Furry Best Friends (FBF)
Pet Online Store
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Create an order tracking feature for a Pet Store.
Create a tracking delivery app for an online pet supply store with clear communication updates for shoppers in Costa Rica. Deliveries can experience delays due to weather, supply chain problems, etc.; often, supplies may not arrive when you need them, causing you to pivot at the last minute and scramble to find other solutions.
TEAM
Solo project
ROLE
Lead UX Designer, Researcher
SCOPE
5 day sprint
PROBLEM
Order problems or changes must be done in person or via phone, which can be ineffective if you have a problem or any questions about your order. Shopping for their pet shouldn't demand much of a customer's time.
GOALS
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Create live tracking for order statuses and deliveries.
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Customers can view first-hand where and who has their deliveries, as well as an ETA of delivery.
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Option to modify order in app.
CROSS FUNCTIONAL DESIGN
I designed for both desktop and mobile to enhance user experience across devices.
I chose friendly inviting colors, I chose blue to help represent security and order.
Design Process Overview
These are the steps I took in creating Leémos; I will be walking you through them along with my thought process.
Understand
User Research
Define
Personas
User Journey
Ideate
Brainstorm
Sitemap
Prototype
Sketches
Test
Usability Studies
Wireframe
Lofi & Hifi
Mockup
Empathize
I conducted user research and competitive analysis to understand online pet shoppers better.
1. User Research
2. Competitive Analysis
USER RESEARCH
I spoke to a variety of pet owners that worked full-time or part-time and relied on deliveries to take care of their pet needs. I talked to store owners to learn more about warehouse supply updates and how that is displayed on their websites.
I learned that it’s not a priority for pet stores to send detailed tracking to customers, but an overall vague timeframe, it’s beneficial for the customer to know ahead of time if their deliveries will arrive instead of receiving a last-minute cancelation notice.
User Pain Point I
Auto orders automatically cancel when there is insufficient supply on the day of delivery.
User Pain Point III
Because phone signal is spotty in certain areas, businesses may not be able to reach out to customers; customers find out crucial information late.
User Pain Point II
Ordering a last-minute replacement is very expensive here in Costa Rica and does not lead to a happy user experience.
User Pain Point IV
Many working families optimize spending time with family and pets rather than having to run an errand in person when they thought it was already taken care of.
Define
I defined my target user as someone who has disposable income and invests in their dog's happiness- ensuring their furry loved ones get enough exercise and a nutritious diet.
1. Personas
2. User Journey
USER PERSONA
Busy Barbara
Age: 37
Education: Bachelor's Degree
Hometown: Nicoya, Costa Rica
Family: 2 dogs, 2 daughters and a partner
Occupation: Real Estate
"I'm a working parent; I want to be able to see status updates instead of checking up on order."
Goals
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Get up-to-date information on orders
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Coordinate online
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Get the items ordered or substitutes if possible
Frustrations
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"Not enough online retailers to find other accommodations."
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An option to substitute items out of stock.
Samara is a 37-year-old mother of 2 and a full-time real estate agent who lives with her partner, kids, and a german shepherd. She relies on her pet food store website to ensure she gets snacks/toys/food for her dog.
She is frustrated with the tracking order experience on mobile websites because of the size of buttons and complicated navigation. She also feels disappointed that sometimes her order doesn’t update online, and the order is marked as delivered when she hasn’t received it yet.
USER JOURNEY
Families rely heavily on auto delivery features; receiving a last-minute canceling is a bad experience.
Ideate
I built a sitemap to ensure I include features pet owners would expect to use. I used Crazy 8's to ideate ideas quickly.
1. Sitemap
2. Crazy 8's
SITEMAP
My goal was to improve the information hierarchy and make ‘track orders’ easier to find within the navigation system.
Pet shops offer various services, which can become a pain point for users looking for specific information.
Crazy 8's
I love this exercise because it helps me not focus on small details that don't matter. I focused on my problem statement, which is how to display to a buyer important information about their order; you can see tracking updates, 'back-in-stock memos, detailed information on their order, and the timeframe of delivery/arrival.
Prototype
Due to the time constraint of the 5-day sprint, I'm very happy that I was able to do at least one set of improvements to the application.
1. LO Fidelity Designs
3. Usability Tests
2. Wireframes
4. Hi Fidelity Designs
LO FIDELITY DESIGNS
My goal was to give more information about the status of deliveries and timeframe, down to the agent's name and potential steps that customers can make, like replacement options or adding items to the order after it’s made.
These are desktop sketches for the homepage and order summary details. The goal is to display such information without making it convoluted. I added more navigation options buttons to allow the user to better maneuver around the site.
Added carousel to show how many images of promotions are available. Instead of the splitting screen also included a brief order summary to help users recall previous orders.
DESKTOP WIREFRAME, BEFORE
DESKTOP WIREFRAME, AFTER
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Due to this being a 5-day sprint, we performed hallway usability sessions to spot any user confusion, I updated the browser menu from the left-hand side to the top bar for easy navigation.
I also followed the heuristics to optimize user experience friendliness.
LO FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
USABILITY FINDINGS
Users want more information about their order; instead of logging in and finding order details, they prefer to be notified via email or phone alerts.
Finding I
Users are happy knowing an estimated time frame when their goods will be dropped off.
Finding II
Navigating to their settings and not finding details on editing/canceling an order is frustrating.
Finding III
Users don’t want to dig for information; they would rather receive notifications such as texts, and alerts, with helpful links to guide them.
HI FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
My user research highlighted that users want to see which items are selected for auto-delivery; I included the specified status and added the option to opt into phone notifications to help customers get delivery updates.
Before Usability Study
After Usability Study
My goal was to build a tracking site for an online pet shop. In the beginning, I quickly learned that my visuals didn't display enough information, that users want to be able to click directly to edit/change items to know they even have the option to do so, and that they won’t search for a feature option they don’t even know they have, this information must be advertised and allow users to easily opt-in.
HI FIDELITY PROTOTYPE
ACCESSIBILITY
My usability tests showed that people wanted more contrast, so I boldened the font and changed the side navigation bar to the top to create a more user-friendly flow.
We chose our palette to ensure that it had enough contrast so that people with visual disabilities could differentiate between the content easily.
We kept our action items to a minimum to reduce confusion from the user and optimize user flow success.
Takeaways
Testing was the most difficult aspect of a 5-day sprint. We weren't able to test our target user but rather more so the heuristics to ensure product usability.
1. Impact
2. What I learned
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Impact:
Many users showed appreciation for this app; there is interest to continue to grow and scale the product.
One quote from a usability study:
Impact:
“I love my dogs, I make them their food, and I need to be on top of receiving my supplies on time to ensure that they get to eat healthfully. I would love a better tracking system on deliveries.”
- Participant C
WHAT I LEARNED
Online shopping for pets doesn't have to be a chore and can be an enjoyable experience for pet owners. By focusing on pet owner stresses and problems, we can ideate ways to alleviate them by adding necessary functions and options to reduce the stressors so they feel seen and heard. They are making the shopping and tracking process a reliable, intuitive process that can be a faster experience for customers so they can spend more quality time with loved ones or on personal hobbies.
NEXT STEPS
1.
Incorporate supply data into online catalogs, so users know how much is left or how long to wait between shipments.
2.
Run A/B tests to see if users prefer to see timeframe notifications. I.e., how much time is left to make changes to order or cancel.
3.
Improve warehouse stock information to send off shipments efficiently; try to get close to the ETA as possible with help from automation.