UX Leadership · EMR Usability
Clearing a Backlog of Critical Usability Blockers
I led a high priority UX initiative to address 62 U1 usability blockers across an EMR product by creating a recurring sprint process for investigation, review, and product handoff.
- Role
- UX Initiative Lead, Senior Usability Specialist
- Scope
- 62 critical usability blockers
- Team
- UX, Product, Engineering
- Cadence
- Recurring two week UX sprints
- Output
- Backlog cleared from a UX standpoint
Overview
Turning critical blockers into a repeatable UX process
My UX Director assigned me to lead an initiative focused on 62 U1 usability blockers across the EMR. U1 represented critical usability problems that could prevent or significantly hinder users from completing tasks.
The blockers were distributed across product areas, so the work needed more than individual fixes. It needed a repeatable way to move each item from investigation to UX recommendation to product handoff.
Initiative Snapshot
AssignmentMy UX Director assigned me to lead a high priority initiative across the EMR product.
ContextI was one of four senior UX researchers and specialists on a UX team of approximately 16 people.
GoalCreate a structured path for addressing critical usability blockers without letting the backlog continue to accumulate in the same way.
The Challenge
A backlog this broad needed a system
This was not 62 versions of the same problem. The challenge was creating a way for UX to investigate, prioritize, resolve, review, and hand off critical usability problems without losing momentum.
Distributed scope
The U1 items were spread across different EMR workflows and product areas.
Different problem shapes
Each blocker required its own level of investigation, design judgment, and product context.
Momentum risk
The work needed a repeatable cadence so critical issues could keep moving toward handoff.
PROCESS
Turning U1 items into a recurring UX sprint cadence
I created and led a recurring two week sprint process. I recruited approximately two UX team members per sprint and assigned each person approximately 2 to 3 U1 items.
U1 BACKLOG
Critical usability blockers waiting for UX investigation.
ASSIGN
Sprint items distributed to participating UX team members.
RAPID UX INVESTIGATION
Each item treated as a focused research and redesign problem.
PROPOSE SOLUTION
UX team members developed proposed recommendations.
UX REVIEW
I reviewed work, guided decisions, and gave final UX approval.
PRODUCT HANDOFF
Recommendations moved to the product analyst for that EMR area.
NEXT SPRINT
The next set of UX team members and U1 items entered the process.
Each item was treated as a rapid UX research and redesign problem. Participating team members investigated the problem, proposed a UX solution, and brought the recommendation back for review.
OWNERSHIP
What I owned inside each sprint
My role was to keep the initiative structured and moving while supporting the quality of the UX recommendations.
Organized the backlog and determined what would enter each sprint.
Recruited UX team members and distributed U1 items for investigation.
Supported team members as they investigated problems and shaped recommendations.
Reviewed proposed solutions and provided final UX approval before handoff.
Connected completed UX recommendations to the appropriate product analysts.
Provided progress updates to my UX Director every two weeks.
LEADERSHIP
Scaling UX judgment beyond my own individual work
This initiative required a shift from personally solving every usability problem to creating a system that allowed multiple UX practitioners to work through problems with consistency.
The strongest contribution was not personally redesigning all 62 blockers. It was creating the operating structure, maintaining momentum, and applying UX judgment through guidance, review, and final approval.
This was initiative leadership, not formal people management. Participating UX team members owned individual problems while I guided the process and maintained UX oversight.
Enable parallel problem solving
Participating UX team members owned individual U1 investigations while the sprint structure kept the broader initiative moving.
Maintain UX oversight
I applied UX judgment through guidance, review, and final approval before recommendations moved forward.
HANDOFF
Moving recommendations into the right product area
The initiative crossed multiple areas of the EMR, so completed recommendations needed to reach the product analyst responsible for each area.
UX recommendation
A proposed solution was prepared for the specific U1 blocker.
Final UX review
I reviewed the recommendation and gave final UX approval.
Product analyst
The recommendation was handed to the analyst responsible for that EMR area.
Product and engineering workflow
Product analysts carried the recommendation into their normal product process.
IMPACT
Critical blockers received a UX path forward
ENTIRE BACKLOG CLEARED
Every U1 item received a proposed UX solution and was handed off to the appropriate product area.
REPEATABLE UX CADENCE
The two week sprint model continued throughout the initiative and helped prevent the U1 backlog from continuing to accumulate in the same way.
CROSS TEAM PARTICIPATION
UX team members repeatedly joined the sprints to help address critical problems.
LEADERSHIP VISIBILITY
Progress was reported to my UX Director every two weeks.
POSITIVE PRODUCT RESPONSE
Product analysts responded positively to the UX recommendations, and UX leadership considered the initiative successful.
REFLECTION
Scaling UX meant creating the conditions for others to solve problems well
This initiative changed how I thought about UX leadership. The strongest contribution was not personally redesigning all 62 problems. It was creating a structure that helped the team move through critical issues consistently while maintaining UX oversight.
I learned that UX leadership can mean creating clarity, distributing ownership, reviewing decisions, and maintaining momentum across many small but important product problems.
Strong UX leadership can show up as a repeatable system that helps people make better decisions at scale.