Evolution of Manufacturing Beta Platform
General, Inc. came to Toolbox No. 9 needing help determining if they needed to rebuild their beta platform. Through the discovery process, the answer was determined: yes! After which, my team and I helped guide the small, inexperienced product team in establishing a platform strategy, gaining internal buy-in, and designing a new platform that was easier to use and would improve their customer journey.
UX / UI Design Lead | Toolbox No. 9
Project Lead, UX Researcher, UX Designer, UI Designer, and Platform Strategy
Duration: 2020-21 | 10 MONTHS
BACKGROUND
General, Inc. , manufacturing company, needed to bring their sales process into the digital age.
General, Inc. is a large international manufacturer that includes 13 distinct business units, ranging in industries. At the start of 2020 they wanted to increase the transparency in their sales process, improve customer satisfaction during fulfillment to maintain their position as a customer driven company.
Key phases of the project
Discovery
& Research
Platform Strategy Workshop
Requirements Gathering
Detailed
Workshop Series
User Interface
Design
Implementation Guidance & Assistance
Discovery & Research
10 Customer Interview
10 Stakeholder Interviews
UX Audit of Beta Platform
At the start of the General, Inc. project, I lead a team through Toolbox 9’s UX Engagement Playbook, focused on answering the question of “Should we rebuild the beta platform or can we build on top of what is already there?”
Multiple interviews were completed along with a UX and Techincal Audit of the platform. I outlined the team’s findings in an hour-long presentation to the General, Inc. product team. Answering: Due to themes presented by interviewees along with the extensive foundational UX improvements required, Toolbox 9’s recommendation was to rebuild the platform.
Platform Strategy Workshop
High-Level Platform Flow
Concept Wireframes
To help the General, Incs. product team pitching a full platform rebuild, we conducted a high-level strategy workshop. We mapped out how the platform would more directly relate to the manufacturing process, and created a centralized information and communication hub. The workshop resulted in providing presentation assets for the product team for internal circulation and buy-in from stakeholders.
Requirements Gathering
Interview methods & Script
Feature Tracking Template
Once buy-in was established internally at General Inc, phase two of the process started. We begin to gather requirements from each business unit through focus groups. Utilizing the assets from the previous strategy phase as a visual aid, I established a format for focus groups. The toolbox 9 team and the General inc. The product team met with 3 groups to adjust and refine the questions and process. Afterwhich, the general inc. The product team met with the additional 10 groups, utilizing the format and templates I created.
Detailed Workshop Series
General Inc.s product team returned with established MVP requirements and preliminary prioritization of additional features for future platform releases. Using this information I help design and lead collaborative virtual workshops over the course of 2 weeks, The workshops focused on:
Product Manufacturing Process
Equipment Maintenance
User Management
User Interface Design & Implementation
After the detailed workshop series was completed, the project moved into UI design concepts based on the General Inc. branding. Afterwhich, a design system was created to aid in the development of additional screens.
The platform is currently in development. The Toolbox 9 team and I are still providing strategy and sign assistance through the implementation phase. Assisting in working through hyper-focused user flows, pivots in design assets based on new input, or technical requirements.
