Created a new design to more easily configure industrial components online
The Challenge
Headquartered in Japan, my client delivers precision machine parts, tools, and protective equipment to engineers in a variety of industries, including automotive, medical equipment, consumer packaging, and more.
The client knew that customers were finding it difficult to configure engineering parts on their website. They needed a redesign to allow users to easily locate and customize specific components from their catalog of 80 sextillion possibilities.
The Process
This design initiative built on our past research with customers to design two notably different initial concepts. I also designed several new home page layouts which better aligned with users’ goals on the site. I used Axure to bring these concepts to life and tested them with current customers.
I then iterated on the winning design to incorporate improvements gleaned from testing. I shared the final prototype with designers and executives, who were pleased with my user-centric design recommendations.
The Impact
The prototype successfully illustrated the promise of a new approach to complex filtering interactions. My client is proceeding with plans to implement this recommended approach to part configuration.
My suggestion to highlight product categories on the home page has already been incorporated and is helping customers reach their desired parts more quickly and intuitively.
My Value
My client was impressed with my commitment to understanding business needs as well as user needs. We worked closely with the client throughout this design initiative, responding adeptly to their suggestions and concerns.
My prior testing with customers was a huge advantage because I was familiar with users’ needs and goals right from the start. My prototyping skills enabled us to illustrate several very complicated processes in a realistic manner and helped stakeholders see the benefits of the new design.
Reflection
It was great to have the previous rounds of research to ground the design initiative and a round of usability testing to compare the design proposals. It would have amazing to continue iterating on the design and address the pain points identified in testing.