Unified Shipping Price Comparison and Delivery Tracking
UX Research
User and stakeholder research, Surveys, Personas, User Testing
UX Design
Wireframes, Design System, User Flow, Prototyping
Duration
12 weeks
01
Background
Imagine a world where shipping is effortless, secure, and reliable. That’s SuperShip. Our solution provides reliability and security, and our advanced logistics product redefines the industry, making shipping easier and smarter.
SuperShip revolutionizes logistics with a user-centric approach, streamlining the shipping journey. Through AI-powered predictions, smartphone scanning, and real-time tracking, it simplifies packaging, comparison, and delivery, enhancing efficiency and user convenience.​
02
User and Stakeholder Research
Research Objectives
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Understand users' needs and preferences
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Identify pain points, areas of confusion, and frustrations.
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Determine which features and functionalities users find most important and valuable.
Research Objectives
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Online Survey: A survey was circulated to collect shipping patterns, preferences, and opinions regarding existing methods - (Google Forms Link).
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Competitive Analysis: We conducted a competitive analysis of other shipping and delivery platforms in the market to understand more about technical feasibility, similarities, and differences.
Insights from Online Survey
Users face a common challenge in comparing shipping rates and options, tracking packages effectively, and dealing with delayed deliveries, lost items, and unpredictable delivery timeframes.
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Based on the analysis:
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​​Tracking packages and comparing shipping rates are critical aspects of the shipping experience.
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Users value real-time shipment tracking and notifications for delivery status and delays.
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Addressing post-shipping challenges like delayed deliveries and lost items is crucial.​
Desired Features:
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The top 3 desired features are:
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Price comparison across multiple providers.
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Notification of delivery status and delays.
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In-app customer support for shipping-related issues.
Insights from Competitive Analysis
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We evaluated direct and indirect competitors, such as UPS, FedEx, USPS, Narvar, etc, to understand what is available and offered in the market currently.
After assessing the strengths and weaknesses of 10 competitors, we organized their features using a prioritization matrix. This helped us gauge the practicality of these features and their significance to our customers.
We aligned prioritized features from competitive analysis and survey insights into an impact-effort matrix. This aids in understanding requirements and planning a roadmap for a more impactful user experience, addressing key survey issues.
Utilizing this matrix will enable us to concentrate on and rank the fundamental functions of our product. Our strategy involves initially tackling the "easy and important" quadrant, then addressing the "difficult but important" section in line with our timeline.
03
Qualitative User Research
Methodology
Online Survey: A survey was created to gather insights into users’ preferences on feature prioritization to find the common segment and validate our hypothesis. (Google Forms Link)
User Interviews: We conducted 4 user interviews to learn about users’ pain points and preferences and understand their needs and expectations. (Interview Questions)
Insights from Online Survey
We asked our respondents rank the features based on their importance for a seamless shipping experience on a scale of 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).
From the collective analysis of our feature prioritization and survey insights, we found the
Most Desired​
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Notification of delivery status and delays
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Price comparison across multiple shipping providers
Good to Have​
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​​Assistance with delayed deliveries and lost items
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In-app customer support for shipping-related issues
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Returns processing guide
Least Desired
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Real-time GPS shipment tracking at all stages of shipping
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Choice of delivery options (Ground, Air, Express, Next Day)
Insights from User Interviews
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User 1
User 2
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Primarily receives orders, occasionally using shipping for returns.
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Finds shipping services overwhelming but appreciates Amazon's return policy.
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Unconcerned about late deliveries, preferring to wait instead of contacting customer service.
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Uses shipping for receiving, returning, and occasionally sending goods internationally.
Values up-to-date GPS tracking for delivery updates. -
Promptly contacts customer service for late or misplaced deliveries.
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Prefers insurance for high-value consignments and compares delivery service prices.
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Seeks a reliable and trustworthy delivery partner.
User 3
User 4
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Ships parcels domestically and internationally.
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Values timely shipments: opts for fastest for urgent packages and cheapest for non-urgent ones.
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Relies on online comparisons, prioritizing ratings and reviews for reliable services.
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Prefers real-time GPS tracking for updates; crucial for planning due to frustration caused by delayed deliveries.
Found customer service accessibility challenging and seeks a streamlined solution.
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Ships parcels domestically and internationally.
Values verified user reviews to assess service reliability. -
Prioritizes cost over delivery time, preferring to ship orders well in advance.
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Enthusiastic about GPS tracking and desires real-time delivery notifications.
Consolidation of User Research Insights
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Based on the user research analysis and considering our focus and use case:
Most Desired​
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Delivery status and delay notifications.
