Designing an E-commerce SaaS App

Spring 2016

 

The Company

Latcha+Associates is a full-service marketing and production company based in Farmington Hills, MI. They offer clients a range of services including web and app development.

My Role

I’m currently a UX / UI Designer at Latcha. I lead the UI design and UX research for the new and current versions of the app. Additionally, as Latcha’s first and only UX professional, I lead UX efforts and educate teams on user-centered design thinking.

The Client

Latcha provides Audi of America with direct mail and email marketing, web design, and web app development, among other services.

The Product

The product is a responsive SaaS application Audi dealerships use to distribute marketing communications to their customers and pinpoint ways to increase revenue. This is the second version of the app, and the first version is still in use. The product is in the process of being designed and developed.

The Project Goal

My goal is to design an app that exceeds client expectations and allows end users to complete their tasks effectively and effortlessly. The product will need to balance functionality and customization. It needs to feel human to interact with and respect the context of Audi dealers. 

The Challenges

  • Learn the app's diverse user base and context of use.

  • Understand the development history and the business rules behind the current version of the app.

  • Assess the usability of the first version of the app and translate findings into solutions in the new app.

  • Design pixel-perfect mockups, task flows, site maps, and other documentation in an team unfamiliar with the design process.

  • Gather requirements and lead the business analysis in a project without a product owner.

The Design Process

I began by interviewing account executives, customer service reps, developers, and testers about the current SaaS app. We talked about the app's business rules and how it currently meets (or doesn’t meet) users’ goals. We discussed user needs and I prepared user interview questions.

The team hadn’t done any UX research, so I proposed that we interview users and conduct usability testing of the app’s core functionality. I led the team in preparing interview questions, tasks to test, and the moderator’s script. I moderated the testing sessions, analyzed the data, and presented our findings and recommendations to Audi. The study resulted in a much greater appreciation for the users’ goals and context and helped both the team and the client buy into UX practices.

I documented task flows and use cases to gain consensus with the team on how users should accomplish their goals. From there I began designing medium fidelity wireframes, elicited feedback from the team, and iterated. Over time I progressed into high fidelity wireframes with red-lines for the developers.

Ideal Flow.png

My latest effort for this project is a live style guide for the developers and testers to use as we build the app. This style guide will evolve as we continue to iterate designs and test prototypes on end users.