UX Case Study For Trendy Florist App by jabez roberts
App
UX Case Study
Catalog App For Trendy Florist
The project defined in this case study was done as the first project of the Google UX Design course I did on Coursera. It is also the first UX project I’ve done.
Problem Statement
Luka is a husband and father who needs an easy and time-saving way to order flowers and bouquets for his wife and daughter because it’s too frustrating and time-consuming to search every store for the right flower to buy.
Lisa is an executive at a large company that needs to find an easy and effective way to find rare and beautiful flowers to add to her garden. Being able to find the price and availability of these flowers as well as purchase them is considered critical for Lisa.
Introduction
Overview
Happy Flowers is the name of a new and trendy florist shop in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Berkley, California, and Miami Florida. Happy Flowers offers its customers a wide array of flowers for their special events and needs.
The Challenge
Happy Flowers does not have any online presence or the ability to serve its customers online. Its competitors currently profit well from the online flower market. Happy Flowers would like to take the leap and provide an online platform that serves its customers.
The Approach
- Competitor Analysis & Competitive Audits
- Affinity Maps
- User Flows
- Testing
- User Research & User Interviews
- Usability Studies, Insight Identification & Prioritized Insights
Results
An app was developed for Happy Flowers that fulfilled its commercial needs. The app also adequately serves its customers by solving the core customer problems that were discovered during the research phase.
Project Overview
The Problem
Many users would love to purchase flowers in a more convenient way that saves time, allows for the creation of custom orders, the ability to check prices and availability, and even to add a custom note to their orders.
The Goal
The goal of this UX project is to design an app for a trendy florist that allows users to order flowers online, create a custom bouquet, track their orders, check prices and availability, and add a custom note to their orders.
The Product
Design an app for a trendy florist’s catalog.
Project Duration
One month – March 2022 to April 2022
My Role
As this was the first project of my UX Design career undertaken in the Google UX Design Certification the entire project was undertaken by me.
I carried out all areas and duties of the UX Design process.
Responsibilities
- UX Research
- Wireframing
- Prototyping
- Visual Design
- Testing
- Information Architecture
- UX Writing
My UX Design Process
Empathize
Time spent learning about the users we need to provide a solution for such as their pain points, fears, and motivations.
Define
Learn about the market, competition, and other solutions to our users' problems that are currently available.
Ideate
During this phase a solution was proposed based on the information gathered in the previous two steps. The first usability study was done here.
Design
During this stage the information gathered from our first usability study was used to make incremental changes to the lo-fi prototype. It was then converted to a hi-fi prototype.
Implement
During this phase, we tested our hi-fi prototype in a second usability study to ensure that the app was ready for production and the market. Minor changes were made.
Evaluate
During this phase an evaluation of the entire UX Design process was done with feedback from users taken into consideration to evaluate the success of the project.
Understanding The User
User Research Summary
The research was conducted by using social media to connect with and interview users who frequented floral pages for businesses.
The assumption was made going into the interview that users would like to have an app to view flowers available in store to be able to decide if they would like to purchase a specific flower.
The research, however, found that users would not only love to view flowers online but customize bouquets and order them.
There were quite a few who would also love to have their orders delivered with a special note.
Product Users
Our users are male and female people between the ages of 18 and 75 who frequently visit flower shops and buy flowers.
The Goal
The goal of this UX project is to design an app for a trendy florist that allows users to order flowers online, create a custom bouquet, track their orders, check prices and availability, and add a custom note to their orders.
User Pain Points
Pain Point 1
A lack of functional online platforms where users can view and order flowers online or create a custom bouquet for purchase.
Pain Point 2
Inability to order and deliver their favorite flowers from their favorite stores by using digital media from the comfort of their homes.
Pain Point 3
Unable to learn when flowers they like or are interested in having are in stock to allow them to purchase before orders run out.
Pain Point 4
Inability to place special orders for flowers that suppliers don’t have. This pain point leads to users being unable to acquire new and rare types of flowers to suit their tastes.
User Needs
- Users need an easy and convenient way to order flowers and bouquets without the need to visit each physical store
- Users need a way to easily check the price and availability of flowers and bouquets
- Users need to be able to create a customized bouquet according to their tastes that is made up of assorted flowers they like
- Users need to be able to add a special personalized note to their orders of flowers or bouquets
User Personas
Age: 28 to 75
Education: College Graduate
Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Family: Spouse, Children
Goals:
- Be the best husband and father to his wife and children
- Show his daughters how they are to be treated by their husbands by treating his wife special
- Tend to his wife’s love for flowers and love language for gifts and acts of service
Frustrations:
- There are no current apps to order flowers online
- Has to call several places to find the fresh flowers he needs
- Limited function on the website prevents him from being able to create a custom bouquet and note
User Story
Luka is a father of two beautiful children and husband to his beautiful wife, Sara.
During the day, Luka spends his time as a Software Engineer in one of the top financial companies in Pennsylvania and New York. Luka loves his wife and two daughters very much and occasionally takes home flowers and chocolates for them as a surprise gift.
He loves being able to pick out and purchase a freshly cut flower online while at work and pick it up on his way home.
However, he finds current platforms do not allow custom notes to be added to orders, don’t give helpful information about flowers for special events, are unable to make a bouquet online, and most flower shops don’t have an online presence.
Age: 23 to 75
Education: Highschool Graduate
Hometown: Hershey, Pennsylvania
Family: Husband, Children
Goals:
- Plant the most beautiful home garden in Hershey
- Would love to see flowers before she buys them to decide if they fit her garden
- Collect rare and beautiful flowers in one garden
Frustrations:
- Unable to find rare flowers easily
- Unable to order flowers that are fresh and easy to grow
- Unable to view HD photos of flowers on websites she’s interested in
User Story
Lisa is an executive of one of Hershey’s subsidiaries and spends a lot of time at work in a high-stress environment.
