Optune is an alternative treatment modality for cancer patients that uses an innovative and non-invasive mechanism of action called tumor-treating fields (TTF). frog developed concepts for a new packaging architecture, visual design, and digital onboarding experience to support new patients at the start of treatment.
Novocure is a medical device company that produces Optune. The device was originally designed to treat glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, but has recently been approved to treat other cancer indications. As a result, Novocure needed to prepare to scale up their production and logistics processes to serve a larger patient base.
The existing onboarding experience was clunky, unorganized, and relied heavily on Novocure’s patient-facing staff to make the equipment and treatment understandable to new patients and their caregivers. Our goal was to support Novocure’s objective of efficient growth by making the onboarding process simpler and more supportive for new patients.
We began with immersion research based on stakeholder interviews, existing Novocure user research, and secondary sources. We conducted a heuristic audit to understand the attributes of best-in-class unboxing experiences, including those outside the medical device category.
This broad exploration of the problem space uncovered key insights and guided our concept generation and approach to user testing.
Some patients receive very little context about Optune treatment from their doctor, and each Novocure support staff member has a unique way of onboarding patients during in-person sessions.
The packaging and equipment are not intuitive enough for patients and caregivers to understand on their own. This causes stress, anxiety, and negative associations at the start of treatment.
Patients have encountered numerous emotional and physical hardships prior to starting Optune. It’s important to set expectations and accommodate their current abilities to encourage adherence.
Novocure’s patient-facing staff are skilled at connecting with patients at an emotional level, yet it can be difficult to build rapport with the patients while also mitigating the complexity of the existing onboarding process.
We visited Novocure’s North America HQ to understand the current packing process and constraints.
The team tested our packaging and digital concepts in-person with Novocure staff and patients.
Throughout the project, we developed initial concepts and designs, collaborated with the stakeholders, tested the designs with real patients, refined the designs, and presented the final work as physical prototypes and an interactive digital prototype.
The final unboxing experience combined soothing and clear visual designs, structured and natural flows across the packaging system, and thoughtfully placed digital touchpoints to inspire confidence and hope in patients and caregivers.
The final packaging architecture resulted in three kits. The structured and natural flows across the packaging system reduce the cognitive load for patients and their caregivers. Patients can move through each package at their own pace, progressively revealing items and information in considered, intentional steps.
These improvements not only needed to prepare patients mentally and physically to start treatment, but support Novocure’s global operational needs.
A strong digital offering creates a new way for patients and caregivers to prepare for, understand, and reflect on the unboxing and onboarding experience. Appointment tracking, access to support, checklists, and tutorials are a few examples of tools that patients can access before and after their treatment start.
The user interface reflects the same considerations of usability and supportive tone that were developed for the packaging.
We created a journey map that details how the target patient experience unfolds through different channels, touchpoints and actors over time to realize MyNovocure’s “Patient Forward” promise.
The current version reflects the ideal journey for the patient, showcasing how the new physical and digital concepts work together at key moments. As a whole, it represents the vision for an evolved onboarding experience that inspires confidence and hope in patients.
