For UPMC's MyUPMC patient portal, should we prioritize adding new features or improving existing functionality and user experience?

Introduction

For UPMC's MyUPMC patient portal, we're facing a critical trade-off between adding new features or improving existing functionality and user experience. This decision will significantly impact patient engagement, healthcare outcomes, and operational efficiency. I'll analyze this trade-off by examining user needs, technical constraints, business goals, and potential long-term impacts.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Context: I'm thinking about the current state of the MyUPMC portal. Could you share some insights on user satisfaction and engagement metrics with the existing features?

Why it matters: Helps determine if we need to focus on fixing pain points or expanding capabilities. Expected answer: Mixed satisfaction, with some features underutilized. Impact: Low satisfaction would lean towards improving existing functionality.

• Business Context: Based on UPMC's strategic priorities, how does the portal fit into the overall digital health strategy?

Why it matters: Aligns our decision with broader organizational goals. Expected answer: Critical for patient engagement and reducing administrative costs. Impact: Strong strategic importance might justify both improvement and expansion.

• User Impact: I'm curious about our user segments. Can you tell me about the different patient groups using the portal and their primary needs?

Why it matters: Ensures we're addressing the most critical user requirements. Expected answer: Diverse user base with varying tech-savviness and healthcare needs. Impact: Might lead to a hybrid approach, improving core features while adding targeted new ones.

• Technical: Considering our current architecture, what are the main technical constraints or opportunities for either improving existing features or adding new ones?

Why it matters: Determines the feasibility and effort required for each option. Expected answer: Legacy systems integration challenges, but modern front-end framework. Impact: Technical debt might push us towards modernizing existing features first.

• Resource: Can you give me an overview of our current team capacity and any budget constraints for this initiative?

Why it matters: Helps scope the realistic extent of changes we can implement. Expected answer: Limited resources with competing priorities. Impact: Might necessitate a phased approach, focusing on high-impact improvements first.