Andie

Gofleetly

The journey from a Simple Idea to a Startup Inside of aFortune 50

In 2018, my team kicked off a new business idea within IBM’sfirst startup incubator. We began with an idea to design a more cost efficient andeffective way to deliver retail orders same-day using new routing technology. Since,we’ve evolved to a delivery platform for retailers looking to leverage theirstorefronts and warehouses into ecommerce delivery fulfillment centers. Thispivot, was research-led as we uncovered new findings shortly after kicking-offthe incubator.

As Design Lead, I am in charge of user research, user-experiencedesign and product design for Gofleetly. I work alongside a team of developersand product managers to build our platform and conduct usability testing to designthe best delivery experience.

Phase 1: Research

Before we could begin development of our business and platform, our team gained an understanding of current delivery experiences and competitors. I ran user interviews with shoppers, store-managers, and industry executives from local retail stores. After I analyzed eCommerce experiences at multiple retailers and with a few different courier companies. These included: same-day delivery, buy online pickup in-store, next day shipping, and grocery delivery. Combined with technology research by the development team, we gathered our findings and synthesized the data into key insights.

Key Point

As I mentioned, we began the incubator with an initial idea. After conducting our research, we realized the problems with same-day delivery didn’t lie in the cost and efficiency of the service but in the experience to adopt the technology at a corporate level and the shoppers ability to discover the same-day delivery option at checkout.

Phase 2: Ideation

Using our insights I developed a few As-Is user scenarios and sketched them out to identify where the problems fell. Working with the entire team, we ran design thinking ideation workshops to brainstorm new solutions. Included in the sessions were the development team, creative direction, product management, and sales. Using the As-Is scenarios, we developed To-Be scenarios. 

Phase 3: Design

Next with a visual designer, we sketched and mocked up new eCommerce shopping experiences. We used existing eCommerce flows from 5+ retailers (across product categories) to wireframe how our solution would integrate. Each site had vastly difference flows. This insight led us to create flow diagrams with our development team, so that we could map how our technology had to adapt to each site.  

Phase 4: Testing + Development

Alongside the Design phase, I led a usability testing initiative.Each week I would develop the wireframes, mockup in Invision (a prototyping software tool), create the testing protocol, and select the user base to conduct the studies with. For example I would test how often a user clicked a button we wanted to add to the product page, or A/B test different language. Throughout,I used a Net Promoter Score to track our user experience. In total I test with over 200+ shoppers.

Working closely with the development team throughout the ideation and design processes meant that the team could get started on backend development while we refined the front-end experience. This collaborative teamwork is by far my favorite part of working on Gofleetly. 

2018 Launch and Today's State:

Nine months later, we launched our first version of our software product, a consumer shopping tool which allowed users to add same-day delivery to any online order by using our Chrome Plugin. The tool leveraged our same-day delivery platform of courier partners nationwide. The launched was used to study the markets’ taste for same-day delivery and allowed us to test our courier network internally.

Today, we are piloting the Gofleetly platform with retailers who are looking to enhance their ecommerce strategy by adding delivery. While we have sunset the consumer tool, we incorporated the learnings into a guide of recommendations for our clients, as well as, building out new sub-offerings such as a tracking site and management dashboard. Learn more at gofleet.ly.

Other Designs

Alongside my UX work, I've completed a number of branding and marketing project. We're a small team so I pick up work whenever necessary.