Resource Library-Using Human Centered Design to Drive Success in Improvement Initiatives

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The video introduces Human-Centered Design (HCD) as a practical way to improve healthcare initiatives by putting patients, families, and frontline staff at the center of problem-solving—especially when projects fail to deliver results or when urgent issues (like spikes in falls) require fast action. Presenters Jillian Hassey and Nadira Karmai explain that HCD reduces “guesswork” by building empathy through interviews, observation, and mixed qualitative/quantitative data.<br /><br />They show how HCD strengthens the PDSA cycle, especially in the Plan and Do phases: in Plan, teams gather stories, identify emotions, and document insights in a customer journey map to align stakeholders around true pain points and the “why.” They stress framing the right problem (e.g., elevator “slowness” vs. the annoyance of waiting) and translating pain points into “How might we…” statements tied to emotions.<br /><br />In Do, teams prototype quickly and simply (even with sketches or role play) and seek feedback early and often without trying to “sell” solutions. Study and Act incorporate emotional impact and satisfaction measures, iterating as needed. Key takeaways: frame the right problem, go to the Gemba to build empathy and map journeys, and prototype with diverse users for inclusive solutions.

Asset Caption

Speaker: Jillian Haase, EMBA, BSN, RN, CPHQ, Nadira Kharmai

Human Centered Design and customer journey maps lay the foundation to identify the root cause of pain points and improve patients' experience and outcomes. Through a deeper understanding of our customer's wants and needs, the patient is at the heart of the project and can unlock innovative solutions that are tailored to your targeted audience.

Meta Tag

Competency Tag PPI1

Competency Tag Description Implement standard performance and process improvement (PPI) methods into individual, team and project work activities

Domain Tag Performance and Process Improvement

Keywords

Human-Centered Design

healthcare quality improvement

PDSA cycle

patient and staff empathy interviews

customer journey mapping

Gemba observation

rapid prototyping and feedback

How might we problem framing