Transforming a slow process into a fast and iterative UX work
The main challenges at Stena Line was to gain trust from stakeholders for doing qualitative research and to start designing iteratively. When I started, almost no usability tests had been carried out and the design team was stuck in a slow and tedious process where every detail had to be signed off.
I helped kickstart the testing with real users which led to a whole lot of travel and tons of new insights.
Every paper in the pile is a consent form for a usability study. During 2019 I helped kickstart the testing process and we did more over 120 qualitative tests on five different markets throughout the year.
Setting UX principles
A big part of my work, apart form working cross departments with strategy, has been to design the new website and booking funnel. To align everyone working with that, I involved every other UX-designer to form new principles. Eventually I formulated the UX principles into three distinct categories:
Reliability
- We put the users’ needs first. We are transparent and show the information the user expect and need in order to make an informed decision.
- We let the user feel in control by avoiding unexpected elements.
- We make sure that the solution is secure and follow good ethics. We should always be able to ethically stand behind our design.
- We don’t use dark patterns.
Care
- We create design solutions accessible for everyone.
- We understand where in the journey the customer is and bring emotion, empathy, recognition, empowerment tailored for the moment.
Clarity
- We highlight what’s important
- We strive for simplicity and ease of use
- We provide immediate and clear feedback
Developing new concepts
The work I’ve done at Stena Line has always been rooted in insights from customers. Sometimes, the way customers understand the services is quite different from the way the organization thinks of it. Thus, a big part of the work has been to rethink and to develop new concepts that better communicate what the business wants the customers to see.
