House2home is an innovative e-commerce platform specializing in home decor products. With a commitment to delivering a seamless shopping experience, House2home aims to simplify the process of decorating new homes and apartments for customers.
When people move to a new home or apartment, they aspire to decorate it according to their taste, but they often get stuck on where to begin. It is quite challenging for them to transform their thoughts and ideas into reality.
House2Home operates as an online platform specializing in home decor, aiming to expand its offerings by introducing a new feature: pre-designed home decor bundles.
These kits cater to individuals who seek to personalize their apartments without the complexities of matching pieces, reducing the risk of unsatisfactory results. To validate this concept, I conducted a sprint using the Google Venture design sprint methodology.
House2Home is an e-commerce website that sells home decor items & accessories like prints, Posters & photos, lighting, small Accents pieces & Accessories. House2 home found that many of their customers have moved into a new home or apartment. These users want to buy multiple items to personalize their new place - but, they don’t feel confident doing it on their own. House2home sees an opportunity for people to find a great “Starter Kit” of items to instantly decorate their new place.
Focus on helping users that want a “starter kit” of multiple products to decorate a new apartment.
On the first day of Sprint, I reviewed the research and mapped the possible steps that users will take while using this feature to achieve their goal. The focus of research was on users who moved into a new home or apartment and needed help with decorating it with tiny items. I highlighted key points from user interviews on sticky notes and created an affinity map to synthesize the data.
After synthesizing the data, I used HMW statements to reach towards the solution.
After gathering enough information, I delved into exploring possible solutions.
Next, I examined a few competitors that use a similar feature on their e-commerce websites for inspiration. I drew insights from Ikea, Etsy, Wayfair, Airbnb, and Amazon.
The next step was to select the most crucial screen from Day 1's map and create eight quick sketches in 8 minutes to ideate various iterations of this screen. These sketches enabled me to focus on understanding what users need on this critical page.
I opted for the "All Decor bundle" screen as the critical screen because users explore different decor themes and various room themes from this screen.
Next, I created a solution sketch comprising three panels: the critical screen, the screen just before it, and the screen right after.
On Day 3, I focused on a storyboard that mapped out the various user actions required to navigate critical screens and make a purchase.
On Day 4, I developed a prototype as part of the GV design sprint. During this phase, my goal was to develop a simple prototype that could help us test the functionality of our design efficiently. In my prototype, I aimed to incorporate features that addressed the pain points identified during the user research phase, providing solutions to the discovered issues.
On Day 5, our objective was to test the prototype's functionality through interviews with five users. I had already started reaching out to users who had recently moved into new houses or apartments as early as the second day. By the time Day 5 arrived, they were prepared to participate in testing the prototype.
For the next stage of usability testing the prototype, my goal includes the following:
The Usability test gave me valuable insights into user experiences and their preferences, guiding the identification of key areas for improvement.
Participants were assigned tasks within the website to evaluate its functionality.
The 5-day GV Design Sprint provided a structured and rapid approach to ideation and validation. It allows for efficient conceptualization and testing of ideas within a condensed timeframe. This process was instrumental in streamlining the design of the entire system in just one week. Given additional time, I would dive deeper into certain aspects, such as enhancing the wishlist feature to make it more robust, refining the navigation for an even smoother user experience, and improving the organization and accessibility of themes and categories. Additionally, I would focus on optimizing the cart page, ensuring that participants can easily manage and review their selected items.
