Redesigning the Search experience
Intelligence is an AI-powered product developed to empower procurement and supply chain experts in making effective decisions when selecting suppliers. The tool makes it easy to find, compare, evaluate suppliers, gain insights, get an advantage in negotiations and make better strategic decisions. All supplier information such as financial, economic, certifications, diversity, sustainability, is consolidated in one place.
In this case study: cross-functional collaboration, problem definition, ideation, validating UX concepts in usability testing sessions, synthesising insights
My role
Senior Product Designer
Year
August 2022 - February 2023
The Problem
Through the continuous product discovery framework, our team identified usability issues with the search feature, a core component of the user experience. The search functionality enables users to find suppliers based on location, certifications, EDG data, and product offerings. However, usability tests revealed that users struggled with selecting appropriate search terms, filtering options, and interpreting search results. This confusion negatively impacted their ability to efficiently find relevant suppliers.
The Goal
The objective was to redesign and improve the search experience:
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create a simple and intuitive search experience,
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tailor the filtering functionality to the varying needs of customers,
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find a way to show results in a way that brings most value.
My Approach
To make sure we focused on the right problems, I conducted cross-functional workshops with key stakeholders, including the product manager, designers, developers, engineers, and data teams. This helped foster a common understanding of the problem space and brought focus into the ideation sessions. Next, I created a UX concept and ran usability testing sessions to validate it. Based on the learnings, I prioritised recommendations and the product manager added them to the roadmap. After implementation, we ran additional testing sessions, making sure the improved experience met user expectations.
Step 1: Problem definition
Before jumping into prototyping or design, it’s crucial to understand what problem we are trying to solve. To make sure the problem was clear:
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I synced with the Product Manager about how the redesign should bring value to the user and the business,
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synced with the engineering team to understand what technology powered search at the moment and how it could be changed.
Step 2: Research
Since this was not the first iteration on improving search, I needed to understand everything about the current implementation and how it got there, so the desk research included:
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previous usability testing sessions,
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user research, such as personas, user journeys,
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notes from previous brainstorming and ideation sessions,
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heuristic evaluations of the product,
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competitor analysis and benchmarking.
Step 3: Synthesis
I grouped all insights from the previous steps and arranged them into affinity groups: searching, filtering and sorting, search results. Then I framed How Might We…? questions.
Step 4: Cross-functional workshop with product team
It was time to bring the whole team in: product manager, designers, developers, engineering, data. The goal of the workshop was to kick off the discussion, foster a common understanding of the problem space, make sure we’re solving the right problems, and ideate potential solutions.
During the workshop I introduced the problems and potential solutions, gave time for reflection on each topic, and facilitated the discussion.
Step 5: Solutions and Prioritization
After the workshop, together with the Product Manager and the engineers, I prioritized the potential solutions by placing them in three categories: solutions we're highly confident in, assumptions we’d test again, and deprioritized ideas.
Step 6: Usability Testing
I ran around 7 usability testing sessions, which consisted of two parts:
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testing the existing solution on the live product,
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testing the future vision with a clickable Figma prototype.
A crucial step in usability testing is understanding the goals and scope. Usually, while planning testing sessions I make sure to define the following:
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the area being tested (e.g. home)
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testing goal, assumption, or testing question (e.g. is the navigation clear?)
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respective task/prompt or question I'll ask the user (e.g. "How would you go about finding...?")
Step 7: Insights synthesis & prioritization
In the moderated sessions I either facilitated or took notes. My approach to note taking helps visually identify trends and sentiment. Here's how it works:
1. During each session, I take notes on post-its which I color-code based on sentiment, i.e.:
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red for negative feedback or a failed task,
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green for positive feedback or when the task was easy,
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amber for neutral feedback or task completion with some setbacks.
This color-coding creates a visual representation of user sentiment, which helps subsequent analysis.
2. After the sessions, I tagged each post-it with the participant’s identifier (e.g., User 1, User 2) to maintain traceability while avoiding bias that might arise from using specific names.
3. To identify trends and patterns, I organized the feedback into themes first. Next, I sorted post-its by sentiment within each theme. This grouping facilitated a focused analysis and allowed for the identification of sentiment within recurring themes.
4. Lastly, I defined recommendations to address the identified issues. This structured approach ensured that design decisions were informed by comprehensive, sentiment-driven insights, ultimately guiding the decision making toward more user-centered outcomes.
Conclusion
By integrating workshops with the product team and conducting thorough usability testing with customers, I was able to inform and refine the design decisions for the search functionality. This collaborative approach ensured that we addressed the core issues effectively and validated our solutions continuously. As a result, the redesigned search experience not only met the business objectives but also enhanced user satisfaction, demonstrating the value of a user-centric and stakeholder-informed design process.
