Rare / Albireo Case Study
Albireo, a pharmaceutical company, needed a grants platform — a way for researchers into a rare condition to apply for funding, and for a judging panel to assess the applications. If it worked, it would become the model for research grants across all their disease areas.
Two complications. The organisation was rooted in traditional, waterfall ways of working. The platform was wanted in two months — the sort of thing that would usually take several quarters.
Working with Rare, I led the UX — and, as it turned out, a fair amount of gentle persuasion about how software can be built.
The platform launched inside the two-month timeline, and attracted a strong pool of research applications.
The project became a case study inside the organisation for how agile working can deliver in a regulated environment.
Absolutely Brilliant! We met Spencer through a mutual contact who told me there wasn't anyone else to go to. That he was the best there is in service design and UX. And they were right.\n\nIn one 90 minute intro session for our clients he turned a room of sceptics into advocates. Making things simple to understand, and getting everyone involved in owning the outcome. Absolute consultancy magic.\n\nThat has set the tone for what has been a brilliant journey for us and our client.
Ben Pask
Founder and MD
How do you ship in two months, in pharma?
Starting together
Workshops with the people involved — applicants, assessors, executives. A story map of the whole process on one wall, so everyone could see what we were building and why.
The Wizard of Oz MVP
To applicants, the platform looked polished and complete. Behind the scenes, some of the machinery was people following well-designed manual processes — hidden from the end user, never from the client. Building automation only once the process had proved itself is most of how the timeline was met.
Choosing what to build first
Effort went to the features delivering the most value — structured note-taking tools for the judging panel made it in; secondary features were scheduled for later iterations. Compliance third parties were involved from the outset.
What changed
- The platform launched within the two-month timeline
- A strong pool of high-quality research applications — more than anyone expected
- A working demonstration that agile can deliver in a conservative, regulated environment
- A foundation ready to extend across their other disease research areas
