Evidence based insights for practice management software
Animana is one of the oldest practice management systems in Europe, serving veterinary clinics from the Netherlands to the UK. As is typical for historic software, the platform had accumulated eleven years of feature additions, local customizations and workflow assumptions that no longer matched how modern clinics operate. Following an acquisition, leadership wanted an independent assessment grounded in evidence rather than opinion.
This project is part of our continued work in healthcare software and medical practice systems, where evidence based UX, clinical workflow research and multi-country evaluation shape interfaces for complex operational environments serving diverse stakeholder groups.
They asked us to conduct a UX audit based on real user research across three European countries. The primary goal was to map user needs and pain points in veterinary practice management software through direct observation and structured interviews. The second, more ambitious objective was to inspire a long term product vision that could guide the platform for the next five years.
We applied Dynamic Systems Design, a method that grows solutions through embedded experimentation, resolves tensions between local optimization and system coherence, and stewards implementation until organizations gain independence.
NOS CONTRIBUTIONS
Multi-Country Field Research
Clinical Workflow Analysis
Real-Time Protocol Adaptation
Role-Based User Modeling
Healthcare UX Audit
Actionable Roadmap Development
Product Vision Strategy
Stakeholder Alignment
RESEARCH DESIGN ACROSS 35 CLINICS IN 2 WEEKS
The user research programme spanned the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. We visited thirty five clinics to capture how independent practices, veterinary corporations and clinic networks use the practice management system under real operational pressure. The sample included urban single-practitioner clinics, suburban group practices and large corporate networks managing multiple locations.
Before fieldwork, we conducted a preliminary UX audit and interviewed stakeholders to understand the practice management software architecture and business constraints. Our central team organised logistics, scheduled sessions and prepared research protocols for each country. All activities were coordinated to allow real time data compilation and protocol adjustments based on emerging patterns.
During the two week field study we engaged with vets, nurses, reception staff and administrative teams. In total we studied more than one hundred fifty users, from novices in their first weeks to veterans who had used the veterinary software for more than ten years. This range allowed us to distinguish between learning curve issues and structural problems embedded in the clinical software design.
STRUCTURED PROTOCOLS AND REAL TIME ANALYSIS
As an evidence based user research agency we set high standards for methodology. Research protocols were designed and tested in advance. We used semi-structured interviews to explore workflow pain points, contextual observation to document actual system use during consultations and patient intake, and surveys to quantify satisfaction across role groups.
The critical element was real time tracking and preliminary analysis. We used interactive data formats that allowed the central team in the UK to slice findings by country, role, clinic type and task category while field researchers were still on site. When patterns emerged early, such as handwritten workarounds appearing in multiple clinics or repeated hesitation at specific workflow steps, we adjusted protocols to probe those areas more deeply in subsequent visits.
This iterative approach to UX research allowed us to follow leads as they appeared and to cross check findings across diverse clinic environments. By the end of the two weeks we had mapped the entire landscape of user satisfaction and captured the concrete details of how the practice management system affects daily work in veterinary practice management.
EVIDENCE BASED INSIGHTS FOR PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
During fieldwork, researchers spent full days inside clinics observing how the veterinary software shaped routine work. In reception areas we watched teams handle check in for families with multiple animals, where the interface made it difficult to see all patient records for one client at a glance. In consultation rooms we saw vets alternate between examining animals and navigating long clinical documentation forms while under time pressure.
Nurses relied on the system to prepare animals for procedures, track vaccination status and ensure lab samples were registered correctly. Administrative staff used the same platform for contract management, stock control for medicines and reconciliation of payments. These observations showed how a single clinical software design must serve distinct roles with conflicting priorities.
Each evening the central team reviewed notes, photographs of workarounds and structured observation logs. Patterns that appeared in early clinics, such as handwritten checklists taped to monitors or printed reference sheets, were fed back into the protocol. Researchers then looked for these signals and related behaviors in later visits. This daily loop allowed the field research to follow promising leads without losing structure, and provided a detailed picture of healthcare operations UX in real veterinary clinics across three countries.
PATTERN FINDING AND USER MODELS
After fieldwork, we shifted from collection to analysis. All observation logs, interview notes and survey results were consolidated and coded. Behaviors were grouped by goals, constraints and triggering events. We separated tasks related to new consultations, repeat visits, urgent cases, follow up reminders and financial corrections. This work turned raw data into a structured catalogue of how veterinary practice management software is actually used.
From these clusters we developed role based user models. These models described how vets manage consultations across a day, how nurses coordinate preparation and follow up, how reception staff maintain an overview of arrivals and waiting rooms, and how administrators maintain data quality and reporting. Each model integrated findings from multiple countries to distinguish between local customs and structural needs in veterinary software UX.
The synthesis phase relied on repeated cross checks. A pattern identified in one group of clinics had to appear in other clinics before being treated as a design driver. This approach created a solid foundation for UX strategy for practice management systems. Stakeholders from product, marketing and leadership could all refer to the same evidence based models when discussing priorities.
