1. The challenge

Otto hx (an innovative health-tech startup incubated by the Benner Group) operates in the high-impact, tight-margin environment of hospital logistics and clinical operations. My objective was twofold: to optimize and modernize extremely complex legacy logistics systems and to design state-of-the-art medical software from scratch.

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Initially, there was no established design culture; software features had historically been driven purely by technical engineering specifications rather than validated user problems. Design decisions had to be championed within an environment that prioritized development above all else.

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2. Strategic execution

To shift the company from a "feature-building" mindset to a "problem-solving" one, I focused on strategic UX advocacy and stakeholder alignment:

• UX advocacy through field research: I led field-based user research, shadowing nursing teams, logistics operators, and hospital consultants in their high-stress work environments. Mapping their journeys revealed critical bottlenecks in system performance and data visibility.

• Continuous discovery aligned with rapid execution: Working alongside agile development squads, I balanced strategic discovery cycles with immediate visual deliverables. I designed responsive web and mobile interfaces using a Bootstrap layout framework adapted for Angular, ensuring technical feasibility in collaboration with the engineering team.

• Brand consolidation and usability standards: In collaboration with the marketing team, I translated the company brand into two comprehensive web Design Systems. I restructured layout densities using a strict 8pt grid, maximized color contrast for low-light clinical environments (ensuring WCAG compliance), and applied Nielsen’s Heuristics to reduce cognitive fatigue for professionals during their shifts.

 

3. The impact

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• Successful launch of a new product line: I led the end-to-end discovery, wireframing, and interactive design of the company’s new Bed Management application—a strategic B2B SaaS product in a highly competitive market.

• Measurable increase in user satisfaction: By establishing an iterative feedback loop, we addressed long-standing pain points, resulting in a significant boost in product satisfaction scores and a reduction in technical support tickets.

• Reduction in front-end fragmentation: I delivered two comprehensive, modular web Design Systems that enabled developers to reuse consistent layout structures, cutting front-end development time by 40%.