Abcam are a life science company that manufacture and supply a wide range of products used in scientific research.
As part of a larger digital transformation programme, Abcam wanted to improve their online e-commerce experience for scientists looking to find and buy products online.
The goal was to launch an MVP to a small number of customers and gain insight about the new experience, before scaling it to a more global customer base.
Project type
E-commerce
Industry
Life science
Role
Lead UX Designer
Duration
2020 - 2024
What I did
Designing the new search
Working with stakeholders and SMEs
I ran online workshops with stakeholders to understand their opinions and views on the current search journey, as many of them were scientists themselves.
I walked through the journey with them step by step, collecting their feedback and recording it on a journey map in Miro.
Talking with real users
Working with the product manager and a user researcher, we conducted user interviews to understand scientist’s JTBD and pain points when buying products from Abcam.
We also observed users interacting with the current search journey in a series of walkthroughs and task analysis sessions.
Creating a journey based on scientific needs
Working with the product manager and user researcher, we analysed the research to understand the scientists JTBD and mapped these to form the outline of a new customer journey.
We then wrote User Stories for each stage of the customer journey, which allowed us to start thinking in more detail about tasks scientists needed to complete.
Designing a new search concept
I started prototyping a new search journey based on the three main steps involved in the customer journey - searching for a product, comparing results and choosing a product
I based a lot of my descision making during the design process on what I discovered during the research phase and from talking with stakeholders.
Testing with scientists and stakeholders
The search journey prototype was tested with a cohort of researchers and reviewed with a number stakeholders from across different business functions.
Scientists were asked to complete tasks and also asked to give their overall impressions of the new design and feedback in terms of it's accessibility, how it stacked up against competitors.
Creating the UI and a Design system
After the lower fidelity versions of the prototype had been tested and changes made based on feedback, we decided to realease a functional MVP that would be tested with real customers.
The UI was designed using a global design system that was shared accross all squads. I also created UI elements that were specific to the search journey, and integrated these with the design system.
Outcomes & thoughts
As part of a global e-commerce rollout, the new search journey launched in early 2024, leading to an increase in order numbers, customer satisfaction and NPS.
On this project there was large amount of collaboration with senior stakeholders and subject matter experts in the form of workshops and design thinking sessions which I really enjoyed.
I found this collaborative aspect incredibly useful for validating UX decisions and approaches alongside furthering my scientific and domain knowledge.