Project
P.S. This is a condensed version. Connect with me for in-depth insights on research findings, design decisions, and trade-offs.
User
An Order Picker works in a warehouse to gather your purchased items. Theyāre responsible for locating objects on shelves, picking them, and placing them in yellow containers which are sent out for delivery.
Problem
How might we increase pick rate using the legacy system with minimal user training?
Outcome
5 new features
Faster pick rate
Design guide for future developments
Company
Amazon.com
Role
UX Research
UX Design
Timeline
Oct '24 - Jan '25
Team
UX director
Product Manager
Software Developer
Product Owner
View Amazon Automations
āEverybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.ā
-Mike Tyson
Development Process
004
Quick UI fixes before holiday season, followed by complete redesign for long-term efficiency!
Challenges
005
Project constraints
Legacy system constraints
Legacy system with technical limitations required minimal changes to existing code.
Extremely short timeline
4 sprint timeline for research, design, and handoff of 5 features.
Lack of design system
Poor UI hierarchy made feature additions challenging.
Limited resources for user training
No training window required designs based on existing mental models.
Discovery
006
Understanding the subject matter
Stakeholder meetings & learning sessions
Station tour
Becoming a picker for a day
Research
007
Understanding user needs
Research process:
10 user interviews
7 user shadowing sessions
Accessibility assessment
Time and motion study
10
User interviews
The goal was to identify possible time-waste situations such as ādouble-walkingā at station to pick an item.
7
Eye-tracking sessions
The goal was to determine how the current workflows impact gaze patterns for new versus experienced pickers.
Key findings
Bin transition: In case a bin is full, pickers must handle heavy items and push bins simultaneously. This can result in strain or slow processing time.
Quantity Pick Confusion: Single vs. multiple-item picks weren't distinguished. Pickers often returned to stations after realizing they needed more of the same item, wasting valuable time.
Poor Barcode Visibility: Barcodes are crucial for item verification but hard to read due to small font size and low contrast.
Missing Task Progress: Pickers can't see how many items remain on the pod. No warning before pod departure creates time to waste.
Size Uncertainty: Without item size information, pickers take longer to find irregularly shaped products.
Critical picking information lacks proper visual hierarchy, making tasks unnecessarily complex.
Roadblock
008
Oh wait, here comes the holiday rush deadline. We need a new strategy!
With just 5 weeks until peak season, a complete redesign posed too much risk. Changing picker workflows during the busiest time could slow down operations.
Solution: Split the Redesign
We analyzed all six issues against two crucial factors: impact on pick rates and implementation effort. This led to a strategic two-phase rollout.
Phase 1: Pre-Holiday Quick Wins
We tackled three issues that could be fixed without disrupting the existing workflow.
Barcode visibility
Clear quantity indicators
Added size/ scale references
Phase 2: Post-Peak Complete Solutions
The remaining issues required deeper system changes. We developed and tested these solutions during peak season but waited to implement them until January.
Now, lets solve one of these issues...
Problem statement
009
Bin transition: changing the workflow
Users are forced to push out a full bin while carrying a heavy item in one hand. When they are picking an item, the UI suddenly has a blocker warning to replace the full bin before placing the item in hand.
ā
Being an experienced picker, I push out any full bin before a new task begins.
Ideation
010
Solution exploration
š« Changing the work flow
š« Redesigning UI with new components
š« Replace more than half-full bins during idle time
š« Replace based on volume/ weight of the bins during idle time
High Risk: Work flow should not be changed during peak season!
Design
011
Simplifying the experience
Step 04
I added reminders before problem pick to grab user attention when both hands are free i.e. after placing an item in the bin
step 07
If they ignored the reminders in steps 4 and 6, users are forced to push the full bin before starting the problem pick task.
Hence, we eliminate the ergonomic risk of conducting heavy item push-outs with 1 hand.
Future Scope
012
Beyond the critical fixes, we tackled 7+ picker pain points - from scan confirmations to container labels.
Impact
Improved pick rates ->reduced order completion time
Improved quality ->reduced wrong item picks
Scalable foundation for future improvements
Made the picker experience a little more Oh Yeah! and a little less Oh No!
fulfillment centers where the design was launched
pickers use this UI everyday
increase in net sales in fourth quarter
Content Creation - I
008
Next steps
I created a design guide for future designers and product managers. This guide also served as a foundation for the Northstar concepts, that we started post-holidays.
Learnings
Trade-offs: business needs vs user needs
Adaptability to scope changes
Dive deeper into ambiguous project needs
Planning with resource constraints