Impact
90% Reduction in Manual Overhead
Achieved high sentiment survey scores by automating 3+ hours of manual entry per negotiation, returning 3,600+ hours of annual capacity to the underwriting team.
Achieved high sentiment survey scores by automating 3+ hours of manual entry per negotiation, returning 3,600+ hours of annual capacity to the underwriting team.
Optimized Workflow Orchestration
Architected a guided stepper to break complex bulk entries into manageable stages, reducing the cognitive burden of managing hundreds of facility line items.
Architected a guided stepper to break complex bulk entries into manageable stages, reducing the cognitive burden of managing hundreds of facility line items.
Mitigated Financial Risk at Scale
Secured data integrity by replacing time-consuming entry with automated validation, mitigating an estimated 9.2% in annual contract value leakage and protecting millions in projected spend.
Secured data integrity by replacing time-consuming entry with automated validation, mitigating an estimated 9.2% in annual contract value leakage and protecting millions in projected spend.
Overview
ROLE
• Lead Product Designer at The Cigna Group
• Lead Product Designer at The Cigna Group
TIMELINE
• 3 Months
• 3 Months
TEAM
• 1 Business Product Owner
• 1 Technical Product Owner
• 1 Engineering Manager
• 2 Back-end Engineers
• 2 Front-end Engineers
• 1 Business Product Owner
• 1 Technical Product Owner
• 1 Engineering Manager
• 2 Back-end Engineers
• 2 Front-end Engineers
PLATFORM
• Enterprise Web Application
• Enterprise Web Application
TOOLS
• Figma
• Slido
• Microsoft Copilot
• Microsoft Excel
• Figma
• Slido
• Microsoft Copilot
• Microsoft Excel
The problem
The current contract negotiation process forces Underwriters and Business Analytics Senior Advisors to spend hours on repetitive data entry.
• Two user groups, Underwriters and Business Analytics Senior Advisors, need to be able to enter saving assumptions when negotiating contracts with hospitals or other medical facilities
• They rely on a tool called Opportunity Detection to track and update savings for each contract line item
• The prior process required hours of repetitive, error-prone manual entry across hundreds of facilities, pulling focus from negotiation strategy
“I am spending 4 hours... I have to manually enter individual savings. It's a drag on my day. We're supposed to be focused on the contracts themselves."
- Business Analytics Senior Advisor
- Business Analytics Senior Advisor
My end-to-end solution process
With research, I determined the following goals...
1) Reduce manual effort
• Simplify and automate the bulk entry process so users can focus on negotiation strategy and internal communication
2) Allow users to have flexibility and control
• Ensure users can pick and choose specific opportunities within a system, as not all providers are included in every negotiation
3) Provide clear way to edit during and after the submission flow
• Create a clear path to revise savings assumptions as market conditions, inflation, and policy requirements evolve
Early concepts
Initial concepts were created in Excel and Figma to guide stakeholder discussions and foster alignment. A primary challenge identified early on was determining the best method to distribute savings by percentage across the hospital system being negotiated.
Key design decisions
A step-by-step approach
I added a stepper to break bulk entries into manageable stages, show progress, and reduce cognitive load.
Since this was a bulk-entry solution for a pre-existing process, I focused on several key areas:
Due to technical restraints, editing was limited to steps 4 and 5. By reusing the "enter" screens for the "edit" flow, I reduced engineering effort while maintaining a consistent user experience.
Selecting System and Model
Steps 1 and 2 use tables with radio button functionality, ensuring users can accurately locate what they need.
Selecting Opportunities
In Step 3, users select a contract length and use status-based tabs to filter and confirm their opportunities.
Entering & Distributing Data
In Step 4, user inputs dynamically calculate and distribute values across a table.
User feedback & next steps
Data from 10 interviews and 38 survey responses surfaced two critical gaps between the initial MVP and the users' actual needs:
Users were forced to exit the workflow to update "Available" or "Snoozed" opportunities due to initial technical constraints.
Solution: I designed an enhancement to manage these statuses directly in-workflow, eliminating context switching
Solution: I designed an enhancement to manage these statuses directly in-workflow, eliminating context switching
Users voiced a desire to utilize external spreadsheets they are familiar with.
Solution: I advocated for an Excel upload feature, led technical brainstorming, and successfully secured its placement on the product roadmap.
Solution: I advocated for an Excel upload feature, led technical brainstorming, and successfully secured its placement on the product roadmap.
Enhancement
To address friction identified in research, I designed a solution to allow the addition of Available and Snoozed opportunities directly within the active workflow.
Outcomes & next steps
I led cross-functional team alignment to bridge technical constraints with user goals.
• Unified product and engineering teams on design priorities through reviews and stakeholder advocacy
• Established a research roadmap for future testing to refine the workflow with underwriters
I identified and defined high-impact enhancements to scale the solution for future needs.
• Prioritized Excel spreadsheet upload capabilities to further minimize manual effort for large-scale negotiations
• Continued iteration on inline editing through AG Grid to give users more control over shifting contract data
