Health Information Design Model – a design process for healthcare apps (Hidem)
2022 | data visualization | product design | processes and models for design
HIDeM is the culmination of the experiences of working in many healthcare technology and research settings. For the Design Research Society, I co-authored a replicable design process to better design data-intensive applications in healthcare and related fields, such as bioinformatics.
menu_book This project has a peer-reviewed publication presented in 2022 at the Design Research Society conference.
co_present See the deck for the DRS2022 presentation.
what is HIDEM?
HIDeM (Health Information Design Model) is a collaborative design model that puts forward principles and activities that tackle the specific nature of digital, data-intensive products for scientific research, while considering different organizational contexts such as academic labs or private healthcare companies.
HIDeM was born out of a personal need to provide structure and a theoretical background to the work I was doing, which was constantly being challenged by non-designers and “hard science” collaborators. HIDeM provides artifacts and activities that keep the entire team (designers and non-designers alike) aligned and incentivizes a balanced working environment.
co_present See the deck I presented at DRS2022
Principles
The model coins three core principles that we consider to be essential for successful collaboration and effective output of design work in scientific fields.
Designers as mediators for discovery: as designer Hugh Dubberly eloquently remarked, designers can “create conditions for systems to emerge” in which domain experts can be active participants in the design process.
A culture of transdisciplinary collaboration: Collaboration between scientific domain experts and designers is not commonly seen. This requires mutual respect and curiosity for the practice of design and for the practice of science.
Ignorance as a precursor for learning: Fischer stated that “complex design problems require more knowledge than any one single person can possess, and the knowledge relevant to a problem is often distributed and controversial.” This principle makes this seemingly self-evident fact visible and allows us to work across equally alien domains of expertise.
Boundary objects at the core of the team: The notion of boundary objects, which was first coined in the context of museum curation, states that certain artifacts can help teams stay aligned. Within HIDeM, we strongly encourage the use of artifacts such as sketches, even with scientific experts who may feel like they “don’t know how to draw,” to create an environment where idea alignment is possible.
Activities
HIDeM describes nice activities performed in iterative cycles (see image at the top of this page). These activities were selected and optimized for the healthcare and health informatics space, where more rigorous design practices are required.
Use and Acceptance
The model was well received during the DRS conference, and the paper has been downloaded almost 200 times. In my personal practice, using the model has helped me create a shared understanding and a better appreciation for the practice of design across a variety of teams and industries.
Credits
Thank you to Prof. Miso Kim, PhD, for her unwavering support and guidance.