3.8: Milestone 7 – Designing Responses- Business Model Canvas (Part I)

Milestone 7 – Stakeholder Risk Mapping: Framing Risks from the Patient Perspective

Tool Applied: Strategy Map Using Business Model Canvas (Patient-Facing View)
Final Output: Stakeholder-Centered Risk Strategy Map + Companion Brief

1. Scenario Briefing

MEMO
To: SMDC Embedded Risk Team
From: Kira L. Joshi, COO, SMDC
Date: Week 8 – Stakeholder Alignment Sprint
Subject: Request for Risk Analysis Through the Patient Experience Lens

Team,

So far, we’ve viewed our risk landscape primarily from an internal and product execution lens. That’s been essential—but incomplete.

We now need to step fully into the patient’s shoes. As you know, SMDC’s dashboard isn’t just a software tool—it’s a daily decision partner for people living with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. They interact with it multiple times a day. They rely on it to interpret device data, flag warnings, and offer behavioral insight. And they often do so under conditions of fatigue, stress, and competing priorities.

We’ve heard early signals from our pilot testers and advisors:

• "The alerts make me feel scolded."
• "I don’t always know what the numbers mean."
• "It doesn’t speak to what my life actually looks like."
• "I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake."

Your tasks to reframe our risk model around patient-centered thinking. Use the Business Model Canvas (BMC) adapted for healthcare to map out how patients experience our product—and where risks emerge across that experience.

We are not looking for usability feedback alone. We are asking you to:

• Identify risk exposure from the patient’s perspective
• Spot where trust might erode
• Anticipate fear, shame, or cognitive overload
• Reveal how seemingly small design choices may create harm or disengagement

The resulting strategy map will feed our equity and trust-building efforts in the next product sprint.

Make it sharp. Make it human. Make it real.

Kira

2. Action Strategy

Purpose of This Milestone

In this milestone, you will practice stakeholder-centered risk modeling using a modified version of the Business Model Canvas (BMC). You’ll focus entirely on the patient perspective—not the internal team, not the regulators, not even the clinicians.

You will:

• Deconstruct how a patient engages with SMDC’s dashboard
• Identify risks across key dimensions of their lived experience
• Document how features, language, expectations, and environments create or reduce risk
• Offer insights into how the product may unintentionally exclude, confuse, or fail patients
• This is not a marketing exercise. It is a tool for surfacing misalignment between design and experience—and giving voice to a high-stakes user group that often goes unheard in startup product cycles.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Review SMDC’s Intended Patient Experience

Start by reviewing:

• SMDC MVP goals
• Any user personas previously developed
• The "Managing Diabetes in a Data-Driven World” article
• Feedback from Milestone 3, especially if patient voices were simulated

Build a mental model of a day in the life of a patient interacting with the SMDC platform. Consider:

• When and how often they check their dashboard

• What they’re hoping to see
• What data inputs they’ve already provided
• What state of mind they’re in (tired, busy, confused, nervous)
• What decisions the dashboard is helping—or failing—to support

Use this narrative to ground your strategy map.

Step 2: Create a Patient-Facing Business Model Canvas

Adapt the BMC to reflect the experience of patients using SMDC. For each section below, define what it means from a patient lens and then identify at least one potential risk associated with it:

1. Customer Segments – What types of patients are using the dashboard (e.g., T1D vs. T2D, newly diagnosed vs. experienced, English-speaking vs. not)?

   • Risk: Key population groups not supported due to language or design decisions

2. Value Proposition – What is SMDC offering patients? Clarity? Alerts? Behavior change? Peace of mind?

   • Risk: Promise of insight undermined by confusing or irrelevant data displays

3. Channels – How does the dashboard reach patients (web, mobile, SMS, API integrations)?

   • Risk: Platform or device limitations cause certain populations to be excluded

4. Customer Relationships – How do patients feel about SMDC? Are we authoritative? Supportive? Patronizing?

   • Risk: Patients disengage due to perceived judgment or tone mismatch

5. Revenue Streams – Who is paying? Do patients know? Is their data being monetized?

   • Risk: Distrust emerges if data use is unclear or consent is assumed

6. Key Activities – What must the patient do to benefit? Log meals? Adjust insulin? Respond to alerts?

   • Risk: Excessive input burden creates fatigue or dropout

7. Key Resources – What tools or supports do patients need to succeed (education, caregivers, digital literacy)?

   • Risk: Tool assumes access or literacy that not all patients have

8. Key Partners – Are patients connected to clinicians or educators via the platform?

   • Risk: Breakdown in partner integration causes message conflicts or double work

9. Cost Structure – What emotional or time costs do patients pay? What sacrifices are they making to use the tool?

   • Risk: Costs outweigh perceived value, especially for patients with multiple chronic conditions

Record risks directly in each BMC section. Aim for at least 10 patient-facing risk observations total.

Step 3: Identify 3–4 High-Impact Patient Risk Themes

Review the full canvas and group individual risks into 3–4 themes. Themes might include:

• Digital Overwhelm
• Shame and Emotional Withdrawal
• Access and Inclusion Gaps
• Unclear Language or Visuals
• Misaligned Clinical Recommendations

For each theme, write:

• A short name
• 2–3 risk examples from the BMC
• A 2–4 sentence narrative explaining the experience behind the theme

These become your talking points for the next round of sprint planning or UX review.

3. Your Deliverable

Part 1: Patient-Facing Business Model Canvas

Include all nine sections completed from a patient perspective
Each section must list:

• Patient behaviors or needs
• Associated risks (at least one per section, ideally more)

Format: Table, grid, or simple narrative with clearly labeled sections

Part 2: Patient Risk Themes Summary

• Name 3–4 themes based on BMC findings
• Include 2–3 supporting risks per theme
• Explain each theme’s relevance and potential impact
• Tone: Empathetic, strategic, and user-centered

Optional: Connect to quotes, pilot feedback, or observed reactions (if available)

4. Toolkits and Learning Resources

• Business Model Canvas Template (Patient-Facing Version)
• Sample Patient Personas
• “Managing Diabetes” Article
• Equity-Based Risk Reflection Prompts
• Previous Risk Themes from Milestone 3

5. Critical Reflection

Respond to the following in 200–300 words:

• What surprised you when looking at SMDC through the patient’s eyes?
• Which section of the BMC revealed the most risk—and why?
• What assumptions did you or your team challenge during this exercise?
• How should patient-centered risk be weighed in design versus clinical or technical constraints?
• What conversations should this canvas provoke with the broader team?

6. Quality Control Review

All nine sections of the BMC completed with risk examples
3–4 patient risk themes named, grouped, and explained
Patient perspective clearly drives all content
Reflection shows empathy and analytical depth
Submission labeled for reuse in Milestone 8 and 11

7. Final Wrap-Up and Submission

Upload your BMC, themes summary, and reflection according to course instructions. This milestone sets the stage for Milestone 8, where you will compare and synthesize multiple stakeholder perspectives to uncover points of tension, convergence, and co-risk.

You are now doing what many teams never do: naming risk from the ground up—from the people most affected by it.