The Canada Post app has over 10 million downloads on both iOS and Android platforms, ranking as #2 in the list of most downloaded apps in the business category on the Apple Store. Canada Post wants to increase the value proposition of the mobile app by expanding its functionality due to low levels of engagement.
The current Canada Post app has limited functionality. Users have had issues with the app lacking in features such as estimating prices of shipped packages. This is causing a lack of engagement on the app and an increase in negative reviews. In order to make the app more valuable to customers, Canada Post wants to increase the value proposition of the mobile app by expanding its functionality and adding a new feature to quickly and easily estimate price rates of shipping packages.
Project details: The project aims to create a mobile app for Canadians to easily calculate shipping and mailing costs both domestically and internationally, targeting a 15% increase in user engagement. It will employ a modified version of Android's Material Design and adhere to AA WCAG standards to meet the Government of Canada's requirements.
Role: Lead UX Designer
Duration: 4 months
Tools: Figma, Miro
I will be outlining the three critical phases of this project: Empathize, Strategize, and Design. Following that, I will provide an overview of the final product's appearance and features.
During the initial stage of the project, we faced some challenges in fully grasping our customers' desires, requirements, and expectations. At the outset of stage one, our primary objectives revolved around addressing three pivotal questions:
It was essential for us to tackle these questions head-on to ensure a successful project outcome.
I joined the UX Research team for a two-week sprint, supported by two skilled researchers, to conduct 12 user interviews. My role involved taking detailed notes and identifying common themes, pain points, and user needs. I also analyzed app store reviews and conducted a thorough competitor analysis, giving us a clear understanding of the industry landscape and user expectations.
After reviewing our findings, I've categorized the key issues and reframed them as opportunities we can investigate. I also grouped related topics to facilitate a more focused analysis of our needs.
After immersing myself in extensive research and interviews, I uncovered three pivotal insights:
Takeaway 1: Customers find the process of searching for shipping rates to be excessively time-consuming.
Takeaway 2: Users prioritize swift access to shipping rates. This means they seek quick estimations without the hassle of delving into intricate rules and regulations regarding what they can or cannot ship, including details on liquids and such.
Takeaway 3: Lastly, users desire customizable shipping options to better cater to their specific needs.
Once we had the data we needed, the team and I found ourselves in quite a whirlwind of insights. It was time to roll up our sleeves, roll out the priorities, and craft a cohesive strategy for the actual user experience we wanted to design collaboratively. Our next step involved presenting this vision to our stakeholders.
To kick things off, I teamed up with the crew and whipped up a customer journey map. This was our compass to pinpoint precisely where the gaps existed, those areas screaming for our attention to propel this product to new heights. I've got a simplified version of the journey map I crafted, and I'll delve into the insights it revealed.
We distilled three key insights from our journey map analysis:
Having completed the research, strategy formation, and received stakeholder approval, I transitioned into the design phase.
As I dove into the design phase, it became abundantly clear that we were working against a tight deadline, and our developers needed to kickstart their work sooner rather than later.
In the midst of working on high fidelity designs, three critical questions emerged:
Question 1: Did our design system require new components? Research revealed that many users would be accessing our platform via mobile devices to find shipping rates. This opened up an opportunity to steer customers towards physical Canada Post retail offices instead of opting for a competitor. So, did we possess the necessary components to facilitate this transition?
Question 2: Were there any specific user needs that demanded my attention during the design process? Accessibility was a paramount concern at Canada Post. Did our toolkit encompass the resources needed to ensure the accessibility of this feature?
In order to integrate our primary findings from the research insights into the design, we focused on the following strategies:
The initial interface element that a customer sees is the strategically placed 'Postal Code' input field. This decision was grounded in the recognition that shipping rates are intrinsically linked to the origin location. To enhance the precision and ease of this step, we meticulously integrated the "AddressComplete" tool by Canada Post (a tool that helps users find the correct address) directly into the postal code field. This integration is not just a functional addition; it represents a thoughtful design choice aimed at assisting those customers who might be uncertain of their postal code. By enabling a seamless and intuitive address retrieval process, we significantly reduce potential entry barriers for our users.
Following the successful input of the postal code and destination details, customers are seamlessly transitioned to the next critical phase: specifying the package's physical attributes, namely its weight and size. The design of this step is underpinned by a commitment to clarity and simplicity. I have deliberately structured the interface to guide customers through this process in a straightforward and user-friendly manner, ensuring that they can provide necessary package details with ease and accuracy.
Regarding the inclusion of a progress bar, this decision was approached with a high level of scrutiny and deliberation. The fundamental rationale for omitting the progress bar stemmed from a thorough analysis of the user journey within our three-step process. We recognized that in such a streamlined process, a progress bar might not add significant value, and could potentially clutter the interface. I made this design choice to ensure a clean and focused user experience. We reserve the use of progress bars for more complex tools, where their presence can more effectively communicate the user’s advancement through a multi-step process, thereby enhancing interaction and engagement.
We successfully launched the project about two months later, and we celebrated the achievement at Montana's, a restaurant conveniently close to the office at the time, with the entire mobile team. The results were promising, with a remarkable +24% increase in user engagement – people were spending more time on our app. Additionally, our app's reviews skyrocketed from a modest 3.1/5 to an impressive 4.3/5 stars over a span of six months.
This UX case study concludes with our successful enhancement of the Canada Post mobile app's user experience. Achieving and exceeding our goals through research, design, and testing, we saw an increase in user engagement and app ratings, validating the effectiveness of our efforts.
In summary, here are three learning points to carry forward into future projects:
With these lessons in mind, future projects can benefit from a user-centered approach, adaptability, and a focus on measurable success.
