Redesign Auto-Reorder Feature...

Redesign Auto-Reorder Feature of the Whirlpool App

Whirlpool's smart washer and dryer simplified lives by predicting when supplies were running low and automatically ordering them through Amazon Dash Replenishment. However, despite this convenient feature, analysis of backend data indicated that it wasn't being utilized effectively through the app.

The marketing team aimed to investigate why the auto-reorder feature wasn't being used as much and to craft a straightforward, persuasive description of its advantages without exaggeration.

My Role

The Team

Time Frame

Lead Designer

Interview Facilitation

Workshop Facilitation

Sketch and wireframe

Interaction design

Design QA

1 Product Manager
1 Human Factor Engineer
1 Marketing
1 Software Engineer

Feb. 2015 - Mar. 2015
(2 months Project)

RESULTS

The new Information Architecture proves to be efficient in use

TESTING RESULTS

100%

Task success rate

- 36%

Time on task

Stats from usability testing

USER QUOTES

"The new views are better. I can directly view the information I need all together quickly, good!"

Would like to skip the design process? Check out the final design and recap directly.

View final design and recap

The app's new and improved Auto-reorder feature, unveiled at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), received tons of good reviews.

CONSTRAINTS

App Promotion Puzzle: Balancing Interest, Aligning Perspectives, Meeting Tight Deadlines

The main challenges I was dealing with were:

Balancing promotion for our app, a collaboration with Amazon, where Whirlpool aimed to generate interest without overwhelming users with excessive sales pitches.
Marketing held various opinions, advocating for changes without a clear grasp of the app's core issues.
Time was of the essence—we needed to catch up with the next app update due in just two months.

Balancing Interest

Aligning Perspectives

Meeting Tight Deadlines

PROBLEMS & GOALS

Enhancing App Performance: Strategic Improvements for User Experience

Problems:

The existing version lacked preliminary user research and pre-release testing, resulting in an absence of understanding regarding usability and user satisfaction. The feature adoption was low after the release, prompting marketing to seek enhancements without a clear diagnostic understanding.

Goals:

Identified the root causes of app issues.
Elevated usability and user satisfaction without compromising the user experience through excessive marketing.

Root causes

User satisfaction

RESEARCH & FINDINGS

Usability and Satisfaction Evaluation through Scenario Testing and User Interviews

As I led this initiative, conducting scenario testing and user interviews became pivotal in evaluating the usability and user satisfaction of a feature. When we assessed the feature's usability, I simulated various scenarios encompassing setup, order placement, cycle execution, order modification, and cancellation.
During user interviews, I inquired about critical aspects. These included users' perceptions of the feature's practicality, its areas of value or insignificance, desired enhancements, and preferred methods for articulating the feature.

INSIGHT 1:

60% of users failed to find the option to set up auto-reorder

Task: Setup auto reorder for washer
Assigned answer: Settings > Auto-Reorder

Insight:

9/15 Users first swiped up and down the appliance control page

Analysis:

"auto reorder" under the appliance control page maps users’ metal models better

6/15 Users first went to "Settings" and found "Auto-Reorder"succesfully

"auto reorder" under the "Settings" makes sense to many people

Other Insights:

"If you don't tell me, I wouldn't know that I can set up auto-reorder."
"Saw the term 'auto reorder' but didn't pay much attention to it."

INSIGHT 2:

60% of users were confused when tracker hit reorder point

Task: Manually decrease the pad’s tracker quantity to 20
Assigned answer: "up" and "down" button next to the pad tracker

Insight:

2/15 Users had some hesitated while using the 'up' and 'down' buttons

Analysis:

these "up" and "down" graphics were not part of their phone's native system

9/15 Users mentioned were confused when the tracker hit the reorder point

The text and chart both fail to present whether the system can and when it will automatically reorder.

Other Insights:

"In my mind, it should be plus and minus instead of up and down."
"Could it alert me when the inventory reaches the reorder point? Similar to the gauge for a gas tank!"

INSIGHT 3:

The setup process involved quite a bit of verbose and ambiguous phrasing

Task: Go over each setup page and evaluate the information.
Assigned answer: The user can quickly find the essential information they seek at a glance.

Insight:

4/15 Users experienced some confusion regarding the usage of tabs

Analysis:

Too much background information and complex numerical percentages that many users don't care about.

2/15 Users are seeking clearer information regarding the shipping status of their orders.

The page needs to display accurate shipping dates and highlight the current status.

SCOPING

Collaborative Transformation: Enhancing Whirlpool's User Experience and Feature Visibility

To define a realistic scope, I involved the marketing and engineering teams in observing the study and encouraged their active participation during the interviews. Following this, I held a workshop to spotlight their priorities, swiftly achieving unanimous agreement on the scope.

My key design focuses were:

Enhancing usability by addressing confusing elements in the user experience, making necessary layout adjustments, and primarily revamping interfaces to align with the forthcoming software release.
Thoughtfully promoting the auto-reorder feature, ensuring users can effortlessly discover it without navigating into settings.
Clearly conveying Whirlpool's convenience in providing users with one-click detergent purchases without overwhelming them with sales tactics.

IDEATE

Revamping for a Better App Experience

After diving into research and workshops, I got a clearer picture of what needs a makeover. Here are the three main things:

Add a new path on the appliance control page for users to be aware of Amazon's auto-reorder, alongside the existing 'set up auto-reorder' in settings. Make sure it's not too pushy or annoying when promoting it.
Redesign the detergent pad's tracker.
Redesign the setup pages and only keep the information that matters to users.

Existing IA

New IA - Based on user mental model

INSIGHT 2:

Existing Appliance page

Embed advertisement

Redesign the detergent pad's tracker

Redesign the Setup pages

Problem:
user were confused about tab usage

Problem:

user need more clarity as to when their order is shipping

Solution:
add numbers to the circle and remove percentage descriptions

Solution:
Initial order timing

TESTING & ITERATE

Testing and Refining for User-Centric Excellence

I created a prototype and ran usability testing with the same Scenario and user interview questions used at the beginning of the research phase. By asking the same questions, I can clearly compare whether or not the new design is successful. I also recruited the target users of this app for realistic feedback.

TARGET USER PROFILES:

who are accustomed to operating home appliances through apps and those who regularly use online subscription services.

TASK GOALS:

Increase the auto-reorder feature’s system usability scale by over 90%

awareness of the feature
successful enrollment

feature’s user satisfaction rating by over 80%

Iterate based on the testing result

BEFORE

TESTED

Idea 1

Idea 2

Idea 3

ITERATED

OUTCOME

Small Tweaks, Big Impact

The updates proved to have increased user satisfaction with the auto-reorder feature through user testing. They gently prompted the feature without overwhelming users, while the new visual layout and content maintained clarity and simplicity.

RECAP

Challenges and learnings

Small Tweaks, Big Impact

As a UX designer, I've come to realize that much of our day-to-day work involves making minor design updates. These seemingly small changes, however, lead design teams to discover creative solutions for solving business problems. It's not just about fine-tuning for user experience; it's about continuously challenging ourselves to explore how tiny alterations can create the most significant impact. By meticulously refining each design element, we uncover areas that might seem insignificant but can massively enhance user experience. This attention to detail and pursuit of excellence allows us to continually create pleasantly surprising design solutions, becoming a key factor in driving business success.

Push for user research

The product team was not familiar with user research, I educated the team about the benefit and importance of user research, drove the research process and involved the cross functional teams closely, and proved that research would result in better outcome.