Shipment organization features

CHALLENGE

Understand and address in-branch issues arising from batching feature roll-out.

OUTCOME

Broader discussions around process efficiency and accuracy at the branches are ongoing, leaving this UX debt unresolved.

ROLE & TIMELINE

Lead designer

User & stakeholder interviews, journey mapping, UX design

Jan 2019-May 2019

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Challenge

Early in the Chit Chats project, we launched a “batching” feature. This prompted users to group their shipments online and print a batch label for their consolidated packages. The intention was to allow Chit Chats staff to scan a single barcode at drop-off to process many shipments with ease.

Soon after launch, Chit Chats staff began noticing batch discrepancies where the number of packages didn't match the count on the labels. Because our efforts were focused elsewhere, this proved to be a significant source of UX debt that piled up over time.

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Journey map for in-branch client
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Journey map for drop spot client
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Journey map for mail-in client

Approach

After conducting user interviews and reviewing hundreds of client support conversations, I discovered that our clients did not understand or value the increased efficiency we sought from the feature. In fact, most users were using our batching tool to provide unintended shipment organization functionality that they felt was missing from the platform.

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Research findings based on user interviews and client support feedback reviews

To address this, I developed designs for a revised flow which would replace the batching feature with two distinct features - groups and manifests. Groups could be used by high-volume clients to sort, organize and keep track of their shipments. Manifests represented a summary of packages clients shipped on a daily basis. 

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New group CTA under Pending shipments
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User gives a name to the group
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Manifest blank slate explaining what a manifest is for and guiding user to the shipments that are ready to manifest
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User can select all paid shipments to create a manifest
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Create Manifest modal showing a summary of shipments and informing user about manifest policy for compliance
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All shipments in a manifest are ready to ship with Chit Chats
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User can re-print or undo any manifest
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When user und0 a manifest, all shipments are released in that manifest back to Pending

Resource limitations lead to unresolved UX debt

Presenting this design to the operations team started broader discussions around process efficiency and accuracy at the branches, including the feasibility of scanning every package or client self-scanning.

The revised manifest and group features have put on the shelf until the operations team has the resources to address the required changes to internal processes.

Other Chit Chats case studies

Competitive audit, surveys, UX/UI design, user testing
Competitive audit, surveys, UX/UI design
User & stakeholder interviews, data analysis, UX/UI design, video tutorials

Get in touch

Thank you for visiting! Whether it’s about a new opportunity or just a friendly hello, I'd love to hear from you.

Reach me at merveayomak[at]gmail[dot]com, connect on LinkedIn or Twitter.