A perfect case study in the need for proper UX

The problem to solve: The project was to digitize a time-consuming sample shipping process. The problem was bringing the product to deployment, as the project was plagued with delays and lack of direction. Originally, the project was given to a vendor who focused mainly on the UI. 

Using the methodology: When I took the project over, the initial Figma prototype was done. This seemed to meet the technical requirements that were laid out by the project team, but I soon realized that no research was done with users. 

My first priority was to talk to several of the staff users to find out how they currently ship samples. This proved to be quite useful, as I found out that our vendor was basically asked to digitize a bad process. No wonder the project was stuck in neutral! 

After learning the process, I asked the users what their expectations were to improve it. I also talked to the company receptionist, who I discovered was ultimately responsible for filling out the paperwork that the courier needed at the time of pickup (this was duplicating the effort of the merchandiser, which caused of a mistakes in rewriting information).

I was finally able to see where the gaps were between the prototype and the user’s process and expectations. I presented this and a recommendation of a revised workflow to the project team. It was very clear to her how to overcome the roadblocks that were holding up the whole project.

Project execution: Since much of the UI work was done, it was a matter of moving around elements to fit the revised workflow. I worked with the developer to make sure all of the required elements were included. At this point, it was discovered that the company’s address database was not in good shape. There were several duplicate addresses with slight variations and many addresses that were invalid. 

The product owner had a choice to make, we could either use the address book as is, hire a temporary person to clean up the address book, or have merchandisers add new addresses every time they used the app. I made sure to give the benefits and drawbacks to each choice and advised them to have merchandisers populate the address book.

When we got the address book straightened out, I completed the prototype on Figma.

Before Development: The test phase of the prototype was great. Users were happy that they didn’t need to fill out forms to bring to the receptionist and they were OK with filling out new addresses, as they often used the same address. The receptionist was delighted that she no longer had to replicate and file shipping request forms. This feedback was used to finally get the sign off from the product owner to go to development.

Outcome and Impact: The new Courier Booking platform not only saved loads of time, it was a much better way for our users to track samples. It also benefitted the managers who could sort and track outgoing shipments that their reports were making. We used less paper, and eliminated the mistakes that were being made in the step between the users and the receptionist. It also was a clear to the product owner and the project manager of how important end-to-end UX and user feedback is finally get a project deployed.