Where passion changes lives
At ZS, we know the heart of great work is great passion. ZSers are deeply invested in collaborating to find innovative solutions to complex problems. To foster this environment, ZS supports our people in exploration. ZSers are encouraged to connect across teams, explore new projects and find new passions. For an inside look at the innovative minds of ZS, we sat down with Khin Wai Phyo Han, a decision analytics associate in Evanston, Illinois.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics, another in biomedical engineering, a master’s in project management, and several internships, Khin Wai decided to branch out into something new. “I talked with my mentor to find a career that checked the boxes I had in mind, and she introduced me to consulting,” says Khin Wai. “I knew I wanted to be in the healthcare industry, so I started narrowing down and found ZS. I really enjoyed talking to ZSers at the recruiting events, more so than other companies. The people were friendly, down to earth and quirky in the best way possible—they were people I could imagine being friends with.”
After seeing herself in the ZSers she met, Khin Wai joined the team. “I’ve been studying STEM for the past six years, but I wanted to revisit the creative and artistic passion I had when I was younger,” she says. “While studying at Washington University in St. Louis, there were classes like interactive design, visual principles and human-centered design that I wanted to take but couldn’t due to my heavy engineering coursework. My friend shared a resource called ‘Designing Your Life’ by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, cofounders of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University. That was my first time learning about design thinking and creative problem solving, and I have been on a journey to master it ever since. ZS’s Learning platform has been a great tool for me to resume exploring some of those topics.”
Because ZS’s culture supports an entrepreneurial spirit, Khin Wai was encouraged to build connections and try different things.
“My professional development coach helped me find the right people to talk to. I’ve talked to people on the creative and design team to understand the work they do internally and externally,” Khin Wai says. “However, I have spent most of my time on some digital and connected health (DCH) projects and realized that the solutions we are innovating are interesting and align well with what I studied: computer science, product development and biotechnology. I can see myself working in this space,” Khin Wai says with a glow. “ I asked my manager if there was an area in DCH where we focus on human-centered design and solve problems through design thinking and user experience. That’s how I found my niche at ZS.”
In her niche, Khin Wai has used her passion to improve the patient experience on client websites. One of her most recent projects looked at the digital front door solution. “This project aimed to make it easier for patients to find the information they want in a short amount of time by personalizing their experience on the website,” she says. “This personalization is common among consumer brands. With shampoo, for example, you answer questions about your hair type and receive a personalized product recommendation. We translated that easy, customized experience to healthcare so that when patients visit a website to learn more about therapy or drug, they are given direct resources in a few clicks,” Khin Wai says with pride.
The project worked through phases, the first being UX research and design. Khin Wai and her team talked with patients to understand their needs and then mapped out a solution. Finally, after implementing it on the client website, they reviewed the analytics to ensure they had improved the customer experience.
“At first, I was a little skeptical about how this project would work” says Khin Wai. “I knew this solution was much needed, but I didn’t think about the value until the end when we saw how many patients this helped.”
“It was cool to look back and see that a slight change can make such a huge impact on the patient and their needs,” she says. “I’m looking forward to more projects where I can focus on human-centered design and practice design thinking with ZS team members.”
To find your passion and learn more about life at ZS, explore our open roles.
Life at ZS
Add insights to your inbox
We’ll send you content you’ll want to read – and put to use.