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Price comparison across multiple shipping providers.
Good to Have​
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​​Assistance with delayed deliveries and lost items
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In-app customer support for shipping-related issues
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Returns processing guide
Least Desired
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Real-time GPS shipment tracking at all stages of shipping
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Choice of delivery options (Ground, Air, Express, Next Day)
04
Refined Problem Statement
How
Might
We ?
create a user-friendly shipping experience that simplifies comparing shipping rates, offers real-time tracking, and efficiently guides users?
05
Design and Prototyping
Lo-Fi Ideation - Crazy 8’s
Each of us took eight minutes to come up with as many ideas as possible for a given feature. The goal was to generate as many creative and unconventional ideas as possible, no matter how absurd they might be. - View more here
Lo-Fi Ideation - User Flows
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Via Crazy 8’s, we converted sketches into comprehensive user flows, prioritizing innovation and user-centricity. These flows will guide the creation of lo-fi wireframes for initial concept testing and iterative refinement before advancing to mid-fi designs. - View more here
Lo-Fi Designs
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Via Crazy 8’s, we converted sketches into comprehensive user flows, prioritizing innovation and user-centricity. These flows will guide the creation of lo-fi wireframes for initial concept testing and iterative refinement before advancing to mid-fi designs. - View more here
Mood board​
To emphasize trust and reliability we went for blue hues and associated themes - View more here
Design System
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To establish a solid groundwork for our product’s design, we then developed a comprehensive design system. This design system encompasses the following key elements:
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Icon and Logo: We designed an icon reflecting the nature of our service: logistics.
Colour Palette: We opted for a colour palette that includes blue as the primary colour, evoking a sense of trustworthiness and reliability. In addition, we incorporated brown to represent the nature of our ‘shipping’ service, as in the colour of shipping boxes.
Typography: To maintain a consistent design language and align with Apple's iOS guidelines, we used the SF Pro as our typographic choice.
Component Library: Our design system includes a range of essential iOS components such as buttons, toggles, progress bars, menus, and more.
Mid-fi Designs - I
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Onboarding
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Developing an onboarding flow to introduce users to the app's features and set expectations. Followed by the account creation process, personal information entry, and login. Subsequently, users respond to permission queries before reaching the app's home page.
Entering Shipping Information​
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The shipping process commences with inputting sender and recipient details, ensuring accurate information for communication and proper handling. Following this, users scan the package for dimensions and weight using the device's camera or barcode scanner. This data aids in estimating shipping costs and selecting appropriate delivery options.
After confirmation, the app suggests tailored delivery services based on user preferences and package details. These suggestions consider factors like delivery speed, cost, and special handling requirements.
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Shipping Price Comparison
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Our shipment price comparison flow simplifies the process for users to select the optimal shipment service. It starts with presenting a comparison of prices from different providers, aided by AI-driven predictions considering speed, reliability, pricing, and drop-off location distance. This assists users in making well-informed decisions aligned with their specific needs.
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Real-time Notifications
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Users receive real-time package notifications, customizable during onboarding or via application settings. These alerts allow seamless order tracking, supported by an interactive feature displaying package arrival at the user's location. Additionally, access to notifications is available through iOS Dynamic Island.
Shipment Tracking
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The tracking feature offers real-time parcel location details, accessible via a bottom navigation button. Shipments are categorized into "All," "To Me," and "From Me" tabs for easy organization, further divided into "Detailed" and "Real-time" tracking using a map for live updates and approximate package location indication.
Mid-fi Designs - II
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The onboarding flow will guide users through the initial setup process, requesting necessary permissions to ensure a seamless experience within the app.
Entering Shipping Information -
This interactive prototype will allow users to add in the sender’s and recipient’s information, and once that is confirmed it’ll let the user scan their package. After scanning, it’ll allow the user to confirm the details.
Shipping Price Comparison -
This interactive prototype helps the user compare shipping prices, and then finalize the order to order completion.
Creating a Shipment
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Shipping services comparison feature simplifies users' decisions by curating the best shipping rates, considering reliability, user reviews, and costs. Powered by SuperShip AI, it predicts future price changes, offering foresight. Users can track specific shipment prices, eliminating manual research, and select the best shipping option. This feature compares multiple services side by side, evaluating reliability, reviews, and costs. The order details screen provides essential drop-off location info and suggested routes. The final order placing screen streamlines packing, label attachment, and generates shipping labels, making shipping user-centric and hassle-free.
