Who is Pickups?

Pickups Technologies is a new online platform that connects people with businesses. Leveraging its neighbor network, Pickups provides fast fulfillment and delivery of online orders by creating micro-distribution centers everywhere Pickups is offered. Order fulfillment will be accomplished by the "neighbor", or user, receiving a set quantity of inventory, packaging up orders and handing it to a delivery system to be delivered to its final destination.

The Ask

How might we create an app, for Pickups neighbors, that allows them to use their homes as micro-distribution centers so that they can earn extra income?

Understanding the Pickups Process

The process of successfully running a micro-distrubtion center is long and complex, so we created a logistics flow to understand the process for ourselves and how to best guide the user through it. The logistics flow illustrates the process from the arrival of goods at a port to the delivery of an order into the hands of a shopper through the Pickups experience. On the right side are the logistical steps and on the left are points at which the user will be interacting with the app.

Exploring the Competition

With the newly defined set of metrics, I started to explore various designs and architecture for how to best organize the metrics while also keeping in mind existing patterns across Studio. After establishing a layout throughout design reviews, I began to add more details and real data to further develop the designs.

Our Competitors

so we need to provide...

lacked user guidance on their platforms

a robust support system for the user.

enforced rigourous training for their crew to ensure reliability and accountability

a high level of guidance for the users to carry out requests seamlessly.

do not utilize “freelance” workers

flexibility for a diverse user population

Adapting the Design Process

The next step would normally have been user testing, in the form of user interviews, but it was important for us to stay agile and evaluate the best plan of action for the project. We recognized that the app is meant to serve a core function, conducting a micro-distribution center by logging inventory and fulfilling orders. We were designing a user experience to fulfill these tasks, we were not validating the concept of the app function.

To move forward, we needed to establish an initial standard for the user experience of navigating through the micro-distribution process. Unfortunately, Pickups did not have an existing app to evaluate this. So, we decided to create a low fidelity prototype with the bare functionality and test it to direct us in our design. We weren't doing this to satisfy an enthusiastic client, but to best uncover user needs and pain points, and guide us through a successful design.

Establishing an Initial Standard

To establish an initial standard of the user's experience conducting a micro-distribution center, 5 users were tested and tasked with signing up for an account, taking inventory, fulfilling an order and checking their earnings. From our testing, we recognized how the logistics process can be convoluted for some users and we needed to streamline the process of accepting inventory and order requests, making the micro-distrubtion process seamless.

Defining the Problem

While our client simply wanted an app for a pickups neighbor to log inventory and fulfill orders, armed with insights from testing, we recognized the problem that could arise when a diverse group of people, from all backgrounds, are tasked with understanding a complex logistics process and distribution business. So, we devised the following problem statement to focus us through further designing a solution.

"Pickups neighbors need a platform to aid them in effortlessly managing an efficient micro-distribution center to earn more and stay motivated"

Organizing the Solution

We created an app map to fully organize the navigation.

Wireframing the Solution

We included features to...

• streamline the process of accepting inventory and order requests.
• provide the user with easy learning methods.
• incentivize and motivate the user to continue running their micro-distribution business.
• give more clarity to users of the micro-distribution process.
• provide more information about pay and rewards.
• add flexibility in availability

Onboarding screens were added to clearly explain the Pickups process and dispel any confusion users would have, especially those who were already familiar with Pickups’ former business model

• Notifications can be seen at the top of the home screen for easy access to requests for quicker fulfillment
• Earnings are front and center to motivate users
• Upcoming orders can be viewed so users can easily keep track of their orders to be fulfilled

More information about incoming inventory was added for the user to see before accepting the request to increase transparency so the user can make a more informed decision

• A calendar was added for users to adjust their availability to better accommodate their schedules and view their scheduled orders and inventory deliveries to help them organize their business
• Users can now also set their status to “away” so they can easily alert Pickups that they are no longer available to receive new inventory or orders

Managing Project Scope

With not much time left in the project, our client requested more features and changes to the product. The time-frame in which we received this gave us limited time to apply the modifications. More importantly, we didn't have time to test these changes with users and we didn't want to implement untested designs. So we were very transparent with our client about the changes we could not carry out and wrote a detailed catalogue of future recommendations to be addressed later on when they could be properly tested with users.

Testing the Solution

5 more users were tested to learn whether the user experience had been improved, ensure user needs and painpoints were properly addressed, and to validate our design decisions. We were excited to see users navigate the app with ease and find value in many of the app's features. We also noted where some users were experiencing friction and at the end of the project, handed off future potential design improvements to our client.

Developing the UI

Using the existing brand identity and monochromatic green color palette, I developed a clean and modern user interface.

Checkout the prototype here!