I worked on a product that allows for customizing and ordering items ahead of Walmart store visit or at the counter.
Order Ahead allows any customer to customize and place an order online, an associate will then receive and fulfill such order using the hardware-software solution installed in a local store.
I joined the project at the time when an MVP was already piloting at several stores in different states across the USA.
WalmartLabs Digital Acceleration leadership put together an agile team to help identify any experience gaps and improve Order Ahead before launching it in over 3,000 stores nationwide.
The team consisted of several designers, a researcher, PM and multiple software engineers.
As a Product Designer on this project my goal was to improve the service before and after launch, and also help design a system that could scale over time to include other products under the Order Ahead umbrella.
Given the scale of the project, our team had several major problems to tackle in a very short time before launch.
Since Order Ahead is an omni-channel product, there was a customer-facing online configurator and an associate-facing app for managing received orders. Both sides of the service had separate problems to tackle.
Online discoverability was definitely an issue. Also, configuration process needed urgent optimization to be seemlessly integrated with other products that were on release schedule.
As for associate experience, due to various factors like fear of technology and different mental models, transition from a tried and true pen-and-paper order intake / management process to a completely new digital way of working would be a real challenge for many.
Apart from that, all of us were transferred to the project last minute and worked remotely from each other. We urgently needed to build a strong team capable of moving fast and following the design process to be efficient.
We modified the classic DoubleDiamond design methodology to suit the needs and the aggressive timeline of the project.
Some of our partners were new to this model of working, so I used every opportunity to educate, engage and excite our stakeholders and the team.
To identify customer-associate experience gaps and problems during the discovery phase we conducted 2 separate research studies.
We started with observing store associates at work in different US states over the course of multiple days. We took notes on every stage of the process, and documented their daily tasks.
We also conducted interviews with different associates and asked them to tell us about their current workflows (and workarounds) so that we could compare how the pilot MVP was fitting into their pen-and-paper system that established over decades.
We then followed up with customer interviews and a usability study to understand how they would go about finding and using Order Ahead online.
During the synthesis phase we organized and processed the data, created affinity diagrams, identified common themes, compiled insights and looked for opportunities to improve both customer- and associate-facing experiences.
We organized usability issues and opportunities for improvement in the following 3 categories:
- misses (software misleads users into thinking (1) one thing is happening, when something else is happening instead or also; and, (2) everything is ok / nothing needs attention, when there could be errors or noteworthy events happening;
- gaps (parts of the natural workflow that aren't supported by OA software);
- delays (issues that delay or reset the forward progress of an order).
- misses (software misleads users into thinking (1) one thing is happening, when something else is happening instead or also; and, (2) everything is ok / nothing needs attention, when there could be errors or noteworthy events happening;
- gaps (parts of the natural workflow that aren't supported by OA software);
- delays (issues that delay or reset the forward progress of an order).
Apart from the above, we observed a major paper trail even after the introduction of a digital tool in the associates' workflow... All of these areas were clear opportunities for improvement.
Customer interviews helped us understand their mental model and clearly pointed to areas that needed improvement in discoverability. Predictive search dropdown wasn't suggesting needed results and navigation was a real challenge.
DESIGNER TIP: here's a quick tip if you ever find yourself in the same situation one day.
The goal of the research was to discover problems and identify gaps with the current MVP experience. With an excellent researcher leading the studies, we did our job extremely well, the deck was filled with examples of misses and gaps, all really strong cases too.
So when we presented all research findings to the team (including engineers that built an MVP), we might have unwillfully offended them... We probably should have spent a few more slides highlighting the things that also worked really well before digging into issues that needed urgent improvements.
It took us a few cold beers to eventually bridge that gap and build an excellent team, so if I had such insight earlier, we'd certainly be more mindful.
Anyway, apart from these studies I did some secondary research and competitive analysis. At this point we had a solid foundation to start the ideation phase.
Over the course of the following several weeks I ran multiple on-site and remote design workshops. They helped further discuss the problems that we uncovered during the research phase and create a prioritized roadmap going forward.
These workshops inspired and engaged every team member to participate in the iterative design process. Even those who'd normally never have a seat at the table so early. It also helped advocate for design thinking methodology and the inclusive designer-lead process in a company known for the top down approach.
I followed with the Service Design Blueprint which helped us lay out and analyze each step of the journey end-to-end.
Brainstorming workshops helped discover a variety of solutions and envision the future of Order Ahead as a service.
I designed low resolution conceptual wireframes and put together simple prototypes for early testing.
Luckily, 95% of all US population is located, on average, just 10 miles away from a Walmart store! We were able to take concepts to several stores around us to capture early associate feedback before every launch.
Armed with the valuable feedback, we made needed changes and took updated prototypes back to the stores for further testing.
These iteration loops were very important before the launch to chain but even more so during the rolling releases going forward. It gave the whole team, our partners and stakeholders some additional confidence before handing off screen mockups to engineers.
Over the course of several months Order Ahead was released in all supporting stores across the country.
To monitor performance and gauge satisfaction, we launched a simple feature to capture associate feedback on a bi-weekly basis. We also joined the associate Facebook group and carefully studied comments left there.
Team's adoption of the iterative design process and access to regular feedback from our users helped us move faster and ensure stakeholder alignment on the roadmap.
Today Order Ahead is used by millions of online customers.
Respectfully, custom-built app for managing OA orders is actively used by thousands of associates at 3,275 stores every day.
Respectfully, custom-built app for managing OA orders is actively used by thousands of associates at 3,275 stores every day.
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