ARCS Institute Case Study | Damian's Designs

ARCS Institute: User Experience Research

Project Overview

Collaborated with 4 UX/UI Designers and UX Researchers and created a prototype of the Arcs Platform to provide clinicians and researchers with a centralized online source from which their work can be done.

My Role: UX/UI researcher and designer.

Methods

Stakeholder Interviews, User Interviews, Secondary Research, Cognitive Walkthrough, Wireframing, Prototyping, and Usability Testing.

Tools

Slack, Google Docs, Office 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel FigJam, Figma, Pages, Keynote, and Figma Slides.

“Mental health is not simply the absence of a mental health condition—it is also about the presence of well-being and the ability to thrive.” - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Source)

Defining The Problem

Clinical therapists struggle to balance efficiency, thorough documentation, and patient-centered care. Current tools are inefficient, hindering direct client engagement. Additionally, a lack of intuitive and personalized diagnostic tools limits the ability to fully understand and support complex client needs.

User Research

User Demographic Information

Primary User Groups

Clinical therapists need efficient, accessible, and evidence-based diagnostic tools that enhance therapy outcomes and improve documentation workflows.
ARCS Institute needs scalable, team-oriented solutions that align with organizational goals of improving patient outcomes and clinician efficiency.

Secondary User Groups

Clinical Researchers who need access to data-driven insights and cutting-edge diagnostic capabilities to inform research and practice.

User Interviews

To better understand how our team can assist the ARCS Institute in addressing its human-centered challenges, I collaborated with my colleague, Trevor Charon, to develop a user interview script in preparation for interviews with clinical therapists and researchers.

User Interview Goals and Questions

User Interview Goals

1. Understand how current tools in clinical practice meet user needs, including their likes and dislikes.

2. Learn user opinions about the existing version of the platform and its role in their workflow.

• Context: The ARCS tool is designed to digitize PID-5 for improved accessibility and affordability. It is part of a broader platform that assists clinicians with scheduling, treatment planning, resource utilization, and creating personalized plans based on personality tests.

3. Determine how well the ARCS tool meets user needs.

4. Gather insights into desired changes and potential expansions for the tool.

Key Interview Questions

1. How long have you been in your profession? Have you held previous roles in this field?

2. What are the key components of a treatment plan?

3. What tools do you use for diagnosis, tracking progress, and treatment planning?

4. What does your note-taking process look like?

• (Example: Tanya mentioned variations in method based on documentation requirements for diagnoses and billing.)

5. What features would the perfect diagnostic tool include?

6. In the context of Tanya’s work, what tools could a clinician use to make a diagnosis or create a personalized treatment plan?

7. What are your expectations for how a clinician should track a patient’s progress?

8. What documents would you consider sharing with patients? Would a patient portal be valuable to you?

9. Can you walk us through your process for using the PID-5? Start with where you begin and describe the steps.

10. Is there anything else you’d like to add or share before we conclude this interview?

User Interviews: Key Findings

1. On efficiency in clinical tools:

“I think whatever tools are within the system need to make our job efficient, fast, and just to the point. It doesn’t need to be fancy.”

2. On diagnostic tools:

“An AI agent could have access to a greater corpus of information, making suggestions more encompassing or divergent from what a clinician might consider.”

3. On integrating personality assessment:

“Personality measures are underutilized in psychology. A tool that guides decision-making based on traits could bridge gaps in treatment personalization.”

ARCS TOOL: Cognitive Walkthrough and UI Refresh

I evaluated the existing ARCS Tool that was developed by a team of Full-Stack programmers. The purpose of this tool is for clinical therapists to administer personality tests for clients as a part of a holistic treatment plan. Although the tool has a solid foundation in its functionality and usability, the areas of improvement that I focused on are navigation, wayfinding, and accessibility.