Craft(ing) Success with OrthoFi
What is your first reaction when you hear healthcare, insurance or orthodontia? I would assume it would be some sort of grimace emoji face with terrible flashbacks of braces and sore teeth. But this is not the case for software startup, OrthoFi. Their software has revolutionized the way that Orthodontists manage their revenue cycle while also helping thousands of patients finance their new smiles. OrthoFi handles the headaches involved with back-office logistics so that orthodontists can focus on what they do best: delivering gorgeous, healthy smiles.
As you can imagine, revolutionizing the insurance industry is no easy feat and OrthoFi has an ever-growing backlog of things to tackle. From internal processing operations to payment estimations there is no shortage of work to be done. With an insurmountable backlog, there is a constant tension between the ambitious demands of the business and the resources available to achieve them (budget, time, scope). OrthoFi recognized the need for some guidance and called in Crafted as reinforcements.
We (Crafted, a boutique software product development firm based out of Denver, CO) partnered with OrthoFi to enable them to focus on quickly and iteratively delivering business value. OrthoFi wanted to improve the profit margin of costly operational overhead through an internal task management software. This was a huge project that involved deprecating a monolithic legacy system and migrating to leaner microservices. In order to get to a point where we could propose new solutions, we had to research the existing process flow, validate our assumptions and build empathy with our users. Crafted helped to coach and streamline OrthoFi’s process by introducing methods that allowed the team to be comfortable making decisions with suboptimal information. With a strong focus on user feedback, constant prioritization, and small iterations, we were able to de-risk the project to a place where we could feel comfortable developing an MVP. We asked OrthoFi to reflect on what it is like to work with Crafted:
“Working with Crafted came at the perfect time for our team here at OrthoFi. We were in the middle of a transition to a very large project and no one on the team had experience in tackling a huge effort in small pieces. Crafted jumped right in and before starting, got to know our team and current processes really well. They were able to use this information as a baseline to explain why Crafted’s methods were more effective than our current way of doing things. Crafted’s approach to finding answers to difficult questions is what stuck with us the most. Whether it was “Who are my stakeholders?” or “What really is my user’s problem?”, Crafted had a way to find the answer. It usually involved sticky notes and a whiteboard, but at the end of our research period, we were completely prepared to move on to framing our solutions.” — Shelby Kelly, Product Manager, OrthoFi
Pairing with a consulting firm like Crafted is so much more than just sticky notes and free coffee — although free coffee is always a perk. We work side-by-side with our partners to help them discover the best practices of lean-agile development and unlock their fullest product-development potential. We focus on enabling teams to iteratively deliver business value while sharing guaranteed laughs over lots and lots of coffee and happy hour beers. Our goal is to expand the team’s horizons and introduce them to new tools and methodology that will help them be more efficient at building software. John Truchel, VP of Product at OrthoFi reflected on our time together:
“Crafted helped our team focus on the metrics that mattered to our product initiative. We zoned in on our key stakeholders’ most important problems to solve and leveraged the wide array of tools in the Crafted toolbox to elicit requirements and apply customer-centric design as we moved toward the solution. I also appreciated their perspective on the important collaboration between Product Managers and Product Designers, and believe we came away a stronger team because of it.” — John Truchel, VP Product
OrthoFi realized that we were there to be part of their team — we were partners, not dictators. We never want to talk at our clients and force them into a set of rules and linear processes, but rather work in the trenches to enable them to be more efficient and successful. During the engagement, we embed ourselves with the team so that we can blur the lines between consultant and client. We love to build longlasting friendships with our partners. This definitely helps our coaching be more efficient, but it is also just more enjoyable for everyone. We love to have fun and engage with partners who want to have fun with us. Almost immediately the OrthoFi team realized that working with Crafted was going to be both beneficial and fun:
“Not only was the Crafted team a complete pleasure to work with, but they also had the perfect mix of professionalism and friendliness that made them feel like a true part of the team. We are grateful (as are our users) for their help in getting us to onto a small, iterative, development lifecycle, but will also miss Crafted’s day-to-day presence in our office!” — Shelby Kelly, Product Manager, OrthoFi
For Crafted, the feelings are mutual. OrthoFi was a dream client for us. We love to work with smart, ambitious and driven teams that share our passion for shipping software and improving the world and we cannot wait to share our next success story!
