Discovery and alignment: End-to-end delivery courier app design

01. Overview

The goal

The goal of this study was improving the delivery experience for couriers by addressing the challenges they face in their workflow, aiming to improve their productivity, job satisfaction, and overall delivery performance.

My role

As the UX designer responsible for the end-to-end process from discovery to final testing, I jumped into the world of our delivery personnel. I conducted interviews, contextual inquiries, and usability tests to gain deep insights into their challenges, behaviors, and needs.

Impact

The discovery made during this case study not only solved key courier challenges but also exposed deeper systemic issues across both external and internal operations, such as sales and call center inefficiencies. This insight led to identifying problems and implementing step-by-step solutions throughout the entire service ecosystem.

02. About the company

Menu Group LTD is an innovative online platform that has revolutionized the delivery of flowers, beverages, and restaurant food in Armenia.

Founded in 2012 by a group of tech enthusiasts in Yerevan, Menu Group set out to change the way people experience dining by bringing the best offerings from the city's top restaurants and specialized stores directly to their doorsteps.

Today, Menu Group delivers from over 700 of the most popular spots in town, ensuring that customers can enjoy a tasty meal without leaving their homes.

As the company grew, the number of essential employees, including delivery personnel, increased, leading to a rise in their problems.

03. Problem

Couriers encounter multiple challenges and obstacles while fulfilling their deliveries, resulting in reduced productivity, customer dissatisfaction, and lower job satisfaction.

These challenges include:

Poor route planning

Unclear delivery instructions

Lack of real-time updates

Insufficient communication with customers and the company

As a result, couriers experience high levels of stress and frustration, leading to a diminished sense of job satisfaction.

The issue arose when the delivery couriers, dispatchers, and contact center agents reported a large volume of calls regarding delayed and mixed orders causing frustration among the delivery personnel.

Despite facing various challenges, we recognized the significance of the problem related to a huge amount of calls about order issues and made it our top priority to find a solution.

04. My approach

1. Kick off

I conducted stakeholder interviews and facilitated meetings with business and management teams to define our success metrics.

This process was crucial for understanding underlying assumptions and hypotheses, scoping our work effectively, and ensuring alignment across all teams.

By doing so, we aimed to establish clear objectives and measurable goals to guide our project towards successful outcomes.

Metrics:

Improved user satisfaction

Cost savings

Efficiency and effectiveness (usability)

Decreased support tickets

Reduction in average delivery time

2. User research a.k.a discovery

I conducted a comprehensive study by engaging with couriers from diverse demographics, using 1:1 interviews and contextual inquiry to closely observe and understand their behavior.

During the interview sessions, I crafted questions to be highly open-ended, ensuring an approach that followed the TEDW (Tell me, Explain, Describe, Walk me through) framework.

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I conducted in-depth inquiries with three couriers to gain a comprehensive understanding of their delivery experiences. To immerse myself further in their world, I actively participated in the delivery process with two couriers who used cars and one courier who delivered on foot.

3. Research analysis

We began identifying patterns and translating our discoveries into valuable insights.

We delved into research findings, translating them into themes with the affinity diagram method. We brainstormed freely, generating numerous potential solutions to address user needs and challenges.

Afterward, we carefully evaluated each idea based on feasibility, usability, and alignment with project objectives. This led us to identify the most promising concepts for further exploration.

4. Rapid prototyping & concept testing

To ensure our designs met user expectations, we validated them through rapid testing with low-fi wireframes, gathering valuable feedback.

This iterative process allowed us to identify and address key usability issues, such as simplifying the shift scheduling flow for delivery couriers.

As a result, we optimized the final product to better meet their needs, significantly improving their overall experience and efficiency.

5. Design & Feedback loops

Once we gathered sufficient insights, I commenced the creation of final UI concepts. Throughout this process, I incorporated iterations and feedback loops by presenting the designs to stakeholders and gathering their input.

Regular stakeholder presentations and discussions ensured that the designs aligned with business goals and user needs. This iterative approach allowed for continuous refinement and improvement of the UI concepts, ultimately leading to a more effective and user-friendly delivery app.

6. Usability test & analysis

Our usability testing results demonstrated that the redesign of our app significantly improved the user experience.

We conducted usability testing with a group of 5 participants and used the following metrics to evaluate the success of our redesign

05. Impact

The discovery made during this case study not only solved key courier challenges but also exposed deeper systemic issues across both external and internal operations, such as sales and call center inefficiencies. This insight led to identifying problems and implementing step-by-step solutions throughout the entire service ecosystem.

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