Background

We were tasked with creating a roadmap for the groceries domain in 2022, focusing on delivering a lovable experience. We had just over a month to complete this task, which was later presented to all groceries stakeholders and C-level executives.

My role

I was the design lead for this project, working with one intermediate and one senior designer. I had support from three product managers, UX researchers, and product analysts. As the main point of contact, I was responsible for defining the direction the team should take. 

Goals

  • Create a roadmap for the groceries 2022 domain based on a lovable experience

  • Highlight core optimisations

  • C-level support in unblocking dependencies

  • Global groceries alignment for pandora.

 
 
 
 

Defining the approach – Changing the way we think

Traditionally, the company’s decisions are based on OKRs, focusing on moving specific metrics. This often results in a 'tolerable experience' due to time constraints and a lack of understanding from the user’s perspective. For this initiative, we wanted to take a different approach. We aimed to view the 2022 roadmap through the lens of user experience, especially given the saturation of grocery delivery platforms in the market. Our goal was to create a 'lovable experience,' centering more on the user and their goals. By doing so, we would develop a more competitive product that delights users.

To address the concept of a lovable experience, we referred to our foundational grocery research—conducted by the user research team to understand how users shop for groceries. From this research, we identified three common user types:

  • Inconvenience / impromptu

  • Top-up / inspirational

  • Restock

Given the time constraints, we decided to focus on the 'inconvenience / impromptu' case, as it was the most common use case for our grocery product.

To help the team empathize with users, we introduced the concept of Critical User Journeys (CUJs). This approach, rather than using traditional personas, enables us to better understand the user's situation, state of mind, and goals, allowing us to create a more lovable experience.

Based on the users interviewed for the foundational research, we created a CUJ and persona: Jeff.

 

Jeff - The critical user journey

 
 
 

How we used Jeff

With Jeff’s Critical User Journey (CUJ), we were able to put ourselves in his shoes and run through the app as he would, to solve his tasks. We then identified any pain points within his journey. Our evaluation was based on UX heuristics, user research, and product analytics data.

After identifying the pain points, we organized and grouped them, then ranked them by severity based on how disruptive they would be for Jeff. To do this, we measured each pain point against what Jeff values most—values gathered for his user type from the foundational research. His top priorities were time, accuracy, and finding all his products. We prioritized issues that had the greatest impact on these three values to ensure we created a lovable experience.

 
 
 
 

Ideating

After identifying and prioritizing Jeff's pain points, we began ideating solutions. I encouraged the designers and UX researchers to independently brainstorm and sketch their ideas before reconvening as a group. My goal was to inspire more unrestricted, creative thinking.

Once we gathered all the designs, we combined and refined them, making iterative modifications as we worked toward the final designs. Throughout the process, we shared our progress with key stakeholders and collaborated with the data and UX research teams to gather feedback.

 
 
 
 

Final designs - Quick peek

 
 

End results

All stakeholders appreciated the improvements and the approach we took. As a result, we gained additional squads and expanded the scope within the groceries domain to further advance the concepts. The CUJ and 'lovable experience' approach is now being adopted by other squads and tribes across the Pandora umbrella.

Additionally, several key experiments based on this project have already been prioritized and implemented.

Full presentation is available during in-person / video only due to sensitive information.