This is a password protected project 🔐
This is a password protected project 🔐
This is a password protected project 🔐
This is a password protected project 🔐
WorkSpan
Design Marketplace Accelerator App from scratch
In 2023, my team decided to launch WorkSpan Marketplace Accelerator App to help companies to sell softwares easily on cloud marketplaces like AWS, Google and Azure. By using this web app, sellers can easily create, publish and manage private offers for multiple cloud marketplaces.
🚀🚀 App launched in Nov, 2023
👩🎨 My Role
Lead UX Design
Interface Design
UX Research
User Testing
Design Mapping
⏳ Duration
Oct 2022 - Nov 2023
💬 Team
Celine Wang
Nolyda Tep (PM)
Sanjin Kapetanovic(Engg)
Vivek Singhal(Engg)
Branislav Pakic(Engg)
💼 Project Type
0-1 project
BUSINESS IMPACT
Pre-purchased by Hitachi, potential interests from others
The Marketplace Accelerator App was the biggest project in WorkSpan during 2023.
It was pre-purchased by Hitachi 2 months before the app release.
The app was first presented at AWS Re:Invent in Nov, 2023. WorkSpan received tons of interests from many companies. Below are selected feedback:
NEW SERVICE
Expand to cloud marketplace: new market & new customers
Most of WorkSpan's services focus on co-selling between companies. In late 2022, WorkSpan decided to expand service to cloud marketplaces. On a cloud marketplace, users can buy and sell software products through the platform, just like Facebook marketplace.
For phase 1, WorkSpan collaborated with AWS Marketplace and focused on accelerating the private offer process and manage offers easily. Any offer users publish in WorkSpan Accelerator App will be automatically synced to AWS Marketplace, vice versa.
Unlike a public offer that seller displays on a product, private offer is a customized price and service length negotiated between buyer and seller.
Any offer published in WorkSpan Accelerator App will be automatically synced to AWS Marketplace, vice versa.
Feature Walkthrough
CONTEXT
Private offer is pivotal on cloud marketplace
Bargain is common on marketplaces. On a cloud marketplace, most buyers only accept customized price to close a deal. Sellers spend tons of time on negotiating with buyers on sending them private offers. As a result, selling software on became a painful process. 😨
THE PROBLEM
The current create offer journey on AWS requires involvement of multiple platforms, and lacks of streamlining the process.
User (main persona: seller) negotiates an offer with buyer via multiple emails, and writes down the offer details on a spreadsheet. When the negotiation is complete, user then goes to AWS Marketplace to create and publish the offer.
Current user journey on AWS Marketplace
Email back and forth between buyer and seller
Record offer details on spreadsheet
Create offer on AWS
Offer is published to buyer
Buyer receives offer
OPPORTUNITIES
Can we allow users to take actions on the same platform? Can we allow users to edit the offer before publishing it to buyers?
The involvement of multiple platforms (from email to spreadsheet to AWS portal) creates unnecessary manual work, and may lead to errors and inaccurate data from copying from one place to another. The lack of reviewing and editing mechanism on AWS Portal lowers the confidence level of users. Offers cannot be edited after they are published to buyers.
KEY INSIGHTS FROM INTERVIEWS
People want to create offers fast and accurate
Collected feedback from 15 marketplace users:
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Back and forth conversations
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Extra step to store data on spreadsheet
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Frustrated to send a perfect offer
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Want managers to review offer
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manual work to create similar offers
GOALS
Business goal: WorkSpan revenue growth
The better we can smooth the private offer experience, the more customers are down to purchase this new service. We are using this app to approach a new market with new users.
User goal: streamline offer process to close deals faster
Sellers manage private offers easily on WorkSpan, and thus close deals faster with more revenues.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Be accurate
An offer contains lots of numbers. Accuracy reflects professional level
Minimal effort
Make complex tasks a
light-weighted experience
Make it direct
Editing content directly in context
PAIN POINT 1
From multiple platforms to a single platform: can we streamline the create-offer process on WorkSpan?
BRAINSTORM
Option 1: Import spreadsheet
Users can import spreadsheet to WorkSpan & auto- convert it to an offer form
Pros: easy solution, follow current pattern to use spreadsheet to store data of an offer
Cons: long-term wise, doesn't solve the problem of using multiple platforms
Option 2: Create draft on WorkSpan ✅
Users can create a draft on WorkSpan and publish the offer later
Pros:high business impact, good user experience, scalable design solution
Cons: request more engineering resource
DESIGN GOAL
Designing an intuitive "create draft" experience
Initiate quickly
Allow users to initiate an offer with minimal information.
Update easily
Allow users to add or update information easily at anytime.
Review by others
The draft offer can be reviewed
by others.
USER FLOW
ITERATIONS
Wizard or long form?
Wizard breaks down the information well, but has low transparency.
Long form has high transparency but it requires extra engineering resource.
Wizard - standard WorkSpan form
Long form- new component
USER TESTING RESULTS
Users: "long form is more direct with less clicks!"
Feedback collected from 9 external users (potential customers) & 3 internal users.
INTERACTION DESIGN
Productivity unfolds at different interaction designs
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
01
Expand one section at a time
Clear, not overwhelmed
02
Expand all sections at once
Direct, connecting sections
03
Expand first section by default, others by choice ✅
Give users control
FINAL DESIGN
Create offer form
Review offer form
Dependent fields
PAIN POINT 2
How can we reduce the manual work and increase the level of accuracy of an offer?
SOLUTION
Automate some key fields to save users' time.
Feedback from WorkSpan's sales team
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"Formatting offer name is complex- it usually contains multiple pieces of information. In WorkSpan, we are required to follow a specific pattern."
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"Getting Account ID is a headache. One buyer could have multiple account IDs. The same buyer could have a new account ID. An old or invalid account ID would make the offer invalid and you need to start from the beginning again."
SOLUTION
Auto-search Account IDs
Prompt existing account IDs from the offer history once the user input the customer name, so they can choose from the options.
WIREFRAMES
Prompt on this feature
Search by customer name
Search results
No search result
ITERATIONS
FINAL DESIGN
Search result- no associated IDs
Selected state- prompt
Searching
Search result - found associated IDs
SOLUTION
Auto-fill offer name
Auto-fill the offer name once user has input customer name, product name and customer account ID.
BRAINSTORM
What are the scenarios?
While the auto-fill feature is triggered by default, assuming users like the format WorkSpan provides, I want to give them flexibility to override.
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Auto-fill Offer name after user input "product, customer name & ID"
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Update Offer name after user updates any of the above info
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Pause this feature when user overrides Offer name
Does placement matter? At top vs. in the middle
Showing the offer name at top follows the tradition to have the name as the first field. However, there is a high learning curve to educate users about this feature without a prompt. Showing the offer name in the middle seems odd, but users will realize it's auto-filled in the process.
Ultimately, I prioritized low-learning curve over tradition - learning by doing is more intuitive.
Option 1: at top
Option 2: in the middle ✅
FINAL DESIGN
Auto-fill offer name
Update offer
Override offer name
App Overview
Offer Landing page
On Offer Landing Page, users will have an overview of all their offers. Offer statuses are color coded. Users can easily access the offers on AWS by clicking "offer link."
Offer Overview
Users can access the offer via overview page.
Stages shows the offer status. Offer Overview shows all the details of the offer.
An inline message reminds users to complete the offer when it is still at draft stage. This page can be shared and accessed by others.
Illustrations
A matching illustration is displayed after user creates or publish an offer.
