Johnson & Johnson Under NDA

OTTAVA™ Robotic Surgical System

UX/Interaction Design
Human-Robot Interaction
Design Systems
Multi-Device Prototyping

Timeline: Jan 2023 – Present; Co-op → Full-time
Team: Human Factors & Experience Design
Role: UX Designer & Prototyper

Designing surgeon and OR staff workflows for J&J’s first table-integrated surgical robot.

OTTAVA™ is J&J’s soft-tissue surgical robot system and the first built directly into the operating table.

I have designed and prototyped across the entire system, including the surgeon console, tower, and table. During my time here I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with a wide range of teams like global marketing & strategy, human factors, UX research, clinical, software, systems engineering, quality, regulatory, and more. Leading work for the robotic design system, complex OR workflows, and putting advanced prototypes in front of surgeons and OR staff to test our ideas.

81SUS score, top 10%
16participants in a study that beat usability targets
250+clinicians tried my prototype at a national conference
100+icons rebuilt and adopted program-wide

Screens and process are confidential. I’m happy to walk you through the research, prototypes, and outcomes.

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The challenge

How might we help OR staff set up OTTAVA™ faster and with more confidence?

Problem

The guided setup workflow is slow and hard to follow. On-screen guidance doesn’t show where to start or what comes next, delaying OR readiness.

Solution

A streamlined setup that pairs step-by-step on-screen guidance with voice prompts and audio-visual feedback, so staff reach OR readiness with confidence.

Process · 01

Contextualizing the workflow

I mapped the end-to-end setup, procedure, and teardown workflow to pinpoint friction points and decide where the redesign should focus.

I also got hands-on time with the equipment and the system itself, so I could understand the work from the surgical staff’s perspective.

Workflow mapping session with sticky notes and the setup journey on screen

Hands-on training with surgical instruments

Process · 02

Designing for eyes on the patient

Two insights shaped the new setup workflow.

Insight
Staff are watching the patient, not the screen.

Design choice
Voice prompts and audio-visual feedback guide each step, so staff get what they need without looking away or adding mental load to an already demanding job.
Insight
OR time is expensive, and every second of setup counts.

Design choice
Fewer steps, all on one screen, with one clear action at a time and visible progress. Bento-style panels give each part of the setup its own space, so staff can see where they are and what comes next at a glance.

Next, I’m exploring how the experience can feel calmer and more human.

J&J’s first R&D Hackathon

A streamlined setup workflow, shipped in under a month

I was selected to lead design strategy for J&J’s inaugural Hackathon. One person from every R&D team joined to build a feature that had to be fully tested and shipped within a month.

I redesigned the guided procedure setup workflow that helps surgical staff prepare the robotic system for surgery.

<1month from kickoff to shipped
10+disciplines on the team
81SUS score from surgeon testing, top 10%

After launch

Testing with surgeons from around the world

After launch, about five surgeons from several countries, including Korea, tested the shipped setup workflow.

I documented what we learned in an interactive journey map. It gave teams across the org one shared view of where the experience stands and where it can still improve.

Key contributions

What I worked on across OTTAVA

Beyond the setup workflow, I’ve worked across OTTAVA’s design system, prototyping, and research with surgical teams alongside Human Factors, Clinical, and Engineering.

Design systems

Rebuilt a 100+ icon library and drove adoption of design tokens across the OTTAVA program.
Prototyping & research

Built a multi-subsystem Wizard of Oz prototype and tested it in a 16‑participant study that beat usability targets.
Conference prototype

Built a surgical workflow prototype that 250+ clinicians tried at a national medical conference.
Partner collaboration

Represent design in J&J’s weekly working sessions with an international medical technology partner.

Kind words

Notes from my team

A few of the handwritten notes my teammates shared with me.

Handwritten thank-you notes from Johnson & Johnson teammates

Under NDA

Want the full story?

The screens and details of this work are confidential. I’d love to walk you through how the setup workflow came together, from the first research sessions to the shipped design.

Request a walkthrough →

The OTTAVA Human Factors and Experience Design team

Let’s build something together

Resume

Contact me