Appointments App: Store Availability and Scheduling New Feature
Inclusion of the "Store Availability and Scheduling" new feature in the Appointments App proved to be a learning experience despite its ultimate lack of success. While the concept appeared promising initially, thorough research, testing, and interviews revealed its impracticality. Despite reservations expressed during the development process, the client's insistence led to the feature's implementation. Unfortunately, the outcome validated the initial concerns, as the feature went largely unused by both the client and other users who did not sign up for it. This experience serves as a valuable lesson in the importance of aligning features with user needs and the challenges of implementing functionalities that may not resonate with the target audience.
Role
Primary Product Designer, Researcher, Content Designer
Impacted Brands
Chanel
My Responsibilities
- Research and Discovery
- User journey refinement
- Ideation and Conceptualization
- Prototyping and Testing
- Visual and Interaction Design (iOS)
- Design Handoff
Team
x1 Product Manager
x2 iOS Developer
x1 Backend Developer
x1 Retail Excellence
Timeline
Discovery: July - Aug 2021
Design, Development, Testing: Aug - Dec 2021
BACKGROUND
The addition of associate scheduling and availability to the Appointments App used by store associates holds significant potential for enhancing operational efficiency and customer service.
During this project, I was the Product Designer responsible for the Appointments app under the Connect pillar at Tulip.
What is the Tulip Appointments App?
As the name indicates, Associates and their managers can view all appointments in one place, plan for them, and easily track no-shows and booking changes.
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It automatically connects the customer with the associate with the right expertise.
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Reduce no-shows by using automated confirmation and follow-up communications
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Also by letting customers cancel or reschedule directly from their confirmation messages.
What is adding the Associate Scheduling and Availability Feature on the Appointments App? why is it so significant?
The Associate Scheduling and Availability feature was not originally part of the planned MVP or future enhancements for the Appointments App. It emerged as a client-requested addition. This underscores the dynamic nature of product development, where client input and evolving needs can introduce new features not initially envisioned. While the feature wasn't originally on the roadmap, its incorporation highlights the responsiveness of the product team to client requests and the flexibility of the Appointments App to adapt to changing requirements. The experience emphasizes the importance of being agile and receptive to client feedback in the iterative process of product development. This feature could provide a centralized platform for managing and communicating schedules, streamlining the coordination of appointments, and optimizing workforce management.
Snapshot of the Appointments App
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Research Methods Employed:
1. Discovery Session:
Conducted a discovery session to initiate the research process, gaining a broad understanding of the challenges and goals associated with the Scheduling and Availability feature.
2. Client Interview - Retailer Requesting the Feature:
Engaged in a detailed interview with the retailer actively seeking the new feature. Explored their specific needs, pain points, and expectations surrounding the scheduling platform they were currently using.
3. In-depth Retailer Workflow Analysis:
Analyzed the existing workflows and pain points of two of our most engaged retailers, delving into the practical challenges faced while scheduling associates.
Understanding the Current Experience - Key Findings:
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The client is currently using a platform called Brickwork to manage associate availability and scheduling.
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They can add new users and check off availability one by one, on a weekly basis.
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Manual process of scheduling associates with particular skillset and service capabilities they can also set special store hours (after hours, special occasions, VIP events)
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System cannot automatically make associates available during particular store appointments slots.
Snapshots of the scheduling software that the client was using at the time.
THE PROBLEM
Sales managers face operational constraints related to associate scheduling. The current platform allows manual addition of new users and checking of weekly availability, scheduling associates with specific skillsets is a cumbersome manual process. The platform lacks automation for making associates available during store appointment slots, leading to inefficiencies in aligning staff with appointment demands. These constraints impact the sales managers' ability to optimize resource allocation and streamline the associate management process.
COMPETATIVE ANALYSIS
During our comprehensive research, we explored various scheduling software options to identify the most suitable solution for our needs. We compared industry-leading scheduling tools to evaluate their features and capabilities.
Purpose
Serves the purpose of optimizing staff allocation, enhancing the customer experience through personalized service, providing flexible scheduling for employees, optimizing workforce productivity, adapting to specific business needs, facilitating real-time communication, supporting data-driven decision-making, and contributing to overall operational efficiency in a retail or service setting.
This feature ensures that the right associates are scheduled based on availability, skills, and business requirements, leading to a more efficient and customer-centric appointment process.
Design Goals
Enhancing customer experience by creating a seamless and luxurious scheduling experience for customers that reflects the premium nature of the brand. Offering personalization and customization for the store managers enabling them to customize the availability of their staff based on skills, expertise, and personalized service offerings.
