Project Overview
Solving existing constraints in the wheelchair purchasing Experience
Wheely, once a wheelchair retail shop, identified issues with the existing wheelchair purchasing process. Recognising the lack of a streamlined system and the resulting challenges, I joined their team as a contract designer. My goal was to create a web-based solution that fosters collaboration among wheelchair users, business owners, and occupational therapists, ensuring a more efficient and customised wheelchair buying experience.
My Role
Research, Synthesis, Strategy, User Research, Prototyping, Interaction Design, Usability Testing.
Team
Me (Freelance Product Designer)
1 Stakeholders
2 Engineers
Tools
Figma, Google Meet, Pen & Paper, Google Doc, SurveyMonkey, Notion etc
Timeline
2 Month
Coffee
Way Too Many ☕️
Outcome 📈
✅ Successfully completed the project within the deadline, despite time constraints.
✅ Achieved customer satisfaction in usability sessions.
✅ The product has been launched and adopted by their previous offline customers.
✅ As a designer, this was my first SaaS project where I was involved from 0 to 100.
The Problem
How might we empower wheelchair users with enhanced information and simultaneously streamline processes for business owners, enabling them to assist buyers efficiently?
The current wheelchair purchasing process is marked by user constraints, a lack of streamlining, and considerable uncertainty. This led us to create an improved and efficient process, aiming to provide users with a more streamlined and user-friendly wheelchair purchasing experience.
Current Problems
Overwhelming process, especially for new users
Challenging collaboration with therapists and business owners
Difficulty tailoring wheelchairs based on individual needs
Limited visibility on timelines, approvals, and progress
Insufficient information and collaboration
Needs to rely on people.
The Goal
Simplify the wheelchair buying process for new users.
Improve collaboration betweeen users, therapists, and business owners.
Enhance customization options for tailoring wheelchairs to individual needs.
Provide clear timelines and progress updates for better visibility.
Develop comprehensive information resources and communication channels.
Create a user-centric platform for independent decision-making.
User Research
Wheelchair users feel uncertain when making purchase decisions
Wheelchair users experience uncertainty during the scripting process and seek improved control and transparency throughout their journey. However, existing technology and the environment do not cater to these needs.
🎯 Research Objectives
Gaining a thorough understanding of the current end-to-end process involved in procuring a custom wheelchair, considering the perspectives of wheelchair users, scripters (measurers), and business owners.
Exploring user goals and pain points within the aforementioned experience and journey.
Qualitative Research
5 Interviews
with wheelchair user, business owner and occupational therapist
Quantitative Research
33 Surveys
with 40 participants to understand online productpurchasing behaviour
💡 Research Findings
The custom wheelchair process involves up to 200 measurements, relying on 'eyeballing' and leading to input variability and errors, causing uncertainty for users about the custom fit.
The scripting process can be intrusive and awkward for users.
The wheelchair manufacturing process lacks interactivity, leaving users unaware of the development stage and completion timeline.
Users lack instant feedback on how the chair will feel and look.
There is a lack of a centralized and digitized data collection process.
Data Analysis
Connecting the dots to form thoughtful solutions
Combining research sessions, internet findings, and stakeholder insights, I created an Affinity Diagram to group insights and make sense of the data, identifying current problems in the wheelchair buying experience.
Organizing Research Findings using Affinity Diagram method!
User Journey
Mapping user journey to know the current wheelchair buying process
As I gathered and organized the research data, I crafted a detailed timeline outlining the wheelchair procurement process. This timeline proved instrumental in pinpointing and mapping user pain points throughout their purchasing journey. Following this, I defined three targeted personas centered around product and solution preferences, effectively encapsulating the diverse needs of our user base.
User Journey Mapping of wheelchair buying process!
User Persona
Users often feel overwhelmed and confused when making purchase decision
Through several interviews, I developed user personas based on the findings. An overwhelming 90% of the interviewed users face considerable challenges when deciding on a wheelchair purchase. This complexity stems from over 200 measurements for custom wheelchairs and various factors, creating a notably intricate and challenging decision-making experience.
FINDINGS
Creating a best-fit custom wheelchair needs to be a collaborative process
After thorough research, we've uncovered numerous insights into the existing challenges within the wheelchair purchasing process, which we aim to address with our product. Some of the findings include:
💔
Daunting Process!
Users encounter a lack of information when procuring custom wheelchairs. The high costs in the USA (ranging from $6,000 to $12,000) often lead to extended NDIS funding approval times, reaching up to 12 months.
⏰
Time-Poor!
Due to busy schedules, business owners and scripters struggle to communicate effectively, leaving users uninformed and out of the loop.
🧐
Limited Visibility!
The timeline, approvals, and progress lack sufficient visibility, prompting users to resort to manual follow-ups through phone calls and emails.
💺
Trialing chairs!
In the procurement process, trialing chairs is a crucial step, offering users the opportunity to align their needs with the desired wheelchair type. However, this essential step is currently absent from the process.
👫
Needs Collaborative Process!
Personalized wheelchairs require collaboration among Occupational Therapists, users, business owners, and NDIS, yet communication gaps hinder coordination. Exceptional therapists inquire about lifestyles, not just measurements.
🤪
Rely on People!
Navigating wheelchair procurement is challenging as individuals rely on others, entering a complex world of varying function levels among fellow users, making it difficult to determine specific needs and supports.
Sketch
Sketching rapid solutions for enhancing the wheelchair buying experience
The process of sketching is both enjoyable and effective in devising meaningful solutions to address issues. I generated potential solutions for guiding questions, addressing identified user pain points through an ideation process. Prioritizing based on user value and feasibility (time and cost), I employed techniques such as brainstorming hand-drawn concepts, low-fi wireframes, and an MVP matrix.
