Bayer Pharmaceuticals Case Study

Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is the U.S. – based pharmaceuticals operation of Bayer HealthCare LLC, a division of Bayer AG.

One of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry, Bayer HealthCare combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care, and Pharmaceuticals divisions. In the United States, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals is comprised of the following business units: General Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging, Women’s Healthcare, Oncology, and Hematology/Neurology.

The aim of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. is to discover and manufacture products to improve human health worldwide by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.

Challenges

The purpose of the Usability Testing was to confirm the ease-of-use of one of Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceutical’s well known branded websites and to identify and recommend any usability issues on the site. The strategy of the Usability Testing was to validate whether the site:

  • Meets the functional requirements of the Search Functionality
  • Was easy to navigate, learn, and use
  • Subjectively satisfies the user’s overall site experience
  • Has high risk areas that may cause user experience issues and therefore result in diminished usage of the site

Business Objectives

Business objectives guided the scripted test scenarios and user tasks to ensure the following business goals were supported through user interaction and feedback. We observed users to find out whether they could:

  • Seek relevant product information
  • Locate product comparison features
  • Navigate Pathway segments appropriate for the participant demographic
  • Find the feature “Talking to your Healthcare Professional”
  • Understand unique features and benefits associated with the branded drug
  • Use the “Tell a Friend” functionality
  • Find PDF documents of interest
  • Locate the Drug Diary tool
  • Understand efficacy and benefits associated with the drug
  • Formulate next steps of product inquiry

Usability Test Methodology

The Usability Test involved three main stages:

  1. Prepare test documentation
  2. Conduct the usability test sessions
  3. Data Analysis from the usability test sessions and formulation of recommended design enhancements to increase site usability

Solutions

Mode 77’s Usability Specialists heuristically evaluated the site, and conducted a complete redesign of the site’s information architecture. The navigation, nomenclature, and page layout were re-vamped, based upon the Usability Findings Report, to best suit the various audience segments. While the site had to speak to consumers and medical professionals alike, a strong emphasis was put on organizing the site so Bayer Pharmaceutical entities remained in clear focus. As the brand grows, the scalable architecture employed easily accommodates future content.