She likes to garden to refresh from her hectic workdays and has managed to plant a beautiful garden during her time.
Lisa loves to plant rare flowers with assorted colors and even spends over $100 per plant.
She loves the complements her garden brings her and would love to keep planting rare and beautiful, hard-to-get flowers to improve her garden’s aesthetics but faces a challenge in finding the flowers she wants due to a lack of proper technology and platforms that lists flowers.
Currently available platforms do not allow her to order flowers to plant or order freshly cut ones either. She would like a platform that allows her to order flowers she can replant.
User Journey Map
| Action | Research Online For Beautiful Flowers | Call Local Stores To Check Availability | Visit Local Stores To Place Order | Wait For Order | Confirm Order And Add Personal Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Task List |
A. Go to Google and look for different types of flowers
B. Read blogs and other articles for best flowers to buy for his wife C. Look up high definition pictures of flowers he think his wife might like |
A. Call local stores to ask if flower choice is available B. Get price of flowers from local stores C. Find out how fresh flowers are at each location they are available |
A. Go to local stores to place order B. Wait in traffic to be able to get to store C. Wait in line to be able to place order |
A. Stand in store while waiting for order to be ready B. Find a comfortable place in store to wait for order to be prepared C. Listen for order number to be called to pick up delivery from clerk |
A. Receive order from clerk B. Check quality of flowers and their freshness C. Buy and write a personal note for his wife to add to the flowers |
|
Feeling Adjective |
Anxious to find a flower for his wife Uncertain that he’s found all the best options to choose from |
Worried he might be buying flowers that are old Concerned that different locations might offer a better price |
Impatient because of traffic jams Anxious because traffic might prevent him from being able to get flowers that are in low stock |
Anxious to be waiting extended period for order Tired of standing or sitting around and not spending time with his family after work Provide pings, flashes, vibrations, and other notifications for users with disabilities |
Excited to be receiving flowers after a long wait Focused on confirming the order is right Happy to write and add a personal note but disappointed to have to buy the note somewhere else |
|
Improvement Opportunities |
Allow users to learn which flower is good for which event Allow users to find new flowers directly from the app Allow screen readers for people with disability Add alt text to images and screen readers for persons with disabilities |
Show price comparisons with the same flower being sold at different places Show freshness meter of each flower Show availability of flower at each store Voice search for users with disabilities |
Provide online ordering of flowers Allow customers to learn if items are in low stock Allow customers to have orders delivered Allow interface to be accessed with one hand or audio/visual impairment |
Online order tracking functionality Delivery of orders placed online |
Allow orders to be customized with a personal note Allow customers to check their order status online before delivery and before confirming order is delivered Add alt text to images and screen readers for persons with disabilities |
Paper Wireframes
Usability Study
I conducted two rounds of usability study. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframe to mockups.
The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the prototype needed refining.
Both usability studies included questionnaires to qualify participants as potential flower-buying customers.
The usability study included several tasks that needed to be completed by participants. The tasks were to be recorded by the participants as they completed them remotely in the comfort of their homes with an effort made to verbalize as best as possible their thoughts and reactions while completing the tasks.
Participants ranged from the ages of 18 to 75, were frequent flower buyers, and lived across the world.
Round 1 Findings
During the first usability study, we learned that users wanted an easier way to re-order an old order. They also wanted a way to select which of their orders they’d like to add a note.
These changes were made and functionality was added to the Order History screen.
- Users found the process to add a note to a completed order difficult.
Users needed an order summary screen with their order details before completing their orders.
Users found the process of reordering an already completed order difficult
Before Usability Study
After Usability Study
Round 2 Findings
The previous design did not allow users to create a new bouquet easily as users had to go through up to 4 steps to carry out this function. It was also limited in function as there was no clear way to delete an already made bouquet.
We added the ability to add a flower to a bouquet and create a bouquet from anywhere in the app’s shop or catalog. We solved the navigating away effect users complained about by adding an overlay animation to add flowers to a bouquet.
This gave users the impression of a new screen and step being opened to do this function while staying on the page they are adding the flower to the bouquet.
Users needed an easier way to create a new bouquet
Before Usability Study
After Usability Study- Step 1
After Usability Study - Step 2
Accessibility Considerations
Interaction Design
We were sure to allow users to have the effect of creating a new bouquet or being able to add flowers to an existing bouquet without leaving the flower screen’ by using an overlay animation for the bouquet creation screen.
Interaction Design
We were sure to use proper animation times to keep users engaged as they used the app and navigate from screen to screen.
Ease of Navigation
Care was taken to ensure that users had an easy time carrying out major functions by allowing multiple paths to do the same task as well as following the most intuitive and easy-to-understand flow.
What I've Learned
What I learned:
I’ve learned that what I initially thought was a simple project with a few screens and basic functionality was the result of my own inexperience. As I delved into the design process and learned more about the users and their needs to project developed into something more powerful and impactful than I initially thought it could be.
Next Steps
More Diverse Product Testing
Improve the accessibility of the product by testing with more people with disabilities.
Added Functionality
Add a screen where users can view more pictures of the flowers they are interested in, view prices, color availability, and similar flowers.
Equitability & Usability Improvement
Add Artificial Intelligence technology that will recommend flowers to users that they or their recipients might like based on the actions of other users like them.
Let's Connect!
I am open to more projects in the field of UX Design with an added interest in Product Design, UX Generalist, UX Research, UX Visual & Interaction Design, and UX Writing.
Let us talk more about your next project and how I may bring value to your company and team. I can be contacted at www.jabezroberts.com/contact or info@jabezroberts.com.