Preliminary Paper Solution for Wheelchair Buying Experience.
Information Architecture
Defining Seamless Product Features through Information Architecture
While developing various features for the website, it was essential to meticulously plan how these elements would seamlessly integrate and identify multiple access points. Consequently, an Information Architecture (IA) was established to delineate the hierarchy of information across the entire site.
Information Architecture of the Wheely! 🗺
Usability Testing
Testing the designs with the potential users
Upon completing the initial design iteration, I conducted usability testing with a diverse user group, which included wheelchair users and occupational therapists, aimed to confirm the design's clarity and alignment with user needs. The overwhelmingly positive feedback instilled confidence in the design's effectiveness. Minor adjustments, mainly in terminology and content placement, were implemented to further enhance the overall user experience.
Final Solution
Facilitating a simplified wheelchair buying experience
After extensive rounds of usability testing, we've finalized a version for the initial MVP release. The product is designed to alleviate current constraints in the wheelchair buying experience, emphasizing seamless collaboration among scripters, therapists, and patients to ensure the perfect deliverable for each wheelchair.
Homepage
To begin, users are prompted to use the Wheelchair Guide feature to discover a suitable wheelchair.
Research highlights the significance of videos, with 43% of online shoppers relying on them for decisions on made-to-order products. Consequently, the platform integrates process explainer videos and client reviews, prioritizing transparency and information to empower users in making well-informed purchasing decisions.
Pain points tackled:
✅ Information and transparency
✅ Confidence and control
Wheelchair Guide
Introducing a new feature with insightful questions to assist users in refining their options, providing enhanced control and transparency over the available choices.
Features:
High-level questions as a starting point to help users find suitable wheelchair options
Percentage wheel to keep users inform of the progress.
Information button for further clarification along the way.
Ability to skip questions if users are unsure.
View wheelchair matches and their keybenefits. User can then customise, view more details, email their matches or save to their account.
Pain Points Tackled:
✅ Daunting process
✅ Information and direction
Product page and 3D Customiser
Research indicates users prefer pre-purchase research, desiring the ability to explore product options independently. The 3D Customizer offers a digital visual context, mirroring an in-person experience, allowing users to browse freely without commitment.
Features on Product Page:
360° preview of wheelchair models
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Product filter is perfect for experienced wheelchair users who knows what they want and does not need to use the Wheelchair Guide.
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Product details for in-depth information of the selected wheelchair, which includes promotional trailer, insights and recommendations from healthcare therapists
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Reviews of the product from other wheelchair users
Features on 3D Customizer:
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Live 360° preview of wheelchair with ability to zoom to specific parts
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Percentage wheel and secondary menu to keep users informed of the progress of the customisation.
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Item details of accessories and add-ons.
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Summary and estimated quote of the selected items.
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Ability to collaborate with and contact the healthcare therapist through a build code.
Pain points tackled:
✅ Control and transparency
✅ Instant feedback
Track my process
A tracking feature for users to monitor their wheelchair progress, encompassing NDIS funding updates. This enhances transparency for users while concurrently reducing business owners' time spent on manual updates and phone calls.
Features:
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Status updates through email and sms subscriptions to keep users in the loop even without logging in.
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Access helpful information like main point of contact, documentations and other details in one place.
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Photo updates of wheelchair being constructed and parts arriving, to keep users involved in the process.
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All message correspondence with Wheely and user's therapist easily accessible.
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Draft of wheelchairs for ones that were incomplete.
Pain points tackled:
✅ Reduce excessive back-and-forth communication
✅ Transparency
✅ Involvement and in control
Virtual collaboration portal
Introducing a collaborative portal, enabling healthcare therapists to manage and share crucial information with their clients. This platform facilitates seamless collaboration with Wheely to design and build a personalized wheelchair tailored to the unique needs of each user.
Features:
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Client list where the healthcare therapist can manage and recommend wheelchair to their customers.
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Add new client and enter their scripting form to their account
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Recommend wheelchair, a feature for healthcare therapists to generate and share a unique code to the user for virtual access.
Pain points tackled:
✅ Collaboration
✅ Communication
✅ Centralised data collection
Outcome
My greatest success in the project was being able to contribute to something beneficial for people with disabilities. 😇
Despite being a short-term freelance project, it was an enjoyable undertaking that demanded a significant amount of hard work. Commencing in early 2020, it represented my first solo venture in creating a fully functional SaaS product, a milestone that fills me with pride.
Some of the suceess of this project includes:
✅ Successfully completed the project within the deadline, despite time constraints.
✅ As a designer, this was my first project where I was involved from 0 to 100.
✅ Achieved customer satisfaction in usability sessions.
✅ The product has been launched and adopted by their previous offline customers.
Learnings & Next Steps
The significance of posing thoughtful questions is boundless.
Asking the right questions:
In any interaction, be it user research, peer discussions, or stakeholder interviews, I find it essential to employ the "think before you ask" approach. Prior to meetings, I consistently take notes and establish clear goals, a practice that has greatly improved my communication, management, and team collaboration skills.
3D features are really useful for the e-commerce industry:
Utilizing 3D features in e-commerce, particularly in this project, had a remarkably positive impact on simplifying the wheelchair purchase decision-making process. This success has led me to believe that the application of 3D features can bring valuable improvements to various e-commerce businesses.
Take small steps:
In the early stages, refrain from fixating too much on details. While presenting and testing a less polished product may pose challenges, it's crucial to acknowledge that design is an iterative process that demands ongoing testing and validation.
If I were part of the project, my suggested next steps would include:
Establishing a design system for enhanced and consistent guidelines.
Implementing auto layout in design. (Because I wasn’t used to it back in 2020)
Exploring additional possibilities with the 3D features.
Conducting further user testing and refining the design based on feedback.