Project Context

Amber Waves Farm is a working farm, market, and restaurant in Amagansett New York.

Amber Waves grows vegetables and sells them to local restaurants in New York.

In this case study, I’ll detail the process of improving their Wholesale Ordering site to create a simple, streamlined process for users and Amber Waves Employees

Solution Preview

The flow on the left illustrates the ideal user journey for placing a customized order to improve order accuracy, favoriting ingredients, and reordering past orders to streamline the ordering process.

Improvement Metrics

The metrics below highlight improvements in the order processing flow after the redesign. Key wins include significantly reducing the time Amber Waves' wholesale manager spends manually processing orders and resolving incorrect orders.

+1 hr/day

Time saved on re-harvesting
incorrect orders

+2 hr/day

Time saved manually
processing orders

75%

Faster searching
and ordering for items

Stakeholder interviews to understand business goals

We wanted to learn more about the current process, challenges, and business goals from Amber Waves Employees, so we could better understand how to create an effective solution.

We conducted a stakeholder interview with Farm & Wholesale Manager, Isabel Milligan to learn more about their business goals, current challenges, and any constraints they might have.

Key Findings From Interview

What Success Looks Like

What is their desired outcome?

Standardizing orders: Transitioning all orders to the site for standardized processing, leading to streamlined harvesting and invoicing

Current Solutions and Challenges

What's going wrong with how it works now?

Multiple order sources: Order requests come in through text messaging, email and Excel, making it difficult to manage
Time-consuming process: Manually consolidating the orders is time-intensive
Accuracy Risk: The process can introduce errors and a risk of orders being inaccurate

How will this outcome improve their business?

What opportunities exist related to business goals?

Boosting revenue: Increasing the number of orders being processed by automatically processing them on the website, thereby increasing revenue
Business growth: Empower Amber Waves to scale out other areas of the business by saving time on manual order processing through standardization, thereby reducing inaccuracies

Constraints / Requirements

What are some things we'll have to "work around"? or consider?

No major overhaul of the site since Isabel and her customers already how to use it
Simply make the site more user friendly to avoid the texting and emailing for placing orders

Understanding User Goals

Next, we utilized secondary research and user interviews to further understand how customers place orders, and their specific goals when doing so

Using secondary research to understand behavior

One of the biggest challenges for Amber Waves is that orders and requests are sent through texts, emails, and other alternate channels. This makes processing orders difficult and scattered.

We reviewed some text and email correspondence from our client to understand some of the requests being made by chefs and customers.

Interview with Chef Jack

Additionally, we conducted an interview with an Amber Waves Customer to dive deeper into some of the needs and preferences chefs have when placing an order.

We asked about some background, how they place orders, and some of the important aspects of ordering efficiently and accurately

Photo of Chef Jack preparing a dish for Amber Waves Farm's restuarant

Synthesizing Data Into User Persona

From our research, we were able to define a user persona, highlighting key needs and goals in the wholesale ordering process.

Jumpin' Jimmy

Head Chef at Jumpin' Jimmy's

Frustrations

Struggling with a tight ordering window after getting input from staff
Not able to easily find or reorder frequently used items
Not able to customize items to match menu needs

Needs and Goals

Be able to place orders efficiently and accurately
Be able to customize produce according to his menu needs

Scenario

It’s the end of the day and Jimmy needs to check in with his staff to assess inventory. He will create menu specials based on ingredients that's leftover in abundance. For items that are running low, he will place an order from Amber Waves Farm.

Assessing the Solution's Impact on Both Business and Users

To demonstrate the impact of improving the ordering process, I compared the existing workflow with an improved one to highlight the problem areas that we will be addressing.

Streamlining the Ordering Workflow for 75% Faster Results

Below are two workflows: one for chefs ordering wholesale and another for the business processing an order. Red lines and highlighted areas indicate inefficiencies, showcasing opportunities for improvement in streamlining the process for both users and the business.

This workflow involved frequent back-and-forth communication between chefs and Amber Waves Manager Isabel, leading to inefficiencies. Clients often texted or emailed after placing orders to address errors, further complicating the process.

The redesigned flow streamlines order placement for frequent and customized orders, making the process accurate and efficient while significantly reducing inefficiencies and the need for corrections via email or text.

Optimizing the Order Processing Workflow to Save 3 Hours Daily

In this workflow, Amber Waves Manager spends over two hours a day manually processing orders from various sources. Inaccurate orders often require re-harvesting, taking up to 15 minutes per correction. Fixing just a few orders daily adds up, wasting significant time.

