MY ROLE
As a UX Designer in a team of four, I was involved in both research and design activities, in particular, driving creation of the prototype design.
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Qualtrics, Miro, Trello
TIMELINE
Aug 2022 - Dec 2022
BACKGROUND
Home Depot is a leading home improvement retailer, offering tools, appliances, and building materials. Its curbside pickup service allows customers to order online and conveniently collect their purchases from designated parking spots without entering the store.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
I partnered with the UX Team at The Home Depot to explore the associate-facing Curbside experience, seeking to address deficiencies and optimize associate workflows through a redesign of the Curbside Release Application.
CONTEXT
The COVID-19 online shopping surge strained Home Depot employees, beyond their usual roles.
Juggling both in-person and online orders, the increased workload was associated with greater mental, emotional, and physical demands on employees, culminating in burnout which impacts job performance and subsequently customer experience.
GOAL
We aimed to alleviate frustrations around existing technology used in Home Depot Curbside Pickup
TARGET USERS
The exploration focused on activities performed by Service Desk Associates (SDA) and Curbside Associates (CA). A secondary user group is Order Fulfillment Associates (OFA) who are also key to completing curbside orders.
Primary Users
Curbside Associates (CA)
Service Desk Associates (SDA)
Secondary Users
Order Fulfillment Associates (OFA)
CURRENT PROCESS
PRIMARY RESEARCH
What features of the curbside process can be improved upon, altered, or omitted to improve efficiency?
CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
In visiting our local Home Depot store, we gained a unique perspective of the context in which our users complete curbside order activities. We shadowed associates while they performed daily activities, asking questions along the way.
Associate job titles included:
-
Customer Service Experience Manager
-
Service Desk Associate
-
Curbside Associate
-
Order Fulfillment Associate
TASK ANALYSIS
We broke down highly detailed information about how OFAs and SDAs / CAs complete curbside tasks in order to recognize:
-
What our users need to be successful
-
What procedures, tools, and information are involved in the system
RESEARCH ANALYSIS
We identified major themes surrounding gaps in information, communication, and workflow efficiency
Excerpt from Affinity Map
KEY FINDINGS
Associates have trouble completing curbside tasks efficiently and effectively
​
They face interruptions, information gaps, and have dependencies for help
"There's a lot going on."
Associates are unaware of notifications for curbside orders
​
Audio notifications are not repeated and provide no visual indication on work devices
"Sometimes I don't know when [customers are here]."
Order staging areas and documentation are not standardized
​
Unorganized staging causes delays in retrieval for curbside delivery
"We just stage orders wherever we feel like."
Barriers exist between customer and associate communication​
​
Customers fail to follow check-in procedures or arrive before items are ready for pickup
"I wish there was better communication with customers."
DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
Functional
Incorporate multi-sensory notifications for customers arriving for curbside pickup
Establish process for associates to request assistance for large orders
Standardize documentation of order staging to support efficient retrieval
Non-Functional
Should be dynamic and scalable across desktop and mobile devices
Simple, intuitive interface that requires little training for use
Ensure style alignment with company brand
Maintain accessibility to include users with diverse abilities
IDEATION
As a team, we brainstormed and sketched several design concepts informed by our research findings
Excerpt from whiteboard sketches
CONCEPT MOCKUPS
Based on our brainstorming, I created mockups aimed at covering various design requirements.
Drive-Thru
Curbside pickup window
Need help?
Calculation of order dimensions
Smart Shelves
RFID technology to aid staging
I'm Here!
Audio/Visual notifications
The Curbside Cart
Reimage mode of transporting orders
Musical Chairs
Readjusting store layout
Robo-Team
Robot tech streamlining workflows
Find My OFA
Assistance request tracker
Lot Vision
Visual on customer parking location
FINAL CONCEPT
A digital solution addressing user frustrations while seamlessly integrating into existing workflows
By combining multiple design concepts we finalized the design solution, a Curbside Release Application which I visualized in context through a storyboard.
Hi-Fi DESIGNS
FEATURE WALKTHROUGH
Notifications of customers checking-in for their pickup as well as notifications of updates to an order​
Editing staging location of a curbside order or overriding a "claimed" order​
Requesting help from another associate with status updates and releasing an order to the customer​
Searching for a customer order and overriding a previously released order to keep information accurate​
Viewing historical data with filters can help with order tracking in case of customer returns or exchanges
DESIGN SYSTEM
I chose to adapt Home Depot's signature orange color to a darker shade to ensure the foreground text and background color contrast ratio was at least 4.5:1 as defined by WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Though this introduced inconsistency with our non-functional requirement to align with Home Depot's existing brand, I believed it was an important decision to address accessibility for a diverse audience.
DESIGN EVALUATION
4 key design requirements were assessed through a two-part evaluation in which participants performed a series of benchmark tasks and completed a System Usability Scale (SUS). The requirements evaluated included:
-
Multisensory notifications
-
Standardize and organize staging location
-
Allow employees to request assistance
-
Application is simple and easy to use
EVALUATION OUTCOME
The prototype achieved a SUS score of 79%, reflecting exceptional usability and a strong user experience
Note: Evaluations conducted were considered 'discount' as participants had not previously worked at The Home Depot, and thus were not representative of the target user.​ Nevertheless, insight gained proved to be valuable in revealing any gaps in usability and how the user experience could be improved.
FUTURE
