Responsiblities

As principal designer for Emporos, I was responsible for identifying and developing user personas for Hilo, a suite of pharmacy applications that integrated point-of-sale and financial management functionality.

Business Challenge & Scope

When I joined Emporos, the company was deep into a comprehensive digital transformation initiative. Having recently completed a full redesign of their point-of-sale software, they were ready to tackle their next challenge: a financial management application for pharmacies.

However, they lacked critical user insights to guide this development. My primary objective was to conduct in-depth research into their current user base and develop comprehensive personas that would inform not only the immediate financial management project, but also guide future application development across their entire product roadmap.

I completed this persona development initiative over the course of six weeks in 2021.


Research & Discovery

Developing these user personas required comprehensive research into pharmacy operations, including documentation of common roles and their associated workflows.

My research approach combined digital ethnography—analyzing YouTube content from pharmacy professionals—with direct stakeholder interviews of trusted Emporos partner staff and on-site observations at a retail pharmacy to understand day-to-day operations.


Strategic Approach & Methodology

My strategic approach leveraged the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) framework to understand the underlying "jobs" pharmacy professionals were trying to accomplish, rather than focusing solely on demographics or stated preferences.

This framework operates on the principle that customers "hire" products to fulfill specific needs in particular circumstances, asking the fundamental question: "What job is the customer hiring this product to do?"

For this persona development, JTBD provided several key advantages:

  • Revealed unmet needs and innovation opportunities within existing pharmacy workflows

  • Enabled feature prioritization based on job criticality rather than feature requests

  • Identified why pharmacy staff might switch between different software solutions

  • Established success metrics beyond basic usage data, focusing on job completion effectiveness


Results & Impact

The personas below represent the primary users across Hilo's product suite—from pharmacy technicians and pharmacists using the point-of-sale application to accountants and inventory specialists managing financial operations.

These personas ultimately informed Emporos' strategic product decisions and feature prioritization for the entire Hilo platform.

User Persona | Pharmacy Technician


User Persona | Retail Pharmacist


User Persona | Pharmacy Manager


User Persona | Pharmacy Inventory Specialist


User Persona | Pharmacy Accountant


Lessons Learned

Youtube as a Strategic Research Resource

Access to pharmacy professionals proved challenging due to their demanding schedules managing independent pharmacies across the U.S. With limited interview availability, I expanded my research methodology to include digital ethnography through YouTube content.

I discovered numerous 'Day in the Life of a Retail Pharmacist' vlogs that provided invaluable insights beyond traditional interview data. These authentic, unfiltered accounts revealed not only specific job functions but also the emotional experiences of pharmacy work—frustrations, satisfaction, daily pressures, and workflow pain points that formal interviews might not have captured.

This approach proved highly effective, offering unguarded perspectives on the challenges facing these essential workers. The combination of structured interviews and observational digital content enabled me to develop more comprehensive and emotionally nuanced personas than either method could have achieved alone.


In Closing

Although my engagement with Emporos was brief, this project delivered significant impact for both the business and my professional development. Leading my first comprehensive user research and persona development initiative presented new challenges, but the results validated the strategic approach and methodology I employed.

The personas I developed became foundational to Emporos' product strategy, demonstrating the value of thorough user research in guiding digital transformation efforts.

I'd welcome the opportunity to discuss the research methodology and persona development process in greater detail.


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💖 Working Together 💪

I thrive in collaborative environments with passionate, driven teammates.

Here's what my managers and peers have said about working with me.

💖 Working Together 💪

I thrive in collaborative environments with passionate, driven teammates.

Here's what my managers and peers have said about working with me.

💖 Working Together 💪

I thrive in collaborative environments with passionate, driven teammates. Here's what my managers and peers have said about working with me.

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© kty.design 2025

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© kty.design 2025

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© kty.design 2025