SCALABLE AND DYNAMIC PLATFORM DESIGN
eCommerce Platform
MRM - DETROIT
eCommerce Platform
Due to the nature of the work being confidential, I will not be able to show any visuals for this project; however I can provide a description of my experience leading Product Design on MRM’s eCommerce and Customer Experience team.
COMPANY
MRM
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TOOLS
Axure RP / Figma / InVision
OVERVIEW
As a Product Designer at MRM I support the eCommerce team in building a scalable eCommerce platform to accommodate our Fortune 100 client’s business as it continues to expand and grow. The platform was built to be as flexible as possible with the goal of connecting the business’ brands across all departments through one end-to-end, intuitive eCommerce experience that drives discovery, conversion, and customer loyalty.
Our platform is built with a collection of reusable components and is designed to be dynamic and scalable. The consistent patterns that we developed provide a common language for users to navigate seamlessly across the business’ brands.
MY ROLE
I am currently one of three lead Product Designers on MRM’s eCommerce and Customer Experience team. In this role I advocate for and represent human-centered design and solutions through collaboration with a cross-functional team of 20+ people. I am involved in the end-to-end design and development of a product from ideation, gathering requirements, conducting research, iterative designing and user-testing, to development and launch.
My work is documented along the way through wireframes, user flows, prototypes, and design specifications that are reviewed with and delivered to internal project teams, clients, and stakeholders.
DESIGN PROCESS
As product designers, our job is not done after a product is launched. We practice iterative designing throughout our design process as a cost-effective and efficient method to infinitely adjust and improving usability for customers.
Benefits of an iterative design approach include:
By its nature, iterative design involves a lot of user-testing that provides robust user feedback that can be used to improve the design and usability of our product– ultimately leading to an improved customer experience for users.
Red flags can be raised early on and allow rapid resolutions of misunderstandings that will save development time and money down the line.
KEY FEATURES
We built this platform with a number of key features designed to be a one-stop shop where customers can have convenient access to a comprehensive product selection at a compelling value. These key features include:
Unified Storefront
The Unified Storefront will serve as a destination for customers to have convenient access to the breadth of the business’ offerings– driving discovery and conversion.
Global Navigation
The global navigation that we are designing will allow customers to seamlessly navigate between the business’ offerings, brands, and channels intuitively and without friction.
Shared Cart
A shared cart across product categories creates a cohesive digital experience where users can fulfill all of their shopping needs under a single platform.
Account/Guest Checkout
The ability to complete a purchase during checkout is arguably the most important step in an eCommerce experience. We designed two experiences to accommodate customers’ individual preferences, and both have their benefits:
Guest Checkout: For new customers, providing the option to bypass creating an account and checkout as a Guest is viewed as less of a “commitment” and allows them to complete their purchase quicker.
Account Checkout: Account holders have access to a more interactive and personalized experience that maximizes their long-term relationship with the business. For a user with saved information, checking out through an account can streamline their checkout experience by reducing the number of steps they need to take to complete a purchase.
IN CONCLUSION
Throughout my time on this project I have learned to embrace the challenge of designing solutions to address user needs within the constraints of technological and business limitations without sacrificing user experience. I have seen first-hand the power of a cross-functional team coming together with different perspectives and expertise to deliver sustainable and impactful solutions for the business and their customers.
As we continue to iterate and improve the experience of this eCommerce platform, I hope to be able to share more details soon!