Work - Self Service

Cluster

Providing self service system

Overview

Revolutionizing a complex and time-consuming onboarding process by developing a self-service product from scratch, enabling seamless data retrieval for users without traditional API integration.

Timeline

December - April, 2022-23

responsibilites

Ideation, research, user flows and end-to-end Design

TEam

CEO, CTO, product manager, front end and back end developer

The company

Cluster (Formerly known as Algopix) is a data company that provides real-time, cross-channel eCommerce catalog data supported by individual product-level sales estimates. Cluster serve marketplaces, brands, and financial institutions with their data, helping them to make better decisions and grow their businesses.

The challenge

Create a solution to require our data without complex dev integration, that is fully self-service by our users.

Company Goals

Increase Revenue

Increase Revenue

Gain Market Share

Gain Market Share

Optimize Operational Efficiency

Optimize Operational Efficiency

Enhance Brand Reputation

Enhance Brand Reputation

research

Empowering design with user research

In our company, we have never conducted user research, so I insist on conducting qualitative research before we start designing.

With the limited time I had, I conducted three user interviews with potential and active customers, as well as interviewing stakeholders. This is to understand better what path we want the company and the product to take.

User interviews

Skateholders interviews

1 week

Time for research

An interview with a prospect

analysis

Revealing user insights: The catalog manager persona

The "Catalog Manager" uses e-commerce data on a tight schedule without technical resources or expertise.

From the interviews, I discovered the following JTBD:

Have an organized data.
Know what to sell.
Improving the current monetization.
Have the ultimate shopping experience.

From the interviews, I discovered the following JTBD:

Have an organized data.
Know what to sell.
Improving the current monetization.
Have the ultimate shopping experience.

The initial job is essential for all others, holding everything together, so we've chosen to prioritize it.

Competitors

Conducting competitor research provided valuable insights into user experience, design methods, and market standards. This informed our design approach, incorporating best practices and inspiring fresh ideas.

Here's the main feature wireframes

Wireframing

I took our research findings and turned them into design ideas. I used wireframes to plan how the product should look and be laid out. We kept improving the user interface until it was super user-friendly and smooth to use. This step was key to making sure our design was on point before we started building it.

Solution and Value

An intuitive e-commerce data SaaS

By using Cluster UI, users can to connect instantly and consume our data in real-time. Key features:

Our data access is handled without the contact of a salesperson or a developer

Our data access is handled without the contact of a salesperson or a developer

Users can customize the output of their data to meet their needs.

Users can customize the output of their data to meet their needs.

Emphasize the data itself and its value, rather than complex technical talk about integration and APIs

Emphasize the data itself and its value, rather than complex technical talk about integration and APIs

Product details as the first job to be done

The Product Details wizard flow represents the first and main job we must fulfill for our customers.

We provide enhanced and quality data to our users without changing their workflow. Input and output are xslx/json.

Stay in contact with user’s needs

The available features are presented as well as future features and a subscription option is provided. This allows us to connect to our users' needs.

In addition, a selection of blog posts that relate to the task we adjust in the service, and enhance the value we give.

Design a competitive environment

Allowing users to log in through our website makes it not only a marketing website, but SaaS as well. This is similar to all of our competitors.

Outcome

Users were satisfied with the product

Due to other priorities, we developed it close to my resignation, therefore I lack metrics after deployment.

What I do know, is this solution meets our users and prospects expectations. Users says that this solution will have extreme effect on their job.

In addition, this product was included in sales calls, presenting us as a SaaS company. This helped our primary sales cycle improve because we had a user interface to demonstrate on.

REFLECTION

Utilization of resources differently

This project was special because I took the CEO initiative, and made it come to life from end-to-end. Unfortunately, one of our main challenges was the lack of resources and time, like most startups.

Looking backaward, I feel like more user interviews would have helped me, or recruit a design partner to continue the user research.

Next ->

Reaching significant users growth