HEAL Security
Innovating Cybersecurity in US Healthcare
HEAL Security is a Silicon Valley startup dedicated to countering the increasing threats posed by cyber criminals in the US healthcare sector. Our mission was to develop a cutting-edge SaaS application that provided unparalleled situational awareness in cybersecurity, enabling analysts to stay one step ahead of malicious actors. By immediately offering most comprehensive insights, HEAL Security aims to revolutionise how cybersecurity analysts protect critical healthcare data.
My role
I was the sole UX designer for the team and worked for 11 months with:
CEO and Founder
Project Manager
Business Analysts
Front and back end software engineers
I led multiple stages of the process including:
Discovery workshop facilitation
Writing a problem statement
Competitor analysis
Strategic vision workshop facilitation
User persona hypothesis
Ideation
Wireframing
High fidelity prototyping
User survey
Design system creation
Rebranding
Website design
The Challenge
Healthcare providers were once considered off-limits by cyber criminals, but this is no longer the case. There is a growing trend of bad actors targeting this sector, posing significant threats to patient data and healthcare infrastructure.
$8tn
86%
18%
#3
16k+
530k
1: Cybersecurity Ventures and eSentire, 2022 Official Cybercrime Report), 5. 2: Healthcare Cybersecurity Market Size | Global Report, 2023-2032, Global Market Insights, Inc., May 2023, 1. 3: “A rise in healthcare cyber attacks calls for zero trust,” World Economic Forum, May 5, 2023. 4: Check Point Research, “Check Point Research Reports a 38% Increase In 2022 Global Cyberattacks,” Dark Reading, January 5, 2023. 5: “Cybersecurity in Healthcare: The 2023 State of the Industry,” Tausight, June 2023, 2. 6: CyberSeek, “Cybersecurity Supply/Demand Heat Map,”
My contributions and achievments
MVP Development and Launch (First six months)
Collaboration and Definition: Worked closely with the team, including the CEO and founder, to define the MVP scope and essential features, including an initial problem statement. Facilitated a team wide "How might we..." workshop to ensure team engagement and alignment on the project vision.
Competitor Analysis: Looked at other applications aimed at Cyber Security Analysts and identified existing functionality that could be adapted for inclusion for HEAL Security’s application.
Page Template Designs: Created various adaptable page templates for dashboards, list and profile pages, ensuring flexibility to meet specific user needs. These allowed the MVP to present relevant and customisable data on vulnerabilities, weaknesses, products and providers. Also created a searchable News section.
User Personas: Developed evidence-based user personas to focus the team’s vision on the end user. This process started with facilitating a proto-persona workshop within HEAL Security, followed by corroborating our assumptions through a survey of US cybersecurity analysts.
MVP Launch: Successfully soft launched launched the MVP.
Feature Expansion and Design System (Next 5 Months)
Survey Users: I sent out a survey to get feedback from initial users and documented their responses, using them to inform our product roadmap.
Vitals News Board: Created a standalone "Vitals" news board that users could display full-screen, providing real-time updates and alerts.
Status Workflow: Designed and implemented a status workflow, facilitating further third-party integrations with workflow systems such as Jira.
Follow Feature: Added a "Follow" feature to the application, laying the groundwork for future integrations with third-party APIs to retrieve asset environments from sources such as AWS, Azure, Akamai DNS Edge, Cloudflare, GoDaddy, GitHub, and Google Cloud.
Cohesive Design System: Developed a cohesive design system to enhance consistency and user experience. This included matching component libraries in both Figma and Storybook, ensuring seamless design and development alignment.
Payment System: Added a robust payment system and designed relevant user journeys to enable the application to generate revenue.
Branding and Website: Redesigned the company logo and website to make the brand more fresh and modern as part of our drive to attract early users.
Collaboration with Engineers: Worked closely with both backend and frontend engineers to ensure smooth implementation and integration of new features and new iterations, (based on user feedback), of page elements.
Skills gained
Workshop Facilitation: Enhanced my ability to facilitate workshops with C-suite participants, ensuring high engagement and productive outcomes.
Project Management: Developed strong project management skills, effectively overseeing multiple initiatives and ensuring timely delivery in a fast-paced startup environment.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strengthened my ability to collaborate across various functions, working seamlessly with different teams to achieve common goals.
Cybersecurity Expertise: Gained deep insights into the cybersecurity sector, understanding its unique challenges and opportunities.
Design System development: Built on previous design system experience from other roles to build a system at speed with developer alignment right from the start.
Challenges and Learning Experiences
Resource Constraints: Navigated the challenge of working with limited resources due to funding issues.
Prioritisation: Learned to prioritise features and manage stakeholder expectations effectively.
Innovation: Developed innovative solutions to overcome constraints and deliver value.
Positive Outcomes
Feedback: Received positive feedback from colleagues for my contributions to the MVP and design system.
Skill Development: Prepared myself for future opportunities by building a robust skill set and understanding of startup dynamics.
Early Adopters: Gained 122 real users after our first social media and trade press drive for users. These early adopters provided a valuable pool for future user testing and feedback.
Conclusion
My tenure at HEAL Security was a period of significant growth and learning. Despite the company’s challenges, the experience has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to excel in future roles. I am optimistic about my future and grateful for the opportunity to have contributed to an innovative product.
Laurie Loydall
Front End Lead Engineer