This was an individual project where I acted as UX/UI Designer and Researcher. I had a mentor who I met with regularly with to assist with scoping and guide the development of the project. In nine days I conducted user research including: competitive analysis, personas, scenarios, and user journeys. At the end of the project, I delivered a high fidelity prototype of the proposed website.
Wall ovens can be difficult to shop for. They often look very similar and it there is no easy way to diffentiate between features. How can we make it easier for consumers to find the right wall oven that not only fits in their existing wall space but has all the features they need to cook a delicious meal.
Using Nielsen's Usability Heuristics, I researched existing websites with similar tools to learn how current competitors address this problem as well as additional opportunities to improve this experience.
The site lacks user controls
Once the user completes the “quiz”, he/she is not allowed to edit any of the choices without restarting the process over again. This could be improved by allowing editing options once the quiz has been completed.
The provided images do not allow the user to see the product in context
The detailed images of each product are isolated and do not provide any context. This may be difficult for the user to understand/imagine how the wall oven will look in his/her own kitchen.
The site draws attention away from its overall goal.
The left sidebar contains a “learn more” button that takes the user away from the quiz and into a detailed product page. This does not open up in a new window and results in the user losing any completed work.
The site lacks a sense of completion
After completing the quiz and/or entering the model number, the user receives filtered results without much explanation of the results. This could be improved by creating a better results page and informing the user the specific wall oven features that the user should be looking for.
I created four personas and scenarios to represent the different users that would be using the site. I developed the personas to have a wide range of expectations and skill sets to ensure that the site would work efficiently and effectively for a wide range of users.
Based on the personas and scenarios, I created a set of user journeys to inform how each user would enter and use the site. Because the personas have different expectations when visiting the site, they may not interact with the site in the same way. The user journeys were used to make sure that these differences were accounted for and developed acccordingly.
Based on the user research, I sketched different design ideas that could help the user navigate through the wall oven buying process. The options included a social, a filter first, and a lifestyle walkthrough approach.
My final deliverable was a high fidelity prototype developed in Axure. I incoporated three main elements: the ability to search for a wall oven by model number, find a wall oven through a lifestyle quiz and advanced filter option.
Upon entering the homepage, the user has the option to enter an existing model id or select the lifestyle selector and answer a few questions to help narrow their wall-oven choices. Advanced users who have an idea of the collection or model they want can use the search or advanced filter to find a specific oven.
After entering the model id, the user can choose to answer the lifestyle questions to further narrow down the wall-oven options. By adding this opportunity, users will not feel like they need to start the process over again. In addition, the site can use the information gained from the existing model number as well as the lifestyle questions to help the user find the perfect wall-oven that fits their needs.
After answering the lifestyle answers, the user is brought to a results page that lists the types of features that will work best for their needs. This can help the user navigate through the often technical wall-oven features. While many sites have advanced filters that may dead-end the user with no search results, this is avoided by creating a "best match", similar to online dating sites. Users are presented with the wall-ovens with the "best fit" for their lifestyles. In addition, the wall-ovens are shown within a kitchen context. This can help the user imagine what the wall-oven will look like in their own home. By incorporating these new features and work-flow, I was able to simplify the wall-oven searching process and help consumers not only find a wall-oven that fits their existing wall space but find a wall-oven that meets their specific needs.
