Drager HCA Assist
I partnered with Drager and their product called “HCA” (Hospital Consumables & Accessories), a healthcare oriented business, to design and develop a user focused tool and digital catalogue app network from scratch.
CLIENT
Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
SERVICE PROVIDED
Product Design, UX/UI, Branding
TIMELINE
3 Years
When I joined, Dräger had strong business and product foundations, but their internal sales processes were inefficient and fragmented. Sales teams relied on large volumes of documents and printed catalogues to describe consumables and accessories, which made their work slow, cumbersome, and difficult to manage - especially when traveling.
Dräger wanted to create a smoother, all-in-one experience for their sales department. Their initial vision was a “digital catalogue” that would replace paper documents, brochures, and manuals with mobile and desktop apps that could be accessed anytime.
Understanding Users and Business Needs
The first step was to align real user needs with business goals. I facilitated workshops and interviews with current Dräger sales employees, who would become the primary users of this internal product. This allowed us to validate assumptions and ensure that what we designed would support actual, day-to-day workflows.
These sessions also revealed unexpected behaviors and pain points in how sales teams operated, which later became key opportunities for the product’s direction and feature set.
The Core Problem
The main challenge was the sheer volume of documentation. Salespeople had to manage thousands of files filled with critical product information, yet carrying and using these materials during sales trips, often involving flights, was impractical and inefficient.
A secondary but closely related problem was the difficulty of creating and presenting sales proposals. It was not easy to showcase a complete and compelling offer to Dräger’s external clients, which meant the company could not consistently deliver a high-quality sales experience.
Designing the Solution
Through multiple rounds of workshops, interviews, and market research, we gained a clear understanding of the product’s structure, user roles, and requirements.
At this stage, we began:
Designing information architectures for different roles and permission levels
Creating early visual and interaction concepts
Defining a new design system that would span both web and mobile platforms across the company
The result was a polished, easy-to-use application that moved into development for adaptive web, native iOS, and Android platforms.
Iteration, Testing, and Real-World Validation
We followed a continuous development and iteration process, allowing us to respond to new insights and technical constraints as they emerged. Testing became the foundation for every iteration, providing data and feedback that informed ongoing design decisions.
This process involved not only a Quality Assurance team, but also direct involvement from end users. By letting salespeople test real versions of the product in real-world scenarios, we were able to identify issues early and quickly adjust direction when needed.
The first production release was a major milestone. After 1–2 years of design and development, the product was finally launched and actively used by Dräger’s sales teams, supporting their daily workflows and customer interactions.
Based on usage data, interviews, and device analytics, we also identified strong demand for Android, which led to the launch of Android alongside the web portal and iOS app - a decision that surprised many but was clearly supported by evidence.
What I Learned
This project reinforced how essential clear communication is between:
Design and development teams
Business stakeholders
End users
By aligning all three, we were able to deliver a product that not only shipped, but was adopted and valued.
The new system improved how salespeople worked every day, leading to cost reductions, higher employee satisfaction, and a stronger impression on sales prospects, who experienced Dräger as a company using modern, efficient, and well-designed digital tools.
“The team didn’t just design our website—they shaped our brand. From strategy to execution, everything was intuitive, thoughtful, and high-performing.”
- B. Cars, Product Owner
