Jewelry Retailer
A usability test of alternative menu designs.
This jewelry brand is a large retailer specializing in high quality, ethically sourced diamonds with over 200 stores across the United States. This study was launched with the intention of evaluating the structure and navigation of the website and mobile experience, which previously felt unintuitive and overwhelming.
As one of the consulting UX researchers, I collaborated closely with the company's stakeholders and my fellow researchers to create a testing plan to understand user expectations and preferences related to the depth and display of product categories and navigational structures.
Role
UX Researcher
Responsibilities
User research, data-driven insights, prototyping
Timeline
Feb 2025
Research Goals
This research follows a completed card sort and tree test study that gathered insights on the organization of the retailer's product offerings and website structure. This usability test expanded upon previous learnings and had the goals of:
Assessing perceptions of online jewelry customers regarding the shopping experience
Evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of proposed navigation designs
Identifying barriers preventing online customers from engaging on mobile smartphone
The conclusion of this study should provide insights that inform efforts to:
Redesign the mobile website navigation
Modify website information architecture
Identify additional opportunities for website navigation improvement
Develop roadmap priorities for any missing features or functionality.
Methodology
We conducted sessions with twenty-one participants over five days. One of three moderators conducted all sessions. Each session was scheduled for 90 minutes in length. Moderators followed a semi-structured test guide. All sessions were conducted remotely via Zoom and were video recorded. The participants tested three interactive Figma prototypes. The presentation of the various prototypes was counterbalanced to reduced learning effects and bias.
We asked the participants open-ended questions and gave them tasks to complete. They shared their opinions and experiences and provided feedback on various elements within the website. We collected qualitative and quantitative data related to their activities and comments.
Participants
Participants were shoppers who had recently purchased fine jewelry online from a retail jewelry store or major department store chain, and we recruited participants to meet specific requirements:
Demographics:
12 Male / 9 Female
Ages 27-60
$50,000+ annual income
Behaviors:
Purchased fine jewelry online in the previous 12 months
Interested in purchasing fine jewelry in the next 3-4 months
Exclusions:
Must not work for a jewelry retailer or distributor
Must not work in retail sales, market research, usability research, or any related occupation
Must not work in website design, software development, or any related occupation
Tasks
Task 1 – Shop for a Gift for a previously identified family member
We asked participants to navigate through the menu to find a location they thought would have suitable gift options.
Task 2 – Find a diamond and yellow gold ring offered by the Scout & Lark brand
We asked participants to again navigate through the menu to find the specified item.
Task 3 – Imagine that you are going to purchase diamond stud earrings
We asked participants to navigate to where they would find this kind of product and let us when they had found them. This task had a timed element.
Task 4 – Imagine that you’re looking to purchase an engagement ring. You want to design your own unique ring.
We asked participants to navigate to where they would find that option.
Menu Variations
This project came with a clear set of requirements and expectations, but we also made it a priority to gather insights first hand. We had the opportunity to send team members to different facilities to shadow nurses and get a direct understanding of their needs as the end users of our product. Our goal was to observe their current scheduling process, make note of clear pain points, and analyze their makeshift solution to display the staffing optimization algorithm.
Once we had a first iteration of a few essential workflows, we held two design feedback sessions at different HCA facilities where nurses could drop in throughout the day and leave comments. The participants were very engaged and excited to see us working on improving their scheduling process. They were pleased with the direction our solution was taking, with the most frequent requests being to change how we alert of staffing issues, offer a more comprehensive view of all shifts, and to provide an easier method of matching nurses with a needed skill set to an open shift. We translated their sticky note suggestions into clear goals for our next iterations.
Findings
HCA needed a way to transform their scheduling and staffing process to improve employee satisfaction, provide equitable and balanced schedules, and have the ability to match prospective patient volume to staff.
They already had developed a staffing optimization algorithm, so it was up to us to operationalize it via a new UI.
Background
HCA needed a way to transform their scheduling and staffing process to improve employee satisfaction, provide equitable and balanced schedules, and have the ability to match prospective patient volume to staff.
They already had developed a staffing optimization algorithm, so it was up to us to operationalize it via a new UI.
Design 1
Design 2
Design 3
Findings per task, across designs
Recommendations
HCA needed a way to transform their scheduling and staffing process to improve employee satisfaction, provide equitable and balanced schedules, and have the ability to match prospective patient volume to staff.
They already had developed a staffing optimization algorithm, so it was up to us to operationalize it via a new UI.
Conclusions
HCA needed a way to transform their scheduling and staffing process to improve employee satisfaction, provide equitable and balanced schedules, and have the ability to match prospective patient volume to staff.
They already had developed a staffing optimization algorithm, so it was up to us to operationalize it via a new UI.
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An experience design study of SRLs navigating the PFC.
