Project Duration: 4 months （In-Progress）
Role: Project Manager & UX/UI designer
Project Description:
HIVE from UBC’s Faculty of Medicine provides remote digital tools for teaching human anatomy. Team Anatomic is developing an immersive, interactive experience to educate healthcare providers using respectfully-presented specimens from real donors in a virtual anatomy laboratory.
Problem:
For the most part, access to anatomical and pathological specimens is geographically bound to the site where these specimens are stored: in a specialized laboratory at a clinical or academic centre. With the current changes in medical education where we try to provide access to students in rural and remote areas, the risk is that we compromise their education by not providing access to this type of educational experience. We have started to overcome this barrier through the APP – a virtual anatomy and pathology lab. For this project, we have created 3D representations of the specimens that are both precise in their geometry and have a photorealistic texture. We have the first prototype of a VR lab environment and are able to display and allow learner manipulation of the 3D virtual specimens. This first prototype was created in a brief design sprint with an MDM student team in 2019. We have since expanded the app, added more specimens, and connected to a server from where the 3D specimen data can be downloaded as needed.
We have three goals for the expansion and improvement of this project:
1. Revision of the UX with the integration of user-centered design that deconstructs the user journey echoing one that students and professionals experience in real geographical sites. Solutions need to be explored that allow users to virtually put specimens back into virtual storage. In the current version, up to 5 specimens can be in the space simultaneously, then specimens need to be put away so that new ones can be added to space. The removal of specimens needs a visual/conceptual solution that is respectful to the fact that these are captures of real human remains. The UX still needs to feel like an educational experience that professionals would use, the 3D specimens are scans of donated bodies and the gratitude and awe towards the donors and the privilege of learning with these materials cannot be lost.
2. Inclusion of teaching avatars. In the traditional in-person lab session, a lab talk by the instructor will give an overview of some of the most important highlights of the anatomy or pathology and gives some curricular context. We feel that this type of guidance through a recognized avatar (expert in the field) provides learners with a familiar in-person experience that we believe is important to engage students more comfortable with lecture-based learning. The purpose of the avatar is to build a connection to the learner and link the knowledge with the anatomical specimens.
- a. Creation of a teacher avatar – this avatar can be cartoony or realistic, we will need to make sure we balance this one to avoid the uncanny valley.
- b. Ability to have the avatar speak – this can be achieved through either simple animation or facial motion capture of scripted lessons that are then transferred to the avatar. This point can make the connection to the avatar a bit more real, but it may not work with all types of avatars.
- c. Ability to have the avatar appear and disappear.
3. Cross-platform access to the app through 6DOF devices.
Management Process:
As a project manager, I started by debriefing the client’s proposal and building up our team.
We come up with 2 charters (Team Charter & Project Charter) to align our team’s needs before we actually started the project.
Team Charter:
The purpose of this team charter is to set out our objectives, processes, and rules for working together to result in functioning to the highest caliber possible.
Team Charter – Align Vision and Assign Roles and Responsibilities
Team Charter – Ground Rules
Team Charter – How to make decisions
Team Charter – Conflict resolution
Team Charter – Individual Responsibility Example
Project Charter:
It provides a preliminary delineation of roles and responsibilities, outlines the project’s key goals, identifies the main stakeholders, and defines the authority of the project manager.
We also use it to clarify our client’s needs and get a mutual agreement for our project between both the team and the client.
Project Charter – Covers
Project Plan:
To ensure we could deliver our project on time, I collaborated and lead the team to draft our project plan as well to set up our scrum board and project milestones
Project Plan Example
Meeting Agenda:
As part of my responsibilities, I’m in charge of setting up all client and team meeting’s agendas and presentation slide deck. It makes all meetings efficient and effective.
Meeting Agenda Example
Meeting Slides Example 1
Meeting Slides Example 2 – Show the project timeline
Remote Collaboration:
This project is under the COVID19 pandemic period, we are not allowed to working in-person physically. All the collaborative work we have to get done remotely which gave us a significant challenge. Below it’s the tool list based on my personal learning experience to overcome the challenge.
Google Drive and Doc: Having a centralized location to share and save all important files.
Figma: UX Design
Zoom: Daily Meeting and Scrum, Client Meeting
Slack: Regular Team Communication Tool
Research:
I believe no matter what kind of projects, we should understand the problem deeply as the priority via various researches such as User Research, Platform Research, Competitor Research, and more other relevant research.
To understand our target users and identify the key needs of our platform, I designed a questionnaire and user survey with my teammates to get the data.
Questionnaire Example
Online Survey Example
We summarized and analyzed survey feedback data to nail down our user’s needs and define our ideal persona and user journey. We also referenced the feedback from users for our platform research.
Survey Visualized Data Example 1
Survey Visualized Data Example 2
Platform Research Example
Persona
User Journey
UX/UI Design:
I also facilitated the UX/UI design most of the time. I co-designed UX flow and wireframe of the app interface. I also did the Typography, Color Scheme and Icon design for our project.
UX Flow
Typography
Color Scheme 1
Color Scheme 2