Space donation
2021
Offering Walmart store spaces for NGOs to run their events
With the Space donation program, Walmart provides a smooth experience to local non-government organisations to book store spaces for organising fundraising and educational events that benefit the larger community.
Skills
UX & UI
Prototyping
Industry
Information Technology
Team
I led UI/UX design while working with two researchers, ten engineers, and a product manager.
Scope of work and timeline
The project included conducting research to understand current user journeys in order to design a new product that caters to user needs.
Research Analysis
User Experience
User Interface
Research Analysis
We partnered with a design agency to do primary research with the users and help us understand the current user-journey and discover their pain-points and needs.
James Holfman
About James
James is a troop leader interested in coordinating fundraisers for the NGO. He wants to help troops build entrepreneurial and life skills. He wants to promote his troop as a community outreach unit.
Pain-points
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No online presence goes to a physical store
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Lack of ability to change time and date
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Potentially a long process to set up
Needs
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Easily view available dates and times
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Online reservations
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Online confirmation approval
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Ability to check in and check out
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Provide feedback and experience
Emma Hathaway
About Emma
Emma is a store manager at Walmart. She is interested in building good relationships with her local community by leveraging her store spaces for community outreach. She is also interested in developing leaders in areas of responsibility within the store.
Pain-points
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Difficult to legitimize an organization and provide a reason to either approve or reject
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No process for changes in staff or availability of staff
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Single point of contact causes disruptions
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May not have the tools to vet organizations properly
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Does not have a schedule of upcoming reservations
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Scheduling conflicts, such as overlaps
Needs
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Ability to check the legitimacy of vetted organizations
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View historical data of reservations of each NGO
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Easily schedule coordination
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A smoother, more automated process so that they can focus on their primary jobs.
Key findings
01
The onboarding process confusing and challenging
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Discoverability is depended on the store manager's availability and mostly through word-of-mouth
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There is a clear need to create consistent entry points store-wide
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Processes vary based on the store manager's leadership, experience, and time
They [NGOs] get kicked around and ” don't know where to go...If we can
open source the opportunity, we can help non-profits accomplish their goals to promote their organizations.
02
Empowering store managers is highly valued
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Provide basic tools for them to flexibly incorporate into their own processes
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Implement intentional interactions with NGOs to drive new relationships
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Simplify their daily workflow in order to increase productivity in other areas of their business
Store managers have the authority to run the store the way they want to.
03
Capture critical feedback to understand impact
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Store managers can make a larger impact in their community by knowing their space availability.
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Gather enough data to build discoverability for other programs
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Provide the Giving Team with the ability to make data-driven decisions aligned with their RISE initiatives
User Experience
The aim was to understand the existing user journeys and create a future journey that solves the pain-points and caters to the need of users.
Future journey
James goes to Walmart store
James visits his local Walmart to learn more about reserving their storefront space. He speaks with a store associate who guides him to scan a QR code or text “GIVE” to 55555 that will direct James to reserve their space online.
James reserves his space online
James scans the QR code and accesses Space Donation, where he completes a simple step-by-step process to make his first reservation.
James waits for confirmation
James receives a notification confirming the submission after he submits her request. He logs into the app and sees the confirmation.
James starts his event
In the morning, James receives a notification with instructions for his arrival. He and his troops drive to Walmart. The app now prompts him with a screen to check in. After checking in, he is directed to meet Emma, the store manager in the customer service area.
James finished the event, feeling grateful and valued
At the end of the day, James and his troops are excited that they have hit their goal. Before they leave, James opens Space Donation and is prompted to check out of the event. He is informed that Emