Delivering a Made to Measure Experience

This case study examines the launch of Next's Made to Measure curtains service in 2019. Focused on improving user experience and integrating the service into the main site, the project aimed to provide a smoother, more customised journey for customers while meeting a tight development deadline.

Delivering a Made to Measure Experience

Background

In July 2019, Next switched its Made to Measure curtains service supplier. The move was seen as an exciting opportunity to integrate this service into it's own site and would be handled by a third party company.

My Role

As the design lead on this project, my responsibilities included:

Discovery: Collaborated with the User Researcher to analyse results from initial user testing.
Design: Created user flows, wireframes, high-fidelity designs, and a prototype based on discovery insights, ensuring they aligned with project scope.
Stakeholder Management: Kept key stakeholders updated on design and development progress.
Development Support: Assisted the BA with UX user stories and provided ongoing support to the third-party development team, addressing design-related queries.

Discovery

Given the tight project timeline, I worked with the User Researcher to analyse findings from user testing of the existing Made to Measure system. Key insights included:

Customers valued the ability to customise their curtains.
They needed reassurance throughout the process to ensure they were entering details correctly.
The mobile journey was difficult to navigate, creating usability issues.
Many customers were unclear about the differences between fabric options, such as thermal and blackout.
Users found it challenging to review their selections before completing the purchase.

Design

The design had the unique challenge of it being in an iframe which limited me in some of my design choices.

Reassuring prompts were provided throughout the journey to guide users through the customisation process, ensuring they felt supported and confident in their choices.
To assist customers in understanding their selections, I designed intuitive icons paired with detailed descriptions, allowing users to make more informed decisions throughout the process.
To improve the mobile experience for reviewing Made to Measure items, I added a summary of the user's selections at the bottom of the page, along with an "Add to Bag" button. Users could easily review and update their choices by clicking the links within the summary.

Reassuring prompts were provided throughout the journey to guide users through the customisation process, ensuring they felt supported and confident in their choices.
To assist customers in understanding their selections, I designed intuitive icons paired with detailed descriptions, allowing users to make more informed decisions throughout the process.
To improve the mobile experience for reviewing Made to Measure items, I added a summary of the user's selections at the bottom of the page, along with an "Add to Bag" button. Users could easily review and update their choices by clicking the links within the summary.

Handover and Implementation

The collaboration with our third-party partner involved a unique setup where all communication regarding development was managed by their project manager. This meant that all design specifications needed to be routed through him, rather than having direct contact with the development team.

I assisted the project manager by providing detailed design specifications and collaborated with the Business Analyst to craft the UX stories required for integration on Next's side.

During the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase, I ensured that the implemented features aligned with the original design vision. By actively participating in both the development and testing stages, I played a key role in delivering the final product that met user needs and project objectives.

Outcome

We successfully met our July target and launched the made-to-measure curtains, roman blinds, roller blinds, and vertical blinds. Sales have steadily increased since the launch. Moreover, the release of venetian blinds is scheduled for 2020.