The redesigned flow streamlines order processing, with most orders now handled online, reducing the need for manual processing and re-harvesting, and saving significant time.

Sketching Solutions That Align with Business Goals

Recognizing the potential impact on both users and the business, I proposed features designed to support their goals effectively.

My Favorites Lets users favorite an ingredient

Order History Lets users review previous purchase

Order Customization Lets users customize an item according to their needs

I chose to prioritize these features because they align with our user and business goals of streamlining and standardizing the ordering process.

Improving Usability Through Iterative Testing

After selecting the features, the next crucial step was to identify and address any major usability issues through testing to ensure the designs are user friendly.

First major improvement results

During item customization users indicated they might need to customize other attributes beyond size, such as shape or qualities like ripeness.

Change: Replaced color and size options with a customization form, allowing users to specify their exact needs.
Result: 100% of users felt confident that they're order will be accurate.

Second major improvement results

Users found it time-consuming to be prompted for substitutions for every item.

Change: Substitution requests are triggered only for low-stock items, streamlining the ordering process for users.
Result: 100% of users found this more convenient and felt it did not disrupt their ordering process.

Third Major Improvement Results

Users noted that they frequently order the same pantry items and found it time-consuming to select them repeatedly.

Change: Replaced the "Buy Again" category with a reorder button on past orders, allowing users to quickly reorder exact items without scrolling through a lengthy list.
Result: 90% of users found the one-click reorder feature helpful, eliminating the need to re-select individual items.

Highlighting Key Features

After testing and iterating on the solution, I created high-fidelity designs for these features to show the details of their functionality, and how they might support business and user goals in the ordering process.

Customizable Orders

This feature lets users specify vegetable attributes and preferred substitutions, aligning with key user priorities identified in research. Chefs, particularly when creating menu specials, appreciate this customization. It enhances confidence in orders and minimizes follow-up texts and emails.

Reordering Made Easy

This feature allows users to quickly reorder past purchases, addressing a key pain point identified in user research. Previously, customers relied on emails or texts, which were time-consuming for both them and Amber Waves employees. By centralizing reorders online, the process is streamlined, saving time and enabling the team to focus on other priorities.

Saved Favorites

This feature allows users to save items to a Favorites List. User research revealed that chefs often need quick access to specific ingredients for menu specials. The Favorites List simplifies this process, enabling them to find and order their essential items more efficiently.

Next Steps

If I had more time to continue improving on the experience, I’d love to conduct additional research into how Amber Waves Farm manage fresh produce to further improve the user experience.

Split testing Category Filters

Our user research shows that chefs prioritize produce freshness, especially for items like lettuce. By introducing a category filter for same-day harvested produce, Amber Waves Farm can promptly notify customers about these items.

Additionally, category filters streamline site navigation, extending to other categories such as Sales and New Arrivals. This feature allows users to quickly find what they need without extensive searching. It's worth conducting A/B testing to determine if this feature improves ordering efficiency and reduces the need for texting and emailing, particularly when incorporating categories for fresh produce and beyond.

Learnings

What users say they do can differ significantly from what they actually do.
During interviews with a chef at Amber Waves Farm, he mentioned he typically places orders online. However, conversations with Manager Isabel revealed that his orders were typically placed in person. This discrepancy underscores the critical need for cross-checking data points to accurately understand user behavior and avoid false assumptions.

Users don't always know what can be improved.
While chefs preferred texting or emailing Manager Isabel over using the UI, they struggled to articulate why. They simply found it easier. To uncover the root of this preference, it’s essential to analyze the specifics of their messages—what they’re requesting, how they’re customizing their orders, and where the UI falls short in meeting those needs.

Effective stakeholder communication is crucial

It’s important to summarize stakeholders' concerns and echo them back to ensure shared understanding. This approach sets the project up for success by saving me time from investing in solutions that don't match their goals.

The Solution should align both business and user goals

Designing a solution solely with user goals in mind can overlook the broader perspective, as a thriving business is essential to serving users. It's crucial to assess the solution from both viewpoints and consider its short-term and long-term impacts.

It's helpful to leverage existing resources

It's helpful to leverage resources that stakeholders have access to when trying to understand the problem. Discrepancies can arise between what they say and actually do, so requesting interviews with their customers and gathering evidence or documentation can be highly beneficial in providing more clarity.

Improving The Ordering Process for Amber Waves Farm