AssemblyDrop
AssemblyDrop is a construction materials marketplace for builders
Assembleydrop digitizes the process of ordering construction materials, focusing on concrete.
Instead of ordering over the phone, AssemblyDrop offers a platform for builders to get their materials faster while making this process more transparent and efficient.
ROLE
Sole UX Designer and researcher
RESEARCH TOOLS
Interviews
THE PROBLEM
Ordering concrete is a long and manual process (phone ordering). Although the process is inefficient, contractors are used to this method, and many have limited digital orientation.
THE SOLUTION
AssemblyDrops offer an intuitive and easy-to-navigate ordering flow. It saves users time and money while providing better scheduling availability for mid-market contractors.
THE PROCESS
RESEARCH - INTERVIEWS
I started by interviewing people in different positions in the construction world. I wanted to gather different perspectives on the problem and validate the existing personas.
I’ve interviewed general contractors, concrete contractors, and concrete suppliers.
RESEARCH GOAL
These interviews were the first research i did for AssemblyDrop, and I had two main goals for this research:
Getting to know the personas better
Understand the current process of ordering concrete from users' point of view, and listen to their pain points
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How do users currently order concrete?
How does the entire process work on both sides - contractors and suppliers?
What are the main difficulties in ordering and delivering concrete?
What are users' main pain points of the concrete experience? (starting at ordering and ending in pouring the concrete)
METHODOLOGY
I conducted six face-to-face and phone interviews. The interviews were semi-structured and lasted about 30 minutes. I interviewed contractors, operation managers, and sales representatives of large concrete suppliers.
Example of a question: Can you run me through the process of the last job you completed -starting with getting the lead all the way through pouring the concrete?
MAIN FINDINGS
Top conclusions from interviews:
Phone Ordering
Contractors order concrete over the phone - it takes about an hour to make the order (including wait times), and usually, they get final approval within 1-3 days.
Spends Up to 5 Hours
When calculating the time contractors spend talking with suppliers (multiple suppliers and multiple calls pre and post-ordering), it comes up to 1.5 - 5 hours.
The Scheduling Collision
Suppliers recommend scheduling concrete 10-14 days in advance, but contractors will often only have a few days' notices.
Preferred Times
Contractors reach out to 1-3 suppliers and prefer to pay more money to get better time slots.
Pump Trucks
In addition to scheduling concrete, contractors need to schedule a pump truck to meet them at the site when pouring the concrete.
Main Pain Point
Both contractors and suppliers mentioned scheduling as their number one pain point. Costly errors is number two.
The Persona Characteristics
The majority of males, aged 35-65, many are not native English speakers. They have large palms and fingers and are a bit rough around the edges. They often don’t wear their prescription glasses on-site because it's inconvenient with the gear.
Specialized Stores
Contractors will sometimes need other materials which they will get from a specialized shop.
Suppliers Not Optimized
On the supplier side - the staff is not always professional enough, and the ordering system is not friendly. In addition, there isn't good connectivity between the departments (which causes expensive errors).
Concrete contractors navigate between their clients and suppliers and service providers, which complicates the scheduling process:
JOURNY MAP
THE SOLUTION
Mobile-first responsive website- users most likely use their mobile phone, but won't download an app they don't know
Use their motivation - connecting with multiple suppliers offers more availability and makes scheduling easy. Easy ordering will reduce errors.
One-Stop-Shop - we take care of the pump truck, and they could purchase materials using us (in the future)
Accessibility - Accessible product that accommodates their needs (large touch area and fonts)
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
To gather all the parameters and design the information architecture, I interviewed three SMEs. My goals for these interviews were:
Gathering the parameters needed to order concrete, group them into categories, and decide which ones are mandatory
Define what is the type of the parameters (Free text, yes/no, range, etc.), and what are the most popular values to set as default
Getting to know the terminology, the meaning, and what are the most common mistakes
I used open card sorting to determine how to group the parameters and created two categories - Concrete details and Site details.
I collaborated with the product manager and CEO to design a complete user flow:
Talking with an AssemblyDrop representative has two goals: to ease the user into the new experience of online ordering, and to validate the information on AD side during phase one.
Creating a transparent experience for the user, where he understands each step to build trust and provide reassurance
HAPPY PATH
WIREFRAMES
Based on the information architecture structure and flow, I started to design wireframes, I started with some hand sketches on procreate and continue to low fidelity wireframes on Figma.
I started with designing for mobile and then added another breaking point for the web since most of our users will use their mobile devices to order.
I focused on the ordering flow itself and then added the login and payment flow.
I created wireframes of Figma to be able to share with the team and get feedback
Since each one of my categories had relatively many parameters I decided to divide each one of them into two to avoid endless scroll
I added a progress bar to add transparency to the flow and reduce frustration
I tried different variations for the same element and consultant with the team
I reviewed the flow and parameters with two SMEs before continuing to the final design
FINAL DESIGN
One of my priorities was to design the mobile and web elements the same. Some of the elements in the wireframes were changed in the final design (percentage axis for example) because of the limited space on mobile and the size of the users' fingers
To prevent overload I created 'depended parameters' that only appear when selecting a specific option
I used relatively large fonts and white space because research discovered users have large palms and fingers and tend not to wear their prescription sunglasses.
FORM ELEMENTS
PROGRESS TRACKER
Web UI vs. Mobile UI
BUTTONS
ERROR MESSAGES
Since our users are not used to the online ordering process I designed intuitive and descriptive error messages and dialog boxes.
MEASURING KPIs:
Success Rate - measuring how many users completed the flow successfully compared to the number of users that dropped out before completing the flow. It’s also important to understand where users drop out and why.
Completion Time - Measuring the time it takes users to complete the order and breaking it down to the time it takes to complete each screen to evaluate each screen on its own.
Errors - User error rate, where the errors accrued, and how many trials it took to succeed after the error
User Satisfaction - upon receiving the order - via interviews or email with NPS and System Usability Scale (SUS)
