Mock-up of new Ocado Apple Watch App.
Hi-Fidelity mock-up of the Shopping Basket.
New "swiping" mechanism for purchasing items.
Background
Ocado, a major online grocery retailer, had released an Apple Watch app with limited functionality. The app was developed without user testing, resulting in poor user feedback and missed opportunities in the emerging smartwatch market. As part of my MSc in Human-Computer Interaction, I identified this as an opportunity to demonstrate the value of user-centered design in product development.
The Ocado blog where the design team admit there was no user research in making the app.
"There was a lot of educated guesswork in trying to imagine the best use cases for the Apple Watch".
What's really exciting is that we still don't know how users will take to shopping on their watch".
"We're looking forward to hearing from customers about what they want, and seeing where we can take it next"
Ocado Blog, April 2015
Task
My objective was to conduct a comprehensive redesign of the Ocado Apple Watch app, addressing the following challenges:
1. Identify and prioritise key features desired by users for a smartwatch shopping experience
2. Improve the app's performance and usability within the constraints of the Apple Watch platform
3. Design an innovative and intuitive interface for grocery shopping on a small screen
4. Create a compelling case study demonstrating my product management and UX design skills
Action
1. User Research
• Conducted a focus group with eight participants who regularly use online shopping services.
• Asked participants to identify their top five desired features for an Apple Watch shopping app.
Results of Focus Group reveal where desired features are missing.
• Facilitated a think-aloud session as participants reviewed the existing Ocado app.
• Performed thematic analysis on the gathered data to identify key pain points and opportunities.
Post-It Notes from the focus group (recreation).
The App Re-Design
Informed by the focus group, my main design decisions were:
• No pictures of the items, as they take too long to load from the user's phone, severely slowing down the user's shopping experience.
• "Quick Shops", and adding to existing shops was made a priority.
• A more impactful Home Page would be created, with additional notification symbols, so the information most likely needed is on the Home page.
• A new and more fun shopping mechanism would be designed.
Site Map of the Ocado Apple Watch App.
Design ideas for new swiping mechanism.
2. Problem Analysis
• Mapped the existing app's structure and user flow.
• Identified areas where desired features were missing or poorly implemented.
• Analysed performance issues, particularly related to image loading times.
3. Design Conceptualisation
• Sketched initial ideas for a new interface, inspired by user feedback.
• Inspired by the "Tinder" remark, developed a novel "swiping" mechanism - left buys one item, up/increases down/decreases, swiping right cancels. (Note how subsequent research revealed that on the Tinder app swiping right means "yes", so for consistency of gesture that changed in the next design stage).
• Created low-fidelity wireframes to explore different layouts and feature placements.
Swipe right to add to basket.
Swipe left to remove from basket.
Swipe up to increase number of items.
Swipe down to decrease number of items.
4. Prototyping and Iteration
• Developed high-fidelity mock-ups using Apple Keynote, focusing on:
• An informative main menu displaying basket and delivery information.
• A colour-coded basket view for easy item management.
• A streamlined scheduler for delivery slot selection.
• Iterated on the design based on informal feedback from original focus group participants.
Main Menu.
Removing items directly in the Basket.
Choosing delivery date.
Choosing delivery slot.
5. Documentation and Presentation
• Compiled a comprehensive case study outlining the research process, design decisions, and final concepts
• Created a portfolio poster showcasing my skills in user research, problem-solving, and product design
RESULT
While this was a spec project and not implemented by Ocado, the redesign process yielded several significant outcomes:
User-Centric Feature Set
The redesigned app concept prioritized features most desired by users, including quick shops, easy basket management, and efficient delivery scheduling.
Innovative Interface Design
The swipe-based shopping mechanism (right to add, left to remove, up/down for quantity) offered an intuitive and efficient way to shop on a small screen.
Performance Optimisation
By removing item images and focusing on essential information, the proposed design addressed the slow loading times of the original app.
Enhanced Information Architecture
The redesigned home screen and color-coded basket provided users with glanceable, actionable information, improving the overall user experience.
Demonstration of Product Management Skills
This project showcased my ability to:
• Identify market opportunities and product shortcomings
• Conduct effective user research to inform product decisions
• Develop innovative solutions within technical constraints
• Balance user needs with business objectives
• Create high-fidelity prototypes to communicate product vision
This project, although speculative, illustrates my capacity to lead product redesigns that significantly enhance user experience and potentially drive user adoption and satisfaction. It demonstrates my holistic approach to product management, combining user research, technical understanding, and creative problem-solving to deliver impactful solutions.
END