The Process
A social impact-meets-sustainability service (a social business). The company is based out of NYC and operating in over 23 states nationwide.
Repeat Roses charges event hosts a service fee to remove, restyle and distribute their florals to those in the community who will benefit most (hospitals, shelters, and charities). The service fee, as well as the value of the flowers, are eligible for tax write off. Finally, Repeat Roses recollects the flowers for composting in order to divert all of the floral waste from winding up in the landfill.
As a UX Consultant, working on a team, I was responsible for researching, strategizing, ideating, defining, and designing final deliverables.
Specifics Included:
Duration
May 2018 - July 2018
Design a way for contractors to receive and carry out jobs while providing and capturing data along the way.
Deliverables
Overview
I had the privilege to design a digital product that would provide an easy way for contractors (service operators) to:
Key Learnings
Team collaboration and collaborative design thinking were critical to both idea generation and the facilitation of core team alignment and decision making.
Working in the field with service operators, along with user data from research, interviews, and testing provided invaluable input and ongoing feedback that helped us craft, then iterate an experience that not only delivered on core business needs but also excited users!
With streamlining communication being a main goal of the project, the team, client, and stakeholders having an open and transparent dialogue during the planning and discovery phase were critical to the development of clear objectives and a realistic timeline for the project.
Goal: Who are the users and what are their goals and challenges?
Assumptions
Following the kickoff meeting and client interviews, we brainstormed assumptions about service operators.
Ethnographic Field Studies
We decided that field research would provide us with data and insights into the goal we were trying to solve.
Consisted of:
Our Questions:
Interviews
After the interviews were completed, we used affinity mapping to sift through the mixed data, such as facts, user opinions, user needs, and issues. This developed new and deeper insights, giving us a better understanding of who our user is.
Competitive & Comparative Analysis
Using the insights from client and user interviews, we analyzed 6 competitors (direct and indirect) as well as compared 6 other companies which have similar task flows and goals to the contractors job.
Personas
Based on our research takeaways, our users fell into two categories, the Team Leader and Crew Member. We made one persona for each, but for the remainder of the project, focused primarily on Amanda, the Team Leader.
Research Findings
Once all the data was synthesized, we presented our findings to the client. Collaborative meetings with the client provided an understanding of the details and uncovered business needs, client’s thought process, and workflows that needed further iteration.
Key Problem Statement:
How might we streamline the input and output of data so that service operators can send and receive information with ease?
Journey Map & User Flow
First, we looked at User Journeys and Flows, creating several for each. Based off of our job shadowing and research, we knew that S.O.s work quickly and efficiently, that is why we crafted flows which all tasks on their job were completed in the order we observed. We did not want to disrupt their current flows, we wanted the platform to be invisible, as good UX should be.
Crazy 8's Brainstorm
We sketched each task highlighted by the user flow. After we diverged, we converged to devise a combined solution for each task.
Sitemap
A sitemap was created using analyzed datasets to develop structure and organization to the platform. Card sorting helped define where and what items could be grouped together.
Feature Map & Content Tree
Sketches • Wireframes • Rapid Prototyping
After user testing provided initial feedback on the user flows, we took to sketching, rapid prototyping and more testing based off of flows relevant to our personas needs.
Goal: How quickly and efficiently can the user complete their required tasks?
Usability Testing
Does the user have enough information to complete the job?
Usability Testing
There were issues that the users ran into that were minor and major ones that completely stopped them from task completion. We rated the issues using the Dumas and Redish Severity Scale:
Usability Test Findings
During testing, users commonly got stuck at a few specific places while performing the tasks. There was some misunderstandings and confusion around the navigation from screen to screen, as well as the content on the screens.
Key Changes
Mood board • UI Direction • Style Tile & Guide
High Fidelity Prototype
Key Learnings
Team collaboration and collaborative design thinking were critical to both idea generation and the facilitation of core team alignment and decision making.
Working in the field with service operators, along with user data from research, interviews, and testing provided invaluable input and ongoing feedback that helped us craft, then iterate an experience that not only delivered on core business needs but also excited users!
With streamlining communication being a main goal of the project, the team, client, and stakeholders having an open and transparent dialogue during the planning and discovery phase were critical to the development of clear objectives and a realistic timeline for the project.
Next Steps
Research: Dive deeper into competitors, various technologies, ethnographic research, and more usability testing
Hi-Fi Prototype: Flush out more functions, microinteractions, and mini-animations
Secondary Flows: Expansion on secondary persona, Crew Member
Development Handoff: Package and continue to collaborate