Nice to have: ensuring a tailored experience by matching customers with associates who meet specific criteria, enhancing the personal touch. Optimizing staff allocation by considering factors such as associate skills, language proficiency, and customer preferences.
Challenges
Successfully introducing a new feature in a SaaS context hinges on meticulous problem validation and a strategic feature strategy. Recognizing its impact on existing users is paramount, requiring a thorough assessment of how the feature aligns with various clients and their needs. Actively involving core users throughout the discovering and shaping process ensures the feature resonates with their preferences, fostering adoption and satisfaction.
Equally crucial is a transparent communication strategy that conveys the feature's benefits and aligns it with the overall product vision. This is crucial to save time and resources and cultivate a positive user experience and maximize the feature's success.
PERSONA
Who are we designing for?
The luxury store manager, the primary user of the associate scheduling and availability feature, embodies qualities of leadership and a deep understanding of the luxury retail landscape. Their role focuses on orchestrating exceptional customer experiences and maintaining brand integrity.
Luxury store managers are seasoned leaders in high-end retail, known for their careful attention to detail and commitment to delivering exceptional customer service. They play a crucial role in curating personalized shopping experiences and maintaining the impeccable image of the brand. With a focus on efficiency and adaptability, these managers ensure smooth operations and create a premium shopping environment that aligns with the elevated standards of the luxury retail sector.
Hypothesis, Use Cases and Business Opportunities
The feature could serve as a versatile tool for luxury store managers, allowing them to efficiently allocate staff based on skills, language proficiency, personalize service during special events, make real-time adaptations to schedules, and utilize data-driven insights for strategic decision-making. The feature's mobile responsiveness further empowers managers to stay connected and ensures seamless operations in delivering premium customer service within the luxury retail setting.
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Efficient Staff Allocation
Luxury store managers could utilize the feature to efficiently allocate associates based on their skills, language proficiency, and customer service capabilities, ensuring a tailored and premium shopping experience for clients.
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Personalized Service Enhancement
The feature would enable managers to customize associates' availability, considering special events, VIP occasions, and store promotions. This personalization would ensure that associates with specific expertise are available during critical business moments, enhancing the overall customer experience.
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Real-time Adaptations
Luxury store managers can make real-time adjustments to associate schedules, accommodating sudden changes in demand or unexpected events. This flexibility ensures that the store is adequately staffed to meet customer needs promptly.
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Mobile Responsiveness
With a focus on managing schedules on-the-go, luxury store managers benefit from the feature's mobile responsiveness. This allows them to stay connected and make timely adjustments, contributing to the seamless operation of the store.
When designing a feature for core product with numerous impacted users and clients, extensive research and planning is required. This approach should aim to not only meet the specific requirements of the request but to also enhance the overall usability and value proposition for a broader user base.
Implementing a major feature like the associate scheduling and availability, that was requested by a high-profile client with firm requirements, required a lot of research and strategic planning. Given the potential impact on numerous clients of the Appointments app, careful consideration was given to feature positioning and strategy to ensure alignment with diverse user needs and expectations. This approach aimed to not only meet the specific requirements of the client but also enhance the overall usability and value proposition for a broader user base. The implementation process focused on creating a feature that seamlessly integrated into the existing app infrastructure while delivering a sophisticated solution tailored to the unique demands of luxury store managers.
Solution Ideation Workshop
Participants
Product Designer (me), Product Manager, Customer Success Team, Retail Excellence VP and Team
I prepared a series of questions for discussion. While addressing the expectations of a high-profile client is crucial, prioritizing the overall product direction and avoiding disruptions to our roadmap is of greater importance. It was essential to ensure that any feature we design and implement aligns with the broader user base and contributes positively to the product's trajectory. These questions aimed to critically assess the viability and uniqueness of the proposed feature in comparison to existing solutions, as well as explore the potential benefits of integrating external tools into our appointments app.
The outcome of our discussion highlighted a collective realization that implementing such an extensive feature within our core product might not be a prudent decision.
We acknowledged that it would consume a significant portion of our roadmap, potentially causing delays to other crucial features that had already been committed.
Furthermore, the team recognized that while the proposed feature could offer substantial value to retailers, the impact might not be immediate, potentially resulting in a temporary drop in sales. Despite these considerations, we found ourselves committed to showcasing preliminary designs to our client. This presented an additional challenge as the client insisted on mirroring the user experience of their existing platform, which raised concerns about constraining innovation and replicating a design with known issues. The ensuing discussions aimed at finding a balanced approach that satisfied the client's expectations while preserving the integrity of our product's user experience and long-term roadmap.
