Redesigning the rewards ecosystem
THWACK Store, e-commerce, 2024
Objective: Write object here. Make this 2 lines long for the description.
Task that I completed
Duration & Status: 3 weeks, Launched April 2024 (live)
Team: Program Manager, Technical Specialist, Graphic designers (photography & imagery assets)
Overview
The THWACK store’s platform had reached the end of its support lifecycle, creating logistical challenges and manual inefficiencies for the THWACK Community team as they managed reward redemptions for THWACKsters (community members). To address these issues, the team chose to migrate to a new platform, Brand Fuel.
As the solo UX designer brought in on the project, I was given 3 weeks to go from concept to handoff, so the development team could spend the next 2 months in production for launch.
CURRENT EXPERIENCE
EXISTING PRODUCT & ISSUES
“We need to migrate our rewards store to a new platform and would like a new design for launch. You have 3 weeks, can you do it?”
The Community team wanted to use this migration as an opportunity to refresh the store site. There were a few constraints that made navigating this project challenging:
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Direct
I looked at loyalty programs of our closest competitors (New Relic, Red Hat, LogicMonitor, Dynatrace, and Datadog). I was surprised to learn that only 2 of our 5 closest competitors had something vaguely similar to what we were offering, and both of those experiences were hidden behind logins.
Indirect & Analogous
I next looked at retail and reward sites spanning various industries, before narrowing down to ones that had reward experiences focusing on the exclusivity of the items available. I also looked a how each site approached gamification as well as smaller functional details that could improve our current redemption process.
DESIGN DECISIONS
“We need to migrate our rewards store to a new platform and would like a new design for launch. You have 3 weeks, can you do it?”
The Community team wanted to use this migration as an opportunity to refresh the store site. There were a few constraints that made navigating this project challenging:
CONSIDERATIONS
“We need to migrate our rewards store to a new platform and would like a new design for launch. You have 3 weeks, can you do it?”
The Community team wanted to use this migration as an opportunity to refresh the store site. There were a few constraints that made navigating this project challenging:
DESIGN EXPLORATIONS
Type of page for exploration
Option 1: I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
Option 2: I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
Which option was chosen
DESIGN EXPLORATIONS
Type of page for exploration
Option 1: I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
Option 2: I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
MVP Design
The THWACK store’s platform had reached the end of its support lifecycle, creating logistical challenges and manual inefficiencies for the THWACK Community team as they managed reward redemptions for THWACKsters (community members). To address these issues, the team chose to migrate to a new platform, Brand Fuel.
As the solo UX designer brought in on the project, I was given 3 weeks to go from concept to handoff, so the development team could spend the next 2 months in production for launch.
Audit
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RESULTS
Feature release
I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
Success Metrics
I set a meeting with the creative team to walk them through our photography needs and to finalize a shot list and asset list.
A few adjustments had to be made due to complications with logic on the back end so I adjusted the frames. I presented my updated mocks based off all the feedback received and everything was approved.
NEXT STEPS
Future Iterations
Towards the end of development we discovered that Technical Specialist assigned to our account would have limited bandwidth going forward and would be unable to make any significant changes after launch. If we have the opportunity to make further adjustments, here’s what I would tackle next:
Increase Gamification
This is still possible even without touching the store. With such an involved community, the THWACK Store and THWACK site in general present a great opportunity for gamification. THWACK Points or coins are just the beginning and if given the chance I think there’s the opportunity for a really robust system.
Listen to the TWHACKsters
We are very fortunate that the THWACK community is so active. I would love to get direct feedback from the community through more intentional means, surveys and interviews about how the rewards store works for them. There’s no better way to find out what parts of the journey could be improved than by walking through it with them.
RETROSPECTIVE
Lessons Learned
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Especially with projects with tight deadlines, I’ve found it beneficial to include design, development, and content early in the process because it helps identify potential challenges upfront allow more time for exploration and iteration.
Although there were no delays, earlier alignment between the Community teams goal, Brand Fuel’s capabilities and everyone’s overall expectations would have helped avoid additional revisions.
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This project was a lesson in balancing “innovation” with familiarity. There were many features I would have liked to have seen come to fruition to make a more impact change to the rewards store however the users were satisfied with the simplicity of the final journey.
On the other hand, with such a tight deadline, you can move too fast and miss opportunities to step back and evaluate what incremental changes could improve what’s already there.
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My previous experience in these languages was invaluable in collaborating with the Technical Specialist. I was able to understand why certain design decisions weren’t possible as well find solutions and help translate design decisions into technical requirements within our timeframe.