Anti-Corona Task Force of the State of Ceará
Project Overview
My Contributions
Skills
Context
Client: Confidential
Duration: Several-month project
Year: 2020
Local: Brazil
My primary role involved designing the interface in close collaboration with the development and product teams. While working on the design, we simultaneously implemented and explored new ventilator solutions. This project was extraordinary, as it allowed me to address pressing issues that significantly impacted many lives. It also held great relevance, as I once again had the opportunity to contribute to my state’s public sector.
Our lean team was highly efficient, and in a short time, we achieved remarkable results. We developed a website to request support, created systems, and even produced a physical product that won an award. The Ceará-designed Elmo helmet received a national innovation award for providing support to patients with COVID-19. This project showcased the power of collaboration and innovation in addressing urgent, life-saving needs.
Upon joining the project, I was immediately faced with numerous challenges. My first task was to structure the UX team as a leader. The second was to evangelize the importance of considering user experience, specifically tailored to the needs of the patients, or in this case, the citizens utilizing the public health system – the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde).
This was a slow and gradual process, as my influence needed to extend not only to my team, product managers, and developers but also across multiple areas of the school’s management, from middle-level managers to the director. We held meetings at least twice a week to discuss this critical aspect of our work, balancing it with internal projects and the Anti-Corona Task Force.
In the face of the pandemic, we had to develop a system in a matter of days. The uncertainty was high; even medical professionals were unsure of the severity of the situation – only that it was lethal. We had to mobilize quickly, organizing and developing a system within 15 days that would capture information about ventilators in the state of Ceará and manage their distribution to hospitals and recovery centers. This system had to catalog faulty ventilators in need of repairs, and it also needed to serve as a validation and consultation tool. The task was arduous but ultimately fruitful.
As we developed a system overnight for the Health Department of the state of Ceará, we were simultaneously developing other interfaces related to the maintenance of the School and the Unified Health System. These interfaces were designed for Telehealth, where doctors were consulted via video conference to meet the demands of the Unified Health System through telemedicine.
