Lead UX Researcher
Supply management company
3 Months
I needed to find similar needs of all customers and understand the source of inconsistent data, which would create more trust in the client’s offerings. I recommended adding data points relating to warehouse capacity and increasing transparency in communications to gain customer trust in the upcoming product. We also made recommendations to the prototype UI so that stakeholders can better understand their customer’s task flow.
I started by asking stakeholders about their service, their pain points, and what they noticed in their interactions with customers.
Along with the client kickoff meeting, we interviewed 3 stakeholders in depth to assess what questions their team needed answered. Their biggest questions were about:
their customers’ workflow
the cause of the distrust with the client offerings
what information would their customers need to bolster their offerings.
I was also given access to an early-stage prototype that would automate the current client-to-customer flow of sending spreadsheet data back and forth. Within the prototype I needed to know if the metrics and data points offered were valuable to customers, and if not, what data would bring value. The client also wanted to understand the customers’ workflow and how to better align the prototype to meet it.
For this project, user testing was performed via Zoom. We tested 7 users with the prototype (2 were internal client employees, 3 were performed by the client), and 5 user interviews.
With three of the users, it was brought to my attention after initial blind usability tests that English may not be their first language, and therefore we would need an interpreter. In order to facilitate a smooth test with another person present, I created a guide for intermediaries.
With an affinity map, I organized findings into several categories
My team and I created more specific data points within these general groups.
1
Data integrity
Users had to juggle internal information against the client's data on product dimensions and quantities, which added extra work to their work flow.
The most important piece was information around item size and weight. From this information, they could figure out larger issues around capacity to carry the items and speed up their workflow.
2
Forecasts and trends
Users liked to see this data, but they were unclear how these trends were being calculated. One user noted that they had addressed the confusion with the client but it was never answered.
Lack of communication around the calculation of trends and forecasts created mistrust around the client’s data.
3
Information on the streaming service
Users could not immediately find necessary information about the streaming service, such as price, video length, devices they could watch on, and the types of videos available for streaming.
Users were hesitant to use a service without full knowledge of what they were buying, had to make assumptions, and did not find it valuable.
4
Lack of data
There were several points of data that users found were important to have, but felt they could not trust the data from the client. They acknowledged the data inconsistencies stemmed from their own data, but also admitted the client did not have access to all data points they deemed important.
The client needed access to data in order to give accurate data to their customers.
5
Data synch-up
Many users mentioned how they wished their internal data matched up with the client data better. They wished the client tools would synch seamlessly with their internal tools.
Users wanted a seamless integration between the two different platforms to save time comparing and translating data between them. They felt this would help solve their issue with mismatched data and how it affects their work.
The user flow was difficult to discern due to usability issues with the prototype. Users did not know what steps to take within the platform, and problems with the UI did not help to lead users to their goals.
In order to get information about the data displayed on hard-to-find pages, we had to directly instruct users where to find the correct button or page. In this way, we were unable to discern if the user would naturally turn to these pages and the information they offered.
We developed a user persona for one of the two users that stakeholders are in contact with. The client wanted to know more about this persona to understand how their current offerings are not meeting their needs.
From our interviews, we determined this persona’s most common role within a company, the departments they communicate with, the data they oversee, how they utilize the platform, and their major pain points.
Stakeholders had several assumptions that our testing and interviews validated. These were:
I also provided feedback on the prototype based on users' behaviors to strengthen future iterations:
However, the most important point gleaned from interviews was the core reason behind the lack of trust.
As a result of these findings, our client was able to not only find the cause of mistrust in their customers, but I was able to make a case for the importance of a dedicated, in-house user research team. Their lead UX/UI designer was able to cite this work as necessary for the growth and longevity of the company, but would be best achieved through more heads thinking from the user standpoint.
For myself, it was my first project not only leading another UX/UI designer, but taking point with a client whose customer base spanned the globe. Just as our stakeholder couldn't get these findings alone, I found having another person in the fray with me helped me point out insights I may have missed on my own, or double checking I made sense.
I also found myself becoming comfortable in a mentor role, making sure my teammate felt comfortable, and her contributions were heard. I learned what to do when a test went off the rails, how to take the reigns in a calm and collected way, and how to collaborate with both my teammate and stakeholders as one whole team.
Copywrite 2023 Lauren Ashizawa