Shipment Tracking
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We've restructured the tabs to offer a more user-friendly and comprehensible organization of orders. Now, users can easily navigate between three distinct tabs: "All," "In Transit," and "Delivered." Moreover, we've revamped the map view to provide users with a more intuitive and informative experience. The updated design offers two distinct perspectives: a global view for an overview of the shipment's journey across regions and a close-up view pinpointing the exact location of the package's current status.
Mid-Fi User Testing Round 1
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For the round 1 mid-fi testing, we created a moderator script for better facilitation. The script consisted of some background questions about shipping experience, task-based questions, and some post-task questions. We conducted usability testing on 4 major tasks of our mobile app:
Task 1: Onboarding and real-time notifications
Task 2: Create a shipment by entering information
Task 3: Compare shipping prices
Task 4: Real-time tracking
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Insights: Mid-Fi User Testing Round 1
Our System Usability Scale (SUS) score for this user testing (for 4 tasks) was 78.5, which is higher than the average for good usability SUS score of 68. View SUS Assessment here.
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Feedback​
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Users generally liked the app, praising its simplicity, and ease of use.
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The scanning feature was appreciated, as it provided a unique and seamless experience.
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The "our advice" AI section was well-received for its informative content, and the "track prices" option within this feature was seen as beneficial.
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The toggle between detailed view and map view for shipments received positive feedback.
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Improvements​
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The confirmation of account creation notification should stay on the screen for a longer duration for better user acknowledgement.
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Users expressed interest in more detailed information about the price comparison feature.
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The clarity of drop-off location information was identified as an issue, suggesting a need for improvement in UI.
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Users recommended a clearer distinction between different delivery options, such as the cheapest and recommended choices.
Hi-Fi User Testing Round 1
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Once we completed round 1 of hi-fi designing and added complete user flows from onboarding to order tracking, we conducted user testing to gather feedback. We used usertesting.com for this round’s unmoderated user testing.
For the hi-fi round 1 testing, we conducted usability testing on the 4 major tasks of our product and tested with 12 participants:
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Task 1: Onboarding
Task 2: Create a shipment by entering its information
Task 3: Compare shipping services and place the order
Task 4: Real-time tracking
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Moderator Script: UserTesting Screener + Tasks
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Insights: Hi-Fi User Testing Round 1
Our System Usability Scale (SUS) score for this user testing (for 4 tasks) was 99.72, which is higher than the average for good usability SUS score of 68. View SUS Assessment here
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User Feedback
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Participants praised the app for its ease of use, user-friendly layout, and organization. They appreciated functionalities like the camera scanner for package sizing, tracking capabilities, and side-by-side shipping method comparisons. Users found the app comprehensive, mentioning its ease even for older demographics. There were no frustrations reported; instead, positive feedback on the app's intuitive workflow, including scanning packages for dimensions, tracking, and comparing shipping services. The price and service comparison feature was notably helpful, contributing to an overall positive experience.
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Hi-Fi User Testing Round 2
Once we completed the iteration phase for the complete user flows from onboarding to order tracking, we decided to conduct hi-fi user testing round 2 to gather final feedback considering the project timeline. We used usertesting.com for this round’s unmoderated user testing.
For the hi-fi round 2 testing, we conducted usability testing on the 4 major tasks of our product and tested with 3 participants:
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Task 1: Onboarding
Task 2: Create a shipment by entering its information
Task 3: Compare shipping services and place the order
Task 4: Real-time tracking
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Moderator Script: UserTesting Screener + Tasks
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Insights: Hi-Fi User Testing Round 2
Our System Usability Scale (SUS) score for this user testing (for 4 tasks) was 87.5, which is higher than the average for good usability SUS score of 68.
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Combining both the hi-fi user testing rounds, the combined System Usability Scale (SUS) score for the user testing (for 4 tasks) was 93.61, which is higher than the average for good usability SUS score of 68.
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User feedback in this round was overall positive and it seemed like the previous round iterations helped in enhancing the complete user experience.
Final Prototype
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Key Takeaways​
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Iterative design reinforced the significance of user testing, especially in refining sender/receiver information pages and ensuring transparency in comparison tool data sources. It clarified essential features and those that can be deprioritized, emphasizing the need for seamless user flow completion.
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Striking a balance between a feature-rich app and simplicity is crucial. While users appreciated innovative elements like AI-driven price predictions, maintaining user clarity was essential to avoid confusion.
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Positive user responses to real-time tracking, package scanning, AI-powered price predictions, and price comparison underlined the significance of integrating innovations that genuinely enhance the user experience.
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While a robust design tool, Figma posed limitations in prototyping intricate interactive features, notably for a complex interactive shipment tracking map. Initially aiming for an interactive 3D globe, we adapted to a static design due to Figma's constraints.
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