The Challenge:
The company aimed to replace a legacy quote-building application critical to in-store sales operations. While the new app had a modern architecture and updated UI, it faced strong resistance from store associates.
Issues to Resolve
-
Major UX differences that disrupted established workflows
- Missing or hard-to-find core functionality
- Preference for the familiar flow of the old tool despite its outdated design
- Conflicting stakeholder priorities and lack of alignment
New Business Objectives:
- Achieve 100% adoption with minimal pushback
- Deliver new functionality that genuinely helps associates
- Provide quick-access tools for on-the-floor sales enablement
The Approach:
I took a proactive role as Product Owner and UX Specialist, guiding product strategy and implementation:
Prioritize, Align and Present
- Product Ownership & Stakeholder Alignment:
- Facilitated regular cross-functional meetings to align stakeholders from operations, IT, and sales
- Converted feedback into prioritized user stories and design requirements
- Balanced legacy familiarity with modern UX patterns to ease the transition
UX Workshop: Aligning Around the Associate Experience
As part of our discovery process, I facilitated a collaborative UX workshop with store associates, sales leaders, and key stakeholders to uncover pain points and validate priorities before development began.
Goals of the w\Workshop:
- Map out the end-to-end quote creation workflow as it existed in both the legacy and new tools
- Identify friction points that were causing pushback or confusion
- Brainstorm opportunities for small UX wins that could build user trust
- Establish shared definitions of success from both associate and stakeholder perspectives
Key Takeaways:
- Associates needed quicker access to price breakdowns and discount tools while on the sales floor
- Navigation had to feel familiar but remove redundant steps
- A more touch-friendly approach was taken
- Visual clarity and speed were more important than feature density
- Top-requests for improvement were brought to the forefront
This workshop laid the groundwork for prioritizing usability over novelty. By involving real users early and often, we created a UX workflow that addressed real frustrations, not just assumptions.
The Outcomes:
- 100% Adoption: Seamlessly sunset the legacy app and transitioned all stores to the new platform
- Increased Satisfaction: Post-launch store visits and surveys confirmed improved confidence and reduced frustration among associates
- Improved UX: Reduced time to generate quotes and locate key pricing tools during live sales interactions
- Improved Collaboration: Created a product development process where end users had a seat at the table
- Scalable Architecture: Delivered a clean, modular foundation that can support future product enhancements
Key Takeaways:
This project required deep product leadership and empathy-driven design. By balancing the needs of store associates, business stakeholders, and the dev team, I was able to lead a successful transformation of a core sales tool and turn initial resistance into enthusiastic adoption.