Defining product direction through user research
2020 - 2022
1.5 years
NDA
About client
A client had a web application for workforce planning and management purposes, used for providing forecasts of various KPIs, such as Headcount, Utilisation, Attrition, and Bench. The application was used worldwide by regional managers and heads of departments for reporting and forecasting.
Business challenge
The platform was created from scratch based on the ideas of one of the stakeholders, utilising only developers and didn’t have any user-focused approach whatsoever. The application didn’t solve business problems in a proper way. Users were reluctant to use it due to it’s complexity and the fact it didn’t contain features that would actually help users with one of their main tasks - forecasting.
Approach
✨ Conducted 5 stakeholder workshops involving key business teams (sales, service, CX, IT, marketing) to comprehend challenges, gather requirements, establish outcomes and success criteria, and identify assumptions and constraints.
✨ Analysed existing data sources, including customer feedback, app reviews, and available analytics.
✨ Examined processes, digital products, and Voice of Customer (VOC) data from similar automotive dealers.
✨ Engaged in field research by visiting service centres and sales showrooms, gathering insights on internal processes and customer experiences from sales representatives and service advisors.
✨ Facilitated focus groups with current customers (mix of both app users and non-users) and prospects.
✨ Conducted qualitative data analysis to distill insights.
✨ Based on the use research data, I updated a feature roadmap that was developed before the project began (more on it in the “Learnings” section below).
✨ Designed Information Architecture (IA) and navigation, with iterative tree testing for improvement.
✨ Mapped out main user flows and created high-fidelity wireframes.
✨ Conducted seven feasibility workshops in collaboration with developers to ensure the design was technically viable.
✨ Planned and executed usability testing with both app users and non-app users, refining wireframes based on findings and qualitative feedback.
✨ Handed over the wireframes to UI design.
✨ Developed an interactive prototype and annotated all interactions for developers for a smoother hand-off.
Lessons
💡 Evaluate the client's UX maturity early in the process; if it is lacking, allocate time to explain the design process, steps, deliverables, and the rationale behind design decisions.
💡 User research insights should drive the roadmap, while considering overarching business goals.
💡 Dive deeper into business processes and understand internal system limitations (e.g., Oracle, Salesforce). Perform business process mapping to gain a comprehensive understanding of the organisation's operations.
💡 Identify and map stakeholders to ascertain decision-makers within the project.
💡 Conduct desk research to enhance domain knowledge before engaging in focus groups.
💡 Scrutinise participant selection during recruitment, ensuring articulate communication, especially in cases where English is not the first language.
💡 Develop prototypes with a high-fidelity interaction level to closely resemble the real-life application, promoting more realistic feedback during usability testing.
