top of page
Screenshot 2026-02-10 at 16.03.17.png

ONE ADVANCED

Establishing Research Capability and Strategic Direction in Complex Care Portfolio 

Defined strategic direction and established research practice for £70M ARR growth plan

CBM Invoicing

At A Glance
 

  • Organisation: One Advanced (Care Technology Division), £70M ARR growth target​

  • Role: Group Research and Strategy Lead - Care (GPM)

  • Focus: Portfolio strategy and research capability for products with no UX foundation

  • Scope: Authored portfolio strategy (NHS 10-year plan aligned), defined commercial model evolution, developed AI roadmap within regulatory boundaries, established research practice, recruited researcher

  • Methods: Mixed-methods research, domain analysis, system mapping, accessibility testing, design sprints, rapid prototyping (AI-assisted), strategic planning

  • Standards: Healthcare regulation, accessibility, ethical AI research, medical device classification awareness

  • Impact: Research capability established from zero, portfolio strategy defined, NHS partnership opportunities identified, AI roadmap within regulatory constraints

  • Outcome: Strategic framework for evidence-based decisions in regulated care environment

Leadership & Influence

Establishing strategic foundations for portfolio growth in a pressured care market

The UK care sector faces mounting pressure - the 65+ population will increase by 32% by 2035, whilst adult social care spending reached £32 billion in 2024.

Care providers need efficient technology to deliver compliant services, yet many still rely on spreadsheets, and technology adoption is slow.

One Advanced had created a new care portfolio leveraging legacy platforms and functionality. As with many fast-moving product developments, initial launch preceded comprehensive market positioning work - user research, competitive analysis and technology assessment were needed to inform investment strategy.

What was at stake was a £70M ARR growth plan: strategic foundation was required to guide product development, identify partnership opportunities and position effectively in an increasingly competitive care sector.

Strategic Challenge

Strategic Approach

Decision-making was shifted from a fragmented, feature-by-feature view to a coherent portfolio view

Through extensive research, I identified market expansion opportunities estimated at £250m+ through hybrid care models and data-enabled services.


I developed a three-horizon transformation framework (INNOVATE → ENGAGE → THRIVE) to support evolution from SaaS provider to digital health ecosystem player.

​

Market analysis

  • Analysed £32bn market dynamics and demographic projections

  • Conducted competitive analysis of 12+ players (including Cera Care’s £260m AI funding)

  • Mapped care delivery models

  • Examined policy landscape (Health & Care Act 2022, NHS 10 Year Health Plan)

​​

Strategic opportunity
The research highlighted One Advanced’s data position across multiple care settings, enabling Data-as-a-Service and predictive analytics opportunities.
I developed a strategic framework defining sector pressures and a transformation pathway beyond traditional SaaS, including data monetisation and integrated care platforms.

User Research  & Discovery

Making complexity visible across care settings, products and domains

I established hands-on user research capability, prioritising user interviews over feature delivery to drive a problem-focused, holistic approach that reshaped sales focus and improved product team effectiveness.

I conducted all research initially, coaching team members and the designer, using mixed-methods research:

  • Generative interviews

  • Usability testing

  • Journey mapping and card sorting

  • Co-design workshops and synthesis sessions.

​​

Deep domain research across Rostering, Care Management, Billing and HR systems showed high configuration variability across customers, creating an unsustainable support model. System mapping identified Invoicing and Rostering as the highest-impact areas.

​

I ran user research and usability testing with diverse care technology users (admins, carers, team leads, managers) to identify accessibility and technical capability issues.


I also developed personas reflecting different care settings, roles and funding models, used by Marketing,  Sales, Product and Support teams. 

​

Synthesis workshops with cross-functional teams translated findings into strategic opportunities, reframing problems from “fix requests” to “standardise workflows.” In complex environments where workflows could not be standardised, simplicity and ease of use was the priority.


This work established the business case for a dedicated researcher and embedded UCD practice into agile delivery.

Experience Map and IA

Reframing products as part of an integrated care ecosystem with shared data flows

I created comprehensive experience maps documenting end-to-end care billing journeys, capturing stages, touchpoints, emotions, pain points, and research insights across care delivery models.

​

I mapped workflow variation across care settings, funding models, and organisational structures to identify where flexibility was essential versus where standardisation could improve efficiency.

​

AI-assisted vibe coding enabled functional billing journey prototypes for user testing, allowing faster iteration than static wireframes and realistic testing of complex workflows.

AI  Discovery

Identifying where AI could responsibly augment priority workflows - and where it could not

I led strategic research to identify where AI could augment care workflows and where human judgment must remain central. Experience mapping exposed administrative burden suitable for AI support while highlighting areas where automation posed unacceptable risk.

​

The analysis showed that care home billing requires human decision-making due to variable funding, contract complexity, and multi-payer models, clearly distinguishing workflows appropriate for automation from those requiring expertise.

​

Regulatory boundaries: Agents do not make clinical, payment, or eligibility decisions; they guide processes, check completeness, and flag issues, ensuring human control and avoiding medical device classification under MHRA regulations while adding value safely.

Impact and Opportunity

Strategic clarity, stronger research maturity, and new routes to value beyond SaaS

Research Foundation
Created

Established research as strategic foundation - transforming feature factory into evidence-based organisation:

  • Experience mapping across workflows

  • Redesigned information architecture

  • Cross-portfolio journey mapping

  • Evidence replacing feature demand

Strategic Opportunities Identified

  • Partnerships with LAs, NHS, funders for predictive insights

  • Care-setting pilots generating real-world evidence

  • Data-as-a-Service leveraging unique multi-setting position

  • AI agents where automation safe (onboarding, communication, off-boarding)

Impact

  • Strategic clarity - Feature demand → problem framing and evidence-led prioritisation

  • New research capability - Repeatable discovery approach improving organisational research maturity

  • Responsible AI framework - Preventing regulatory risk whilst enabling practical application

bottom of page