Truth Layer
How Field Research Turned an Ignored Product into a $13M Strategic Pivot
Transforming Clinical Trial Recruitment
Challenge
Research coordinators were drowning in manual work and the product built to help them was being ignored.
Viz.ai's clinical trial recruitment tool, Viz Recruit, was functional but unloved. While the company's stroke detection algorithms were thriving, Recruit sat on the sidelines with low engagement.
When a sponsor infused funding to innovate the product, leadership faced a critical question: what would it take to make this product worth the investment? Research coordinators at hospital sites were struggling with scattered data, manual chart reviews, and the physical burden of attending patient appointments just to capture protocol-compliant data. Without understanding the full clinical trial workflow, the product team couldn't see where Recruit fit or where it was failing.
Approach
Phase 1: Training a Cross-Functional Team (Week 1–2)
Even as a solo researcher, I never work alone. Stakeholders are my key collaborators. The Product Manager and Business Development Analyst had never conducted structured research, so I trained them to co-facilitate — ensuring what we learned could be rapidly incorporated into strategy.
Phase 2: Designing for Real-World Constraints (Week 2–3)
Clinical schedules are tough to coordinate, so workshops were structured to accommodate drop-in participation. We ran sessions at two sites chosen to represent opposite ends of the spectrum — a well-resourced academic hospital and a community hospital with limited resources — to see how the workflow changed across environments.
Phase 3: Journey Mapping & Dot Voting (Week 4–5)
16 clinicians and research coordinators mapped their end-to-end clinical trial workflow across Planning, Enrollment, and Reporting, then voted on the most critical pain points using colored dots. By Day 2, the PM partner who'd sat quietly on Day 1 was standing at the board, confidently leading the discussion.
Insights
The product was laser-focused on adding value to enrollment, but the real need was further down the workflow — research coordinators were drowning in manual data entry.
- Clinical trial recruitment teams were spending hours transcribing patient data.
- Research coordinators had to do extra legwork to ensure accurate transcription to track patient progress.
- The process was error-prone and time-consuming.
Viz Recruit had the opportunity to automate the most inefficient aspect of clinical trial recruitment through EHR integration. Investment in integration architecture was the throughline that would automate data capture and help clinical trial teams track participant progress more efficiently.
Impact
of recommendations made the product roadmap because the PM was a research partner, cutting delivery time.
in estimated ARR generated as Viz Recruit became proof of concept for Viz's expanded subscription model.
investment in EHR integration capabilities was driven across the company's full product suite.
Is your team struggling with workflow inefficiencies?
Truth Layer's Assessment & Redesign service delivers field interviews, service blueprints, pain-point analysis, and actionable pilot plans in 4–6 weeks.
Schedule a Discovery CallLet's work together
Have a project in mind? Want to learn more about Truth Layer to decide if we're right for you? Get in touch.
Inquire