However, we took proactive steps to address the complexities of implementing the extensive feature. Despite the commitment to showcase preliminary designs to our client, we recognized the importance of seeking feedback from our user community. To ensure a well-informed decision, we extended the process by presenting the designs to a select group of our most engaged clients and sought their votes.
Additionally, we opted to leverage the testing capabilities of UserTesting to objectively evaluate the user experience of the proposed designs. This comprehensive approach aimed to gather diverse perspectives and insights, helping us make an informed decision that balanced client expectations with the broader user base and product roadmap considerations.
Features and Design Solution
Given our prior commitment to showcase designs to our high-profile client, I had to multitask, simultaneously crafting designs while orchestrating Solution Ideation Workshops and reevaluating the entire feature. Managing client expectations and diplomatically challenging their suggestions presented an added layer of complexity. Crucially, I needed to artfully communicate the idea that replicating designs from an already problematic user experience in a core product would not be a prudent course of action.
User Testing and Research Report
In partnership with the UX researcher on our team, we coordinated and executed an Unmoderated testing session, subsequently compiling a comprehensive research report.
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Test Date
December 20
2021
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Testing Method
Unmoderated remote user testing post design with UserZoom
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Participant demographics
Full time assistant store managers and store managers in luxury, premium and fashion and lifestyle, 1-5 years experience
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Prototype
In order to validate my app solution, I conducted a round of usability tests with 5 participants who represented our target users. They completed a series of 4 tasks that covered the primary user flows, with an over 80% and 100% success rate.
I found some opportunities for improvement: Specifically, insights from users' preferences for app/mobile usage over desktop informed decisions to prioritize mobile-friendly features and interfaces. The study's findings allowed me to tailor the UI to better accommodate users' expectations and preferences, contributing to an improved and more user-friendly design.
While the features demonstrated significant potential, it became evident that our product had not reached a point where these additions were essential.
The designs were updated as per the testing results and were presented to four of our most engaged clients, who had recently acquired the Appointments App. Despite their active participation in the discussion and the design presentation — all four clients expressed contentment with their existing scheduling tools and conveyed that they would not be utilizing the newly proposed features. This collective feedback served as a clear confirmation for me, the Product Manager, and the Retail Excellence team that moving forward with the introduced features was unnecessary at the that stage.
Despite this realization, a challenge arose when the client insisted on receiving the features. As a result, we had to reassess our roadmap to accommodate their request, diverting resources and time towards the development of features that, based on client feedback, might not have been immediately necessary for our broader user base.
Navigating this situation required a delicate balance between maintaining client satisfaction and strategic product development. The decision to pivot the roadmap, while accommodating the client's wishes, posed challenges as it diverted resources from other potentially more critical areas of product improvement. This experience underscored the intricate interplay between client expectations, product development priorities, and the need for flexibility in responding to unexpected client demands.
Final Design Solution and Features
Associate Availability | Regular Store Hours | Special Store Hours
At the client's request, we designed, tested, and implemented all the requested features. However, their usage turned out to be unsuccessful even by the retailer who requested the feature, primarily due to several factors:
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Lack of Proper Training: Managers were not adequately trained to use the features, and as a result, they didn't give the new functionality a fair chance.
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Immaturity of Features: The features weren't sufficiently mature to address all the challenges faced by the managers, contributing to their lack of adoption.
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Unsuited Platform: The Appointments App, as it turned out, wasn't the ideal platform for these features. They didn't seamlessly integrate or serve the intended purpose within the existing application.
Learnings:
By carefully managing client expectations, fostering open communication, and incorporating lessons learned into the product development process, you can strike a balance between meeting individual client needs and maintaining the integrity of the SaaS product for the broader user base.
User-Centric Approach:
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Prioritize a user-centric approach when developing features to ensure that enhancements benefit the majority of users.
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Avoid customizations that may hinder the overall usability for the sake of a single client.
Thorough Impact Assessment:
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Conduct a thorough impact assessment before implementing features that could affect multiple users.
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Consider potential conflicts with existing functionalities and assess the scalability of the solution.
Client Collaboration:
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Collaborate closely with clients but maintain a balance to ensure that their requests align with the product's long-term vision.
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Encourage client involvement in beta testing or pilot programs to gather broader feedback.
Clear Product Roadmap:
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Maintain a clear product roadmap and vision, ensuring that all features align with the strategic goals of the SaaS product.
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Communicate the roadmap to clients to set expectations regarding future developments.
Prioritize Training and Onboarding:
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Ensure that clients and users are adequately trained and onboarded to new features to maximize their effectiveness.
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Provide ongoing support and resources to assist users in adapting to changes.