Star

A Mobile Auditing Application

 
 
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Overview

The concept of Star was for a modern application for Whole Foods Market stores that would be used for auditing, requesting marketing materials, and querying items by various store users. This application replaces outdated software that had become cumbersome to use and unstable over the years. We saw this as an opportunity to redesign the application from the ground up.

The design allows the user to jump between features quickly and easily while on the sales floor in a fast paced dynamic atmosphere. The previous application required users to jump through hoops to switch modes, requiring passwords to be entered each time. This was a pain point that we wanted to address by speeding up the user’s process and empowering them to quickly jump between tasks when needed.

 

Process

For this project I conducted initial user research, gathered current business processes, and created user stories for the new application. I also created prototypes and ran user testing sessions with users.

In our first meeting with key decision holders we identified current process obstacles and pain points. We set the goals of this redesign, established minimum requirements, and defined the target audience.

Once we had discovered our needs, I began prototyping the new design. My work focused on providing all the required information a Whole Foods team member would need, in an easy to read format. Throughout the process I presented the designs to the stakeholders for feedback. Using their feedback I further refined the application.

I conducted user testing sessions with 4-5 potential users where gather insight about the overall usability and functionality.

 
 

Item Lookup

There had never been a transparent method for stores to lookup detailed information about a product. The Item Lookup feature allows a user to not only confirm the current pricing but also see the ingredients list, find out if the item is gluten free or organic, and numerous other details.

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Weight Audit

Every week a random sampling of items that are made in-house are weighed for accuracy, which verifies items are being packaged properly in each department. The weight of the product and packaging (tare) are input into Star by the auditor. The results are displayed immediately so action can be taken if issues arise.

 

Lessons Learned

Since our team wasn’t provided the certified hardware devices for Star, I had significant challenges with testing. It proved how important it is to have the same equipment as the end user.

I also realized that I over anticipated the need for users to actively jump between different features. We built in the persistent buttons at the top, thinking that users switch between tasks frequently, which was based on their feedback of the obsolete system. But after rollout, we learned that deviating from a task is not that common and the buttons crowded the rest of the application.