Building a reverse auction procurement application.
Project Overview
I undertook this project in mid-2018. Our client was a manufacturing company that purchased hundreds of items on a daily basis. Their procurement process was linear, but profit metrics fluctuated with steel prices. Therefore, they needed a platform to create auctions quickly and make purchase decisions faster to minimize potential losses.
Solution
UX Strategy
Procurement typically follows a linear workflow. Our task was to design micro-moments within this process. We conducted a session with the purchasing department to observe their workflow, analyzed the documents they produce and share, and based on these findings we planned our UX strategy.
1. Business requirements
The primary requirement was a simple, fast, and collaborative workspace for suppliers and buyers. The secondary requirement was data visualization to support informed decision-making.
2. Focus area
Our focus areas were Information Architecture (including the navigation system, labeling, and their business language) and a multi-device approach to ensure users can access the platform from anywhere.
3. Idea validation
We validated our ideas based on quick task completion, minimal navigation, informed experiences, and effective collaboration.
4. User journey mapping
To keep the linear workflow in mind and understand each and every micro-moment of the users, we decided to create user journey maps for each scenario and use case.
Multi-device Approach
Because we had users who spent most of their time in the field or workshops, we adopted a multi-device approach. We designed a hybrid app and maintained a responsive architecture to accommodate various screen sizes.
