Simbe delivers market-leading product availability & price integrity, so you can improve store performance and labor efficiency.
Background
Simbe Robotics is a company that leverages robotics and AI to enhance retail operations and inventory management. Their primary product, Tally, is an autonomous robot that scans store shelves to help retailers detect problems such as out-of-stock items, pricing errors, and misplaced products.
Problem
Not everyone understands how autonomous robots work, and some may fear job losses or be unsure how to interact with the robot. The website does not clearly explain how this robot helps grocery stores succeed, which can be frustrating for users unfamiliar with autonomous technology.
Solution
Include a tabbed interface for each store that uses Tally, providing information about the store, its status before and after incorporating Tally, and how employees are affected. Add pictures of people interacting with the robot.
I was curious to see how competitors present information about their robotic products, given that it's a subject many people aren't knowledgeable about and tends to have more negative than positive opinions. I explored three different competitor sites: Badger Technologies, Zippedi and Brain Corp.
I interviewed five users with the research objectives of assessing their ability to understand the product through self-exploration of the website, the time it takes them to grasp the concept, and their general opinions about robots in grocery stores.
Define
Key Points
Semi-Positive View
Job Security Concerns
Lack of Brand Recognition
Limited Direct Encounters
Homepage Navigation Patterns
Desire for Comprehensive Understanding
Pov and Hmw
Understanding my users' needs, I created my POV and HMW statements to guide the development of design solutions. These statements were chosen to address users concerns.
Pov
I want to help people better understand how Tally benefits companies without compromising worker needs, as they are concerned about the impact of robots on their jobs.
How might we show more efficiently that Tally wouldn’t sacrifice the need of people, who are concerned about impact of using a robots at their job?
How might we show more efficiently how Tally benefit companies?
Creative Thinking
Features & Prioritization
Based on users' needs and goals, I developed and prioritized key features for the tabbed interface implementation.
Must Haves
This reflects users who are unfamiliar with these retail stores and want to also learn Tally’s impact.
Design
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
I began sketching different designs and chose design number 4 (mobile number 2). I asked 3 people for their opinions, and they liked how the information was framed. There is also a similar iPad design on Simbe’s site that could help maintain consistency.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
By understanding our users' needs, I began creating high-fidelity designs for the tabbed interface. I later conducted several user tests and made multiple iterations based on the feedback. Below are screens of the high-fidelity tabbed interface.
Testing
High-Fidelity User Testing
To ensure the tabbed interface met user needs and provided relevant information, I conducted user testing with 9 participants. Four sessions were done via video chat, where I observed actions and thought processes, while the other five were tested through "Maze."
Task Flow: Find a short description of BJ’s (Retail Store).
Users wanted to see the total number of slides in the tabbed navigation.
Blue icons and text should be more prominent for better visibility.
The user flow scored 7/10 for ease of use.
Recommended shortening or breaking up text for better readability.
Suggested adding hints to indicate that store logos are clickable.
Users found the layout intuitive and easy to follow.
Iterations
High-Fidelity Survey
I wanted to further explore my design to find even better ways to present the information in a user-friendly manner. Since I had a good understanding of what users preferred, I created several new designs based on the previous high-fidelity wireframes to look for improvements.
Wireframes 1 and 2 were the two favorites.
Users liked the iPad layout for its clear focal point.
Users preferred having one paragraph per image in the carousel.
Iterations
I decided to combine the designs, knowing that less text on the screen helps with focus. This also gave me the opportunity to create more white space on each slide.
Final Thoughts
Reflection & Next Steps
This was a unique project that taught me a lot about the subject matter. With more UX design experience, I enjoyed practicing different design process steps and honing my skills.
Insight
I appreciated incorporating A/B testing into this project. By adding surveys to the design process, I created a solution that better catered to user needs.
Challenges
The main challenge was learning a subject I wasn’t familiar with. However, I found the deep dive into user research engaging and fulfilling. I now feel like quite the robotics expert.
Things I Could Have Done Differently
I would have tested mobile prototypes on users' phones from the start instead of on computers. Testing on phones provides a more accurate representation of how the screens will be used, allowing for earlier adjustments.
Next Steps
Moving forward, I would test the design with a new set of users unfamiliar with robotics. Although I tried various users, testing with those with no prior knowledge would offer fresh insights into the design’s functionality.