UX CASE STUDY
User Research for
Floral Arrangement Preview App
Overview
THE PRODUCT
Poppy & Daisy is a trendy florist with multiple locations in urban areas. They aim to provide fresh, on-trend floral arrangements for a variety of occasions. Their target customers are busy professionals who order flowers for personal or work occasions.
PROJECT DURATION
July 2021 – October 2021
The Problem
When ordering flowers for delivery, customers don’t always have confidence in what their recipient will receive and when they will receive it.
The Goal
Design an app for Poppy & Daisy that offers users an easy way to order flowers and to ensure their quality and timely delivery.
MY ROLE
UX designer from conception to delivery
RESPONSIBILITIES
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
User research
SUMMARY
I conducted interviews to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research was individuals who order for special occasions for their friends and loved ones, yet experience frustrations with ordering online.
This user group confirmed initial assumptions about the discrepancy between product photos and what is actually delivered to the recipient. Additional user research also revealed similar frustrations regarding marketing practices related to photos and pricing, as well as anxiety regarding delivery to recipients. Interesting discussions also occurred regarding the experience of ordering in person at a florist brick and mortar location, and the benefits and confidence they had in the product when doing so.
Pain Points
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Photos
Users prefer to see exactly what they are ordering just like any other product purchased online.
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Price & Value
Users want to get the most for their money — products that make a statement and don’t look “cheap.”
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Delivery
Delivery times aren’t specific and customers aren’t sure when the recipient will be home.
Persona
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Dan is a busy professional who needs an easy way to order flowers and have them delivered because he wants to make his loved ones happy.
User Journey Map
Mapping Dan’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to have a dedicated Floral arrangement preview app.
Paper Wireframes
Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized easy access to shopping categories, large product photography, and the help feature for questions and order follow up.
Stars were used to mark the elements of each sketch that would be used in the initial digital wireframes.
Digital Wireframes
As the initial design phase continued, screen designs were based on feedback and findings from user research.
Order confirmation page includes a status bar so users can follow along with the progress of their order and know when it has been delivered.
Low-fidelity prototype
The low-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of selecting and ordering a floral arrangement so the prototype could be used in the usability study.
View the Poppy & Daisy Low-fidelity prototype
Usability study:
Findings
I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.
ROUND 1 FINDINGS
Users need a clear starting place to begin selecting an arrangement
Users would like the ability to customize orders
Users would benefit from the ability to get help or ask a question
ROUND 2 FINDINGS
A filter/search feature would make selecting an arrangement easier
Users would like to shop by occasions or for seasonal products
Users accessed the Help section from the side menu more often than the Floating Action Button
Mockups
Early designs showed options for customizing an order. After usability studies, I added a more dynamic method for selecting, viewing and adding custom options to an order.
The second usability study revealed that even though users could find Help using the side menu, the need to make the Help icon FAB more visible was apparent. The icon was changed to use a high-contrast color.
High-fidelity prototype
The final high-fidelity prototype presented additional user flows for customizing products and accessing the Help screen. It also added options to make shopping easier, such as search and filter functions.
View the Poppy & Daisy High-fidelity Prototype
Accessibility Considerations
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Voice to Text
Search bars have voice to text feature
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Icons
Used high-contrast icons to help make navigation easier
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Imagery
Used detailed imagery for floral arrangements (flowers and colors) to help all users better understand the product they are ordering
Takeaways
Impact:
This app makes users feel like Poppy & Daisy really thinks about how to meet their needs by offering an easy-to-use way to order flowers and increased confidence in quality and delivery.
What I learned:
While designing the Poppy & Daisy app, I learned how to address customer pain points by finding solutions that directly addressed their needs. Usability studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the design.
"I think overall it's a great app. It's very easy to use and if I had to order flowers for someone I would likely come back and use it because it's easy!"
— Quote from study participant
Next Steps
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1.
Build out more features related to order follow up and delivery notifications to ensure overall customer satisfaction and increased loyalty.
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2.
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed.
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3.
Conduct additional user research to determine any new areas of need.