The CPSO Embraces Usability Improvements Across the Organization

As part of a strategic initiative aimed at transparency and a desire to improve their digital capabilities, The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) committed to improving access to digital information and tools for both internal staff and the general public.

Opportunity

With a public protection mandate, the CPSO regulates the practice of medicine to protect and serve the public interest. In pursuit of this mandate, the CPSO technology team identified a variety of challenges across their various legacy backend systems all the way through to their website and online Public Register. While the systems and website were functional, it was clear that they suffered from a number of usability. Both internal CPSO staff as well as external members of the general public, were prone to user frustration as a result of the numerous challenges and inefficiencies.

Solution

To better understand if the organization was meeting the needs of their various users, MitreBox UXD undertook a number of projects aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of internally developed custom software applications, toolsets, and online web features through the lens of online content, interface design, and functionality best practices.

Projects were grounded in upfront stakeholder engagement, focus group sessions, and in-lab usability testing to gather insights into the overall perception and expectations of the CPSO and their online products. Coupled with W3C accessibility analysis of existing platforms, MitreBox UXD captured key stakeholder insights, made recommendations for immediate high-impact improvements, and prioritized future enhancements.

This knowledge informed the creation of CPSO’s ongoing product roadmap and was the foundation from which transformed user experiences were based. Through the creation of functional specifications, wireframes, and interactive prototypes, MitreBox UXD provided the CPSO’s technology team with the direction needed to make critical updates to their public facing website and roll out incremental improvements to various internal tools and applications. Ongoing validation testing fueled a strategy of continuous innovation and enhancement; and ensured user needs and expectations were met as updates, improvements, and new functionality was released.

Results

Over a multi-year period, MitreBox UXD worked closely with the CPSO technology team to drastically improve a number of tools, systems, and processes.

A full redesign of the CPSO “Public Register” makes it easier and more intuitive for members of the general public to lookup critical information on physicians, including fitness to practice and/or imposed disciplinary action.
The complete modernization of a core internal system used during complaint investigations resulted in significant efficiencies and process optimizations for the investigation team.
Ongoing W3C accessibility testing and validation to ensure all CPSO digital offerings met and exceed current and future AODA requirements.
The development of a repeatable process for continuous stakeholder and user engagement to help drive digital decision making and guide digital product roadmaps.

Thanks to a rich collaboration between MitreBox UXD and the CPSO technology team, the CPSO is well positioned to accomplish their vision of providing transparency via engaging, intuitive, and usable experiences for the citizens of Ontario. Internal stakeholders and staff throughout the large, multi-faceted organization, also enjoy the benefits of collaboration and resulting efficiencies.

Services Provided

MitreBox UXD worked closely with the CPSO’s digital, marketing, and legal teams to provide the following services: