Spectrum Sales Tracking
Course Project - Improving sales and personal growth at Spectrum
In this project, my group and I applied design thinking to create an “Internal-Use-Only” iOS sales tracking app for Spectrum–an internet, cable and mobile service provider. The purpose of the app is to provide commission based employees with the tools they need to succeed in a highly competitive environment, and grant retail managers the ability to track overall store sales for increased transparency and autonomy.
View iOS Prototype
Year
2024
Timeline
4 Weeks
UX Researchers
Emma Gulij, Gizelle Farinas, Sebastian Moreno
Role
UX Researcher, UX Designer, Visual Designer, Logo Designer
Tools
Figma, Figjam
Two End Users In Mind
Our Approach
The Spectrum Sales Tracking app was designed specifically for employees who are actively on the retail floor: the 'Retail Sales Specialist' & 'Retail Store Manager'. As a result, two unique user personas were created to solve differing friction points.
Research & Interviews
As a group, we created a list of 30+ questions and conducted 8 in-person user interviews with commission based employees across different industries.
As a result, we were able to compare and contrast the differences in user goals and pain points to help prioritize features to include in our sales tracking app.
Competition and Compromises
Findings & Affinity Mapping
Common through lines we found through our interviews were how compeitive a career in commission base sales can be and how the employees thrived in that environment. Competition was a huge motivator for our users, as well as being in control of their own success.
However, another distinctive motivator we discovered was the importance of helping the customer. By having that service mindset, employees at times felt a moral dilemma when the employees themselves did not support the product they were selling.
One Tool, Multiple Users
Matt Davis - Young and Eager Optimist
Matt is a recent college graduate and new 'Retail Store Specialist' at Spectrum. Even though he has little-to-no experience in sales, he is a very charismatic and positive individual with aspirations to starting his own business one day. Matt views this new job opportunity as a great way to network and gain consumer facing sales experience.
Rachel Keer - Productive and Balanced Parent
Rachel is an 'Assistant Store Manager' at her local Spectrum retail store. Coming from a real estate background, she is used to sales and customer interactions but did not enjoy the long hours it took to be successful in that industry. As a parent, her priorities has changed and values a strong work/life balance where she can truly disconnect when at home.
Project Goals
Helping Matt
Easy access to valuable industry knowledge and best practices to reference while on the retail floor.
Helping Matt and Rachel
Clear and specific goals that are trackable to check individual progress within the company.
Helping Matt and Rachel
Accessible way to communicate to team members with any concerns or requests.
Motivated by Performance
Matt Davis' App Map
Being an individual contributor with no reports, Matt's Spectrum Sales Tracking app only highlights his immediate goals and sales overview within the Dashboard.
Additionally, employee leaderboards and individual sale metrics can be found in the 'My Performance' Tab where Matt can work with his manager to review areas of improvement.
A Daily Routine
Matt Davis' User Flow
Task(s): Review training schedule and set up a new customer
Storewide Autonomy
Rachel Keer's App Map
As a Spectrum store manager, Rachel's responsbilities include both employee and store performances. The information architecture for her Spectrum Sales Tracking app differs from Matt's by allowing store information to be shown as well as having controls to send 'Store Announcemnts' and edit employee working schedules.
Managing Success
Rachel Keer's User Flow
Task(s): Review store performance and send a message to a direct report.
Testing for a Better Solution
Design Decision
At this point of the course, responsibilities were split among the group on which end-user to create final designs for. I decided to explore Rachel Keer's 'Retail Store Manager' user experience because it encapsulated both employee needs and store needs.
Low & Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
Low fidelity wireframes were done to roughly and quickly ideate the main features and pages of the app. Further refinement and user testing was done for the mid-fidelity wireframes using Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) and iOS 16 UI Kit for Figma.
View Mid-Fidelity Prototype
Expanding the Spectrum Brand
Visual Design
Taking inspiration from Spectrum.com, My Spectrum App, and existing Spectrum marketing collateral made public online, I was able to recreate new UI elements to fit the new Spectrum Sales Tracking iOS app.
For data displays, e.g. charts, graphs, widgets and segmented controls, I used Dribbble and Mobbin as design resources.
A High Level Overview
Reviewing Store Performance
The retail sale cycles resets every 3-months to match the company's fiscal quarter structure. This means having 'Store Sale Goals' and an overview of store performance was top of mind in helping Rachel quickly grasp and prioritize her responsibilities on a daily basis.
Secondary features such as 'Store Announcements' are readily accessible along with a deeper dive into store performance metrics and graphs.
Helping Everyone Succeed
Tracking Employee Performances
For a Spectrum retail manager, empowering an employee is an important dynamic for the store's overall success.
The Spectrum Sales Tracking app allows for Rachel and other managers to filter the top and bottom performers by different metrics, such as CVR, AOV and Lead generation.
The app also allows for further investigation into the employees to better understand why they may be underperforming, i.e. able to review training completion, employee and manager notes, and overall performance graphs.
A Promise for Growth
Continued Learning
One of Rachel's goals was to get promoted beyond an Associate Manager, so it was important to include a way for her to easily read or watch educational tutorials when there was any downtime at the store.
Similar to the employee's user flow, once the educational tutorials are completed, they are tracked and can be used to showcase growth in the next employee review cycle.
One Stop App
Employee Scheduler
An added feature to help limit the amount of web portals and apps needed by Rachel, an 'Employee Scheduler' was integrated to easily review who is scheduled to work and make any edits to last minute requests/changes.
Final Thoughts
Talking to the Experts
There is limit on how much I can learn about any topic or industry at home. It takes getting out of my comfort zone and talking to people within the industry I am researching in. Those initial interviews I conducted really dictated the needs, concerns and future features of the Spectrum Sales Tracking app. Ultimately, it gave me a human connection to the work I was doing.
Laser Focused on Personas
Throughout this project, I found myself checking the User Personas constantly. Whenever I had to make any decision on what direction I should take, either with graphics, content placing, or user flows, it was always helpful to go back and review the goals, fears, needs and pain points from our two personas, Matt and Rachel.
Credits
Institution
San Diego City College
Year
Spring 2024
Course
Interaction Design II
Professor
Leanna Jones
UX Research
Emma Gulij
Gizelle Farinas
Sebastian Moreno
