency of healthcare facilities, but also helped improve the quality of care given to their residents. The system needed to help facility staff make sense of data as well as capture it.To address these important issues, Cooper interviewed and observed healthcare facility staff and residents during an intensive ethnographic research period. The research and analysis culminated in a set of user archetypes, called personas. The team used persona- and scenario-based methods to drive the design of an integrated suite of clinical, case management, and financial tools.