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ARCS Institute: User Research, Cognitive Walkthrough, & UI Design Refresh  

Project Overview

Collaborated with 4 UX/UI Designers and UX Researchers and created a prototype of the Arcs Platform to provide clinicians and researchers with a centralized online source from which their work can be done.
 

My Role: UX/UI researcher and designer.
 

Methods

Stakeholder Interviews, User Interviews, Secondary Research, Cognitive Walkthrough, Wireframing, Prototyping, and Usability Testing.  

Tools

Slack, Google Docs, Office 365, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel FigJam, Figma, Pages, Keynote, and Figma Slides.

“Mental health is not simply the absence of a mental health condition—it is also about the presence of well-being and the ability to thrive.” - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Source)

Defining The Problem

Clinical therapists struggle to balance efficiency, thorough documentation, and patient-centered care. Current tools are inefficient, hindering direct client engagement. Additionally, a lack of intuitive and personalized diagnostic tools limits the ability to fully understand and support complex client needs.

User Research

User Demographic Information

Primary User Groups
 

  • Clinical therapists need efficient, accessible, and evidence-based diagnostic tools that enhance therapy outcomes and improve documentation workflows.

  • ARCS Institute needs scalable, team-oriented solutions that align with organizational goals of improving patient outcomes and clinician efficiency.

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Secondary User Groups

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  • Clinical Researchers who need access to data-driven insights and cutting-edge diagnostic capabilities to inform research and practice.

User Interviews

To better understand how our team can assist the ARCS Institute in addressing its human-centered challenges, I collaborated with my colleague, Trevor Charon, to develop a user interview script in preparation for interviews with clinical therapists and researchers.

User Interview Goals and Questions 

User Interview Goals

 

    1.    Understand how current tools in clinical practice meet user needs, including their likes and dislikes.

    2.    Learn user opinions about the existing version of the platform and its role in their workflow.

    •    Context: The ARCS tool is designed to digitize PID-5 for improved accessibility and affordability. It is part of a broader platform that assists clinicians with scheduling, treatment planning, resource utilization, and creating personalized plans based on personality tests.

    3.    Determine how well the ARCS tool meets user needs.

    4.    Gather insights into desired changes and potential expansions for the tool.


Key Interview Questions

 

    1.    How long have you been in your profession? Have you held previous roles in this field?

    2.    What are the key components of a treatment plan?

    3.    What tools do you use for diagnosis, tracking progress, and treatment planning?

    4.    What does your note-taking process look like?

    •    (Example: Tanya mentioned variations in method based on documentation requirements for diagnoses and billing.)

    5.    What features would the perfect diagnostic tool include?

    6.    In the context of Tanya’s work, what tools could a clinician use to make a diagnosis or create a personalized treatment plan?

    7.    What are your expectations for how a clinician should track a patient’s progress?

    8.    What documents would you consider sharing with patients? Would a patient portal be valuable to you?

    9.    Can you walk us through your process for using the PID-5? Start with where you begin and describe the steps.

    10.    Is there anything else you’d like to add or share before we conclude this interview?

User Interviews: Key Findings 

1. On efficiency in clinical tools:

“I think whatever tools are within the system need to make our job efficient, fast, and just to the point. It doesn’t need to be fancy.”

2. On diagnostic tools:

“An AI agent could have access to a greater corpus of information, making suggestions more encompassing or divergent from what a clinician might consider.”

3. On integrating personality assessment:

“Personality measures are underutilized in psychology. A tool that guides decision-making based on traits could bridge gaps in treatment personalization.”

ARCS TOOL: Cognitive Walkthrough and UI Refresh 

I evaluated the existing ARCS Tool that was developed by a team of Full-Stack programmers. The purpose of this tool is for clinical therapists to administer personality tests for clients as a part of a holistic treatment plan. Although the tool has a solid foundation in its functionality and usability, the areas of improvement that I focused on are navigation, wayfinding, and accessibility.   

Existing ARCS Tool: Cognative Walkthrough

Select to download an accompanying PDF document.

Existing ARCS Tool: UI Evaluation 

Annotated screenshots of the ARCS Tool with labeled callouts describing key features and issues. The first screenshot highlights the ‘Details Hyperlink’ feature for viewing patient test details. The second screenshot points out navigation options in the global navigation bar. The third screenshot addresses color accessibility on buttons and provides suggestions for improvement. The fourth screenshot discusses the lack of a navigation option to return to the previous page when creating a test. The fifth screenshot showcases dropdown options for test selections and notes the need for better descriptions to assist users in making the correct choices. Each section includes annotations for visual guidance.

ARCS Tool: UI Refresh 

Annotated screenshots of the ARCS Tool Design Refresh, highlighting improvements such as a clearer ‘View Test Details’ button, updated navigation bar with better contrast, redesigned buttons for improved visibility and consistency, and a ‘Test Description Modal’ for detailed option descriptions. Each feature emphasizes usability and accessibility.

