Feature Integration
Improving Lowe’s in-store shopping experience with an optimized map feature.
Overview
Lowe’s is a traditional American retailer focusing on home improvement and commercial projects. Lowe’s is known for selling home improvement supplies and accessories such as appliances, decor, furniture, and tools. According to Home Stratosphere, Lowe’s has 2,220 store locations nationwide, with an average of 18 million customers per week. As a project manager, I led a team of 3 UX designers to improve the experience of shopping in-store through Lowe’s native app by designing and incorporating an optimal map feature.
Details
Client: Lowe’s— concept design
Duration: 2-week sprint
My Role(s): UX Researcher, Project Manager, UX/UI Designer
Tools: Miro, LucidChart, Figma, Google Drive, Zoom
Process
Research: Understanding our users
Define: User personas & problem statement
Ideate: Designing potential solutions
Usability tests: Test, iterate, repeat
Solution: New map feature
1. Research: Understanding our users
In the initial phase of the design process, we conducted user research including: 9 user interviews, comparative task analyses to learn about user behaviors, goals, and pain points.
What are users saying?
8/9 shop with intention
5/9 feel anxious when they do not have control over their shopping experience
5/9 prefer store layouts and maps that are easy to understand
Affinity map of user insights
What tools are users currently using?
I analyzed map features from Target, Home Depot, and Google, which were identified as competitors during user interviews. I highlighted the features that existed on all 3 features to serve as the basis of our design.
Comparative feature analysis
2. Define: User personas & problem statement
From our 9 user interviews, we developed a primary (left) and secondary (right) personas. These personas represent the different types of users that would use this new map feature.
Primary Persona
Secondary Persona
Problem statement
Thomas needs a way to plan out and access the most efficient route in Lowe’s to optimize his time in the store.
3. Ideate: Designing potential solutions
In this phase, we utilized the user research to sketch out solutions for our personas, map out the features of the product, and design user flows.
Final sketches from design studio pg. 1
Final sketches from design studio pg. 2
Final sketches from design studio pg. 3
Final sketches from design studio pg. 4
Sitemap
We created a hierarchical diagram of the Lowe’s application to show how we integrated the new map feature. This sitemap shows how pages in the application are prioritized, linked, and categorized.
Sitemap that integrates new map feature
4. Usability tests: Test, iterate, repeat
Throughout the design phase, we conducted three rounds of usability tests at low- , mid- , and high-fidelity wireframing stages. Feedback from potential users was applied to strengthen the optimal map feature’s user experience.
Usability Test #1: Sketches
• Traveling to Lowe’s Notification: Adjust persuasiveness of message
• Lowe’s Map Notification: Display results for selecting “yes” or “no”
• Conclusion of shopping trip: Add manual end button
Usability Test #2: Mid-fi wireframes
• Map access: Add on-boarding tutorial
• Action buttons: Change STOP and RESUME to PAUSE
• Map views: Show three different views of map (zoomed out to in)
Usability Test #3: Hi-fi wireframes
• Checkout: Add prompt at end of checkout process
• Item location: Change from dot to location icon
• Final screen: Show suggested articles based on purchase
5. Solution: New map feature
We designed a live map feature for the Lowe’s application so our primary persona, Thomas, can find exactly what he wants when he needs it.
Through this experience, I learned that the keys to success include…
Leading with empathy.
As project manager, I kept the weekly and daily project plan up to date with an understanding that each of my teammates had responsibilities outside of the project. Looking at the big picture (e.g., goals and deadlines) first and zooming in from there helped in the development of our plan. Coordinating check-ins at the beginning and end of our work sessions also helped to keep everyone on the same page.
Having a plan.
I found that it especially important to go into user interviews with a plan. Before interviews, it’s important to communicate with the team to develop a plan and discuss the types of questions to ask. We also discussed how it’s important to remain neutral, ask open-ended questions, and take detailed notes during interviews. Taking detailed notes enabled me to communicate insights clearly with teammates.