UX AUDIT OF VETERINARY SOFTWARE
With user models in place, we carried out a detailed UX audit for healthcare software, focusing on the eleven year old Animana platform. The audit compared real workflows against the current information architecture, navigation and interaction patterns in the system. Because the software had grown over many years, several modules reflected earlier product decisions and did not align well with current clinical workflows.
We identified recurring issues such as fragmented navigation between consultation screens, lab results and history, or the need to open several windows to manage a multi pet household. Documentation flows often required users to move back and forth between sections, which increased cognitive load during busy clinics. Some lists were overloaded with rarely used options while frequently used actions were hidden or placed far from the main focus area.
The audit also looked at how well the practice management system supported different organisational models. Corporate groups required reliable reporting and consistent usage across locations. Independent clinics needed flexibility without losing structure. The healthcare UX audit did not attempt to solve these issues immediately. Instead it provided a clear, evidence based picture of where the clinical software design supported work and where it created friction. This picture fed directly into the recommendation and planning phases.
A LONG TERM PRODUCT VISION FOR COMPETITIVENESS
Alongside tactical improvements, the engagement produced a long term product vision for the Animana veterinary platform. Based on the same body of UX research for clinical workflows, this vision described how the practice management software should evolve over a five year horizon. It focused on making the system a central operational tool for clinics, rather than a collection of loosely connected modules.
The vision highlighted several strategic themes. First, better support for end to end workflows such as consultations and follow up, with fewer context switches and clearer overviews. Second, more effective use of data already stored in the system, for example surfacing relevant history and lab results at the right moment instead of requiring manual search. Third, improved support for collaboration between roles and locations, so that corporate veterinary groups and independent clinics could rely on the same core platform with appropriate configuration.
This long term view was documented as a sequence of capability stages, each linked to specific findings from the UX audit and the multi country study. It provided a stable reference for future roadmap decisions and reduced the risk that short term pressures would push the product away from the needs observed in real clinics. The vision also identified technology and market trends that would put pressure on the software and showed how these could be transformed into product growth opportunities.
A RESEARCH GROUNDED PRODUCT DIRECTION
Taken together, the engagement combined large scale veterinary UX design research with a rigorous evaluation of an eleven year old medical practice software platform. Thirty five clinics, more than one hundred fifty participants and three European countries provided a strong empirical basis for decisions about practice management UX. The work went beyond a generic review and created a detailed picture of how healthcare operations UX plays out in daily veterinary work.
For the client, the immediate value was a clear and structured set of issues and opportunities grounded in observed behavior. Product and leadership teams gained a shared evidence base that replaced many unresolved internal debates. They could see where the existing clinic software supported work, where it slowed staff down and which changes would make the greatest difference.
The longer term value was a north star product vision supported by research rather than opinion. The Animana team received a roadmap and a strategic direction that were both rooted in the same body of user research in healthcare.
The organization gained intangible resources: judgment about what matters in veterinary practice workflows across diverse clinic models, shared product intuition about how clinical systems should support multi-role operations under real time pressure, and reasoning capability that allows product teams to extend the platform without fragmenting it. The system can maintain competitive position by aligning software behavior with real clinic operations and staff mental models, while competitors who prioritize generic medical software patterns over domain-specific veterinary workflows struggle to serve clinics working under operational pressure with complex patient care, inventory management and financial reconciliation requirements.
This combination of healthcare software UX audit, multi country field research and product vision work created a coherent foundation for future development of the veterinary practice management system.
UTILISATEUR DE RECHERCHE ET AUDIT UX POUR LA GESTION DES PRATIQUES
Le programme de recherche sur les utilisateurs a porté sur les cliniques vétérinaires de quatre pays : le Royaume-Uni, les Pays-Bas, la France et l'Allemagne.
Nous avons organisé méticuleusement la recherche UX pour couvrir 35 cliniques en seulement deux semaines. En gérant les activités de recherche de manière centralisée depuis le siège de notre agence UX, nous avons pu compiler les données en temps réel et mettre à jour les protocoles pour assurer le suivi de chaque piste.
Nous avons cartographié les besoins des utilisateurs et les points douloureux pour informer l'audit UX et nous avons organisé les recommandations de manière à ce qu'elles puissent se traduire par des tickets exploitables pour les équipes de conception et de développement.
Mais nous avons fait plus : nous avons diffusé une vision empathique de ce que signifie être un vétérinaire, une infirmière ou une réceptionniste qui utilise le système de gestion du cabinet.
Nous avons créé une vision à long terme du produit qui montre quels seront les facteurs de valeur dans quelques années. Ainsi, le système de gestion de cabinet peut évoluer pour devenir un élément central de l'écosystème de l'industrie vétérinaire.
RÉSULTATS
35 cliniques et 150 utilisateurs couverts en deux semaines
Plan d'action avec plus de 100 recommandations
Diffusion d'un point de vue empathique sur les vétérinaires, les infirmières et les réceptionnistes
Création d'une vision du produit "étoile du nord" pour une croissance à long terme