Hi-Fi Wireframes: Designed by Chad David Novak

Key Wireframs

ARCS Institute dashboard showing an agenda for client appointments. The agenda includes dates, times, client names, billing codes, diagnoses, traits, and a ‘Details View’ option for each entry. Buttons at the top provide options to add clients, schedule new appointments, print, or share the agenda. A search bar is also visible for locating patient or client records.
ARCS Institute ‘New Client Profile’ form interface. The form includes fields for first name, last name, preferred name, pronouns, phone number, insurance details (company, policy number, group number, and option to upload a copy of the insurance card), guardian information, employment and education status, relationship status, number of dependents, and address (street, unit, city, state, ZIP). A ‘Save’ button is located in the top right corner, and a close button is available in the top left. The navigation bar at the top provides access to sections like About Us, Clinical Services, Clinical Tools, and more.
ARCS Institute dashboard displaying an agenda of client appointments and a detailed client summary. The agenda lists dates, times, client names, billing codes, diagnoses, traits, and a ‘Details View’ option for each entry. Buttons at the top allow users to add clients, schedule new appointments, print, or share the agenda. Below, the client summary section shows detailed information for Adam Tate, including client ID, diagnosis (GAD, PTSD), traits (persistent and excessive behaviors), treatments, prescribed medication (Sertraline), and therapy objectives (CBT for anxiety). The progress notes describe Adam’s engagement in sessions, struggles with implementing grounding techniques, and progress in sleep hygiene and social exposure. Additional buttons include options to ‘Generate AI Intervention,’ ‘Create,’ and access ‘Forms and Documents.’
ARCS Institute ‘Client Details’ page displaying information about a client named Adam Tate. The left panel includes details such as Client ID (002354), diagnosis (GAD, PTSD), traits (persistent and excessive behaviors), treatments, prescribed medication (Sertraline), and therapy objectives focused on CBT for anxiety, including thought-stopping techniques and mindfulness strategies. The right panel contains progress notes from sessions on June 20 and June 27, 2025, detailing Adam’s engagement, struggles with intrusive thoughts, use of grounding techniques, challenges with sleep, physical tension, avoidance of social situations, and frustration with rumination. Buttons at the top-right provide options for ‘Generate AI Intervention,’ ‘Create,’ ‘Open’ forms and documents, and ‘Order’ diagnostic tests.
ARCS Institute ‘Client Details’ page with an overlay displaying the ‘Outcome Measures’ modal. The left panel includes client information for Adam Tate, such as Client ID (002354), diagnosis (GAD, PTSD), traits (persistent and excessive), behaviors (eye-contact, tense), prescribed medication (Sertraline), and CBT objectives. The overlay shows a progress tracker for outcome measures, indicating 4 of 6 required tests completed for generating a personalized AI treatment plan. Tests listed include MMPI-2 (Complete), Myers-Briggs (Optional, with an option to ‘Submit’), Strengths Finder (Complete), GAD-7 (Complete), PHQ-9 (Complete), and IHQ-5 (Optional, with an option to ‘Submit’). A ‘Next’ button is available for proceeding to the next step.
ARCS Institute ‘Client Details’ page with an overlay displaying the ‘Outcome Measures’ modal. The left panel includes client information for Adam Tate, such as Client ID (002354), diagnosis (GAD, PTSD), traits (persistent and excessive), behaviors (eye-contact, tense), prescribed medication (Sertraline), and CBT objectives. The overlay shows a progress tracker for outcome measures, indicating 4 of 6 required tests completed for generating a personalized AI treatment plan. Tests listed include MMPI-2 (Complete), Myers-Briggs (Optional, with an option to ‘Submit’), Strengths Finder (Complete), GAD-7 (Complete), PHQ-9 (Complete), and IHQ-5 (Optional, with an option to ‘Submit’). A ‘Next’ button is available for proceeding to the next step.
ARCS Institute ‘Client Details’ page with an overlay for ‘Treatment Plan’ creation (Step 3 of 5). The left panel displays client information for Adam Tate, including Client ID (002354), diagnosis (GAD, PTSD), traits (persistent and excessive), behaviors (eye-contact, tense), treatments, prescribed medication (Sertraline), and CBT objectives. The overlay provides options to include or exclude components such as Outcome Measures, Diagnostic Assessment, Client Goals, and Objectives for a personalized treatment plan. Editable fields show client goals (e.g., reducing fear of speaking) and objectives (e.g., practicing writing feelings in a journal). Navigation buttons for ‘Back’ and ‘Next’ are located at the bottom of the overlay.

Next Steps

  • Meet with the ARCS Institute stakeholders to discuss the potential development of the ARCS online platform.

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  • Meet with a development team to discuss how wireframes and the interactive prototype can be coded. ​​

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