Producer Prototype

Problem

Producer is a major portfolio project for Cigna's enterprise that aims to centralize and improve the comprehensive tools available to brokers. Historically, there has been a lack of focus on developing these tools for brokers, and this project seeks to address this gap.

My Role

During my assignment to the project, there were five value streams and I was the sole designer for two of them. The following project was developed for the digital value stream.

Proposed Solution

Our goal was to create a low-content wireframe prototype that demonstrated the basic site navigation and architecture, including the registration process. This was a high-effort task as we needed to consider and integrate the various functions provided by separate sites that Producer sought to consolidate. It required extensive input from various business stakeholders to understand the full functionality and ensure that all components were included. I worked closely with an Agile Experience Owner and a Release Train Engineer to complete this task, which underwent daily iterations as we aimed for a refined structure without the addition of content.

Challenges

There were several challenges in completing this open-ended task:

• We had to develop the visuals from scratch while following vague written requirements.

• As a designer, I had to ensure that the team was not overly attached to the visuals and avoid company branding. This required careful communication to explain the reasoning and gain their support.

• There was a learning curve in working with two highly skilled individuals whose meetings were fast-paced and rarely documented. I had to adapt my working style to effectively capture all relevant information in the limited time we had together each week.

One of the final hard copy documents given to the team.

Final Result

At the end of PI1, I was able to present the prototype to the entire team, comprising of 5 value streams and over 80 employees. The prototype was instrumental in helping everyone understand the project and work towards the same goal, and it received positive feedback for its ability to clarify a complex set of written instructions.

I also created a delivery scorecard to summarize the PI Planning and motivate the Value Streams. This provided a visual representation of progress and identified areas for improvement.

This project was a valuable lesson in managing ambiguity and the importance of flexibility. Initially, the instruction to "make a prototype" was unclear and it was difficult to understand how to proceed with limited information. Working with partners who had a different approach also required effort to find a balance. Despite these challenges, the project was a significant accomplishment for me and provided valuable experience in working at the enterprise level, which is vastly different from working with a tight, close-knit team.