
Accorded
A module within Azure Information Protection allows security admins to discover and classify sensitive data stored in the Azure cloud.
Microsoft Azure is a world-leading cloud platform. In 2021, facing competition from Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure urgently needed to offer more advanced features to clients in order to expand its market share. Data compliance is a critical need for modern companies. However, Azure did not have built-in governance tools for sensitive data (such as social security numbers, bank account information, etc.), which led to the loss of clients.
Company:
Microsoft Azure
My Role:
Product Designer
Year:
2020
Collaboration:
PM, VP of Product, Software Engineer
Accorded Health
Actuarial software platform to empower healthcare stakeholders to forecast, contract around, and measure the financial value of care
Mission
Enable trust and financial transparency in healthcare and help payers and providers to make better value-based care decisions
Value for Providers
Focus on the right patient care
Stand out from providers’ competitors and close more deals
Increase providers’ revenue opportunities
Improve customer retention
For Payers
Payers include employers, brokers, and consultants who aim to reduce the cost of care.
Market Exploration
Ready-to-use, actuarially rigorous data insights tools help providers understand the market and enhance their service competitiveness
Opportunity Forecast
Forecast the true savings potential of healthcare solutions across varying populations
Performance Monitoring
Dynamically assess performance, validate impact, and identify intervention opportunities
Contract Designer
Design contracting arrangements
Market Exploration
Ready-to-use, actuarially rigorous data insights tools help providers understand the market and enhance their service competitiveness
Problem Statement
The providers lack alignment on financial value story
Time-consuming generation of bespoke business cases based on census
Value for Providers
Based on the provider’s medical service model, providers can explore the cost saving for payers to help the sale process.
Value for Payers
Explore and find the cost saving opportunity with different providers
Design Feedback
There are 16 pilot provider users available to gather feedback.
Feedback Conclusion
Each provider has its own way of calculating ROI
No consensus on a standardized approach
Pivot
Based on the feedback, the PM and I analyzed Accorded's competitive edge and decided to design performance monitor to test its product-market fit.
Competitive Edge
Opportunity forecast
70+ years of combined actuarial expertise, best-in-class data science
Pivot Users
Employer
Benefit manager
Assumption
Buyers pain points are in performance monitoring; If buyers can buy in the performance monitoring which utilizes the benchmark generated by opportunity forecast
User Research
I led five rounds of interviews to understand benefit managers’ needs in performance monitoring. Additionally, I explored related topics such as vendor selection, negotiating with the finance team, and benefit program renewal.
I also led an analysis workshop with another designer to analyze the qualitative data based on the identified themes.

Pivot
Assumption
Providers have the capability to establish value-based contracts with employers, based on opportunity forecasts
Metrics
I worked with PM and developed contract designer success metrics

Contract Designer Design
Feedback
“We requires more complex comorbid segmentation for multi-specialty solutions,
not currently supported by opportunity forecast”

“Roche is still exploring the market, not near contracting stage in the near-term”

“We do not need this at early-stage stealth mode”

“Types of contracts at the moment are FFS. Even in VBC, they’re not using TCOC for their value story; it is more episodic”
Pivot
Assumption
Providers needs actuarial expertise level data insight to identify their market opportunity, find competitiveness and evolve their revenue model.
User Analysis
I analyzed the user types and delivered design for both types of users.
Employer users
Broker/consultant users with no actuarial resource
Provider users
Broker/consultant users with actuarial resource
Accorded internal actuary users
Opportunity Forecast
14 Pilot Paid Users
Performance Monitoring
6 Pilot Paid Users
Contract Designer
5 Pilot Paid Users
Market Exploration
Under developing