ESW Returns Portal
DESKTOP APPLICATION
ESW Returns Portal
Redesigning the Returns Centre experience
Returns Centre is one of the important branches of eShopWorld management application. Through the years the returns application became dated and failed to meet the management needs which required features that were difficult to implement with the current UI model.
My involvement
I led the redesign process of Returns Centre application collaborating closely with a team of project managers and developers. The goal of the new application was to meet the new requests of eShopWorld’s clients and also increase the productivity of Return Centres operators by adding new features.
First thoughts
When I was first introduced to the Return Centre application, I noticed a couple of issues. Besides not being aligned with the ESW branding, the application had a couple of design and functional flaws, like:
- the user interface wasn’t very intuitive
- missing breadcrumbs and navigation menu
- horizontal scrolling was required for all pages with data tables (even on large screen resolution)
- heavy content for most pages making it hard to follow the information
Understanding the users problems
In order to better understand how the operators are using the application, the PM team visited an ESW Return Centre and discussed with a few operators. Along with the PM team I held contextual interviews with the operators to understand how they are using the interface and what (if any) are the major pain points.
Key findings were:
- Operators were able to do their job with the current interface but there was missing functionality that could improve their productivity
- The UI was very slow at times while processing the input data
- Search function was an important feature for the operators but it was pretty basic and also hard to access
A couple of suggested improvements that came from discussions with operators were:
- Easier access to information
- Improved Search function (dynamic search)
- Ability to attach a photo of the rejected items before closing a return order
- Shorter loading time when accessing returns list (below 5sec)
- Less cognitive load per page
- Reporting features to track operators activity (for managers)
- Improvements to the manifest flow (new features)
Features map and functionality
New features and general functionality layout was discussed with stakeholders in order to create a user flow for the Return Centre application.
First shot (wireframes)
Based on the operators feedback and PM requests of new features I started working on some wireframes to get the discussions going and receive initial feedback from the team.
Prototyping & Testing
Based on the feedback received from the operators and PM requests of new features I created a Maze prototype and set up a couple of individual usability sessions to validate the new concept.
The usability testing was via Zoom video call and it lasted for 1 hour. The overall positive feedback and Maze metrics of 90% success rate proved that the design was an improvement compared to the previous version.
The new UI
After gathering all the feedback from the internal team and making some small tweaks that were discovered during the UT, I moved forward with the vidusal design and brand aligning the new UI. The new application components were based on the new design system built in-house (in Figma) especially for the Return Centre.
The new Design System
The new design system components were created by me and followed the best practices and accessibility standards (https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21). While designing the components I researched the main DS like Google Material Design, Attlassian Design System and IBM’s Carbon Design System.
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New feature: Photo validation
A major improvement to the return order review flow, came from the discussions with operators. The ability to add a photo of the item that is being reviewed would improve the credibility of the review.
New Feature: Nike Grading system
Grading was a new feature that was suggested from the discussions with clients (especially Nike) in order to better categorze the returned items and also minimize the return shipping cost. Grading system had 3 types:
- Grade A – item is in fairly good condition and can be returned to seller
- Grade B – item requires cleaning / refurbishing before it can be sold again
- Grade C – item is in poor condition and cannot be resold
Alternatively the client had the option to select or deselect the Grading system from the ESW Management interface.
Key takeaways
- The entire redesign process of Return Centre took 18 months from start to finish and was considered a success by the team and the Return Centre operators. The new user interface improved the operators productivity and the overall usability of the UI.
- Collaborating and receiving feedback from operators was sometimes difficult because their schedule wasn’t very flexible. I had to leverage most of my initial findings from discussions with internal product team and from my own research.
- The Maze scenarios helped validate the new concept and also provide valuable feedback on layout intuitiveness and task completion speed.
📥 Return Centre – Usability Testing Report
📥 Conclusion (maze rating system)