Employee tools don’t have to suck! How REI upleveled their retail service design through user research

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In an industry rife with outdated technologies, retailers face challenges balancing e-commerce experiences with brick-and-mortar stores. When store employees provide service to a customer, one negative encounter with a tool is enough to make employees wary of using it again. Knowing the archaic tools used by employees, internal red tape, and a captive audience of 10,000 employees...where does a UX’er begin? Well, employees are customers too! A nimble team at REI is transforming how employees work with mobile, while also improving interactions with customers in physical stores. The team navigates stale enterprise systems, tough decision-makers, and stagnating IT processes. Learn how they performed user research in stores to test and learn under heavy data compliance. This talk includes examples of getting creative with mobile prototypes, workshops, and employee observations - saving the co-op time and money. Also included: advice on winning over stakeholders with an open design process.

Technology

Catherine Ho
User Experience Designer
@CatherinewithaC
Employee tools don’t have to suck!
Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=20
Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey www.uxpa2016.org
#UXPA2016

There's a curtain there and
something's behind that curtain.
I don't know what that something is.
- Aaron, research participant
”
“

Mobile Selling Assistant
POS mobile sled
iPod Touch
Apps

6 Common issues that enterprise UX
Designers have to Face
1. Complex requirements
2. Bureaucracy and red tape
3. Internal politics
4. Large project teams
5. Too many stakeholders
6. Technology stack is out of date
from Jessica Tiao’s webinar How to Design Enterprise Apps that Sell
1 Forge your own path

@CatherinewithaC
Back away from the screen3

Physical prototyping as a tool to
situate in context. Physical
prototyping as a tool to explore
interaction modalities in physically
connected environments.
- Karey Helms, Make the Invisible Physical,
WIAD16 Bristol
”
“
Back away from the screen3

Grow user empathy &
contextual inquiry competencies
Richer stories for illustration
Humanizing and advocacy for users
Design and storytelling skills
Fall in love with your users4

It almost feels like cheating
because your users are
showing and telling you what
they need, it’s almost too easy.
- Designer colleague
”
“
Fall in love with your users4

Dan Willis
Preparing for the UX Apocalypse

Forge your own path
Every person on your team matters
Back away from the screen
Fall in LOVE with your user
1
2
3
4
5 There’s only so much you can do

Session Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/sessionsurvey?sessionid=20
Conference Survey: http://www.uxpa2016.org/survey www.uxpa2016.org
#UXPA2016
Also, help me improve as a speaker w/ feedback
http://bit.ly/rei-uxpa
So, let’s talk…
Thank you
Stephanie Lorenz
UX team at REI
Allan Kempson
Kylee Abbott
Josh Froscheiser
Scott Berkun
Green Vests: Seattle ﬂagship, Denver,
Soho NYC, Salt Lake City, Kirkland
Catherine Ho
User Experience Designer
@CatherinewithaC

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