What is Online Orders?
The primary purpose of this application is to provide show managers and internal customer service agents with the ability to order networking equipment, telephony services and booths/rooms during events and conventions.
Since the bulk of this project is confidential, I am happy to share more details verbally during the interview. However, I may only be able to discuss my role and general responsibilities.
Problem
There were multiple user experience issues that made it difficult for show managers to navigate and complete their orders. Internal customer service agents also had issues with assisting show managers throughout the ordering process. The existing design/application was very outdated and included a long single page layout with no cohesiveness. The application didn't need just a fresh "coat of paint" but instead, it needed an overall redesign/rebuild from the ground up.
Let's reduce the friction…
The ordering web application was a critical component of my company's business. Therefore, redesigning and rebuilding it the right way was crucial. Our team managed to put together a complete user flow that not only guided show managers and internal CSRs through each step but did it without overly complicating the process or negatively impacting their ability to complete orders.
Steps to secure victory
Firstly, understand the user's journey for completing an order. Secondly, develop the user flow from login/signup to the order confirmation. Thirdly, update the application's UI with a fresh and modern feel. Lastly, implement the company's brand and color scheme for consistency.
Additional project information
This was a large enterprise project that covered all aspects of the ordering process. The primary purpose of this web application is to order networking equipment, telephony services, and the booth/room for hosting. The online ordering application is used by show managers and internal customer service agents.
What I wanted to accomplish with this case study was to briefly explain my role and what I accomplished with my team. I took part in design and stakeholder reviews, designed multiple iterations of low and high fidelity wireframes and clickable prototypes that resulted in the final live product. I collaborated with our full-stack developer on the implementation of the application...applying my HTML, CSS, and Bootstrap skills to the product.
The thought process behind the user flow for this project was to reduce the amount of unnecessary information each show manager was forced to input with the existing application. I also wanted to treat the user's flow similar to how an on-screen wizard does it with guided steps.
Learnings
I believe one of the biggest things I learned while working on this project was the art of being patient. This was a very large project that took a long time to complete from ideation to live site and everything else in between. From a design perspective, there were many stakeholder reviews and multiple iterations of wireframes and prototypes.
Another thing is to ask questions early and often. This was also a redesign of a web application that I had never seen before I began designing for it. It helps to spend as much time as possible to understand the application before actually attempt to redesign it. It could also reduce the number of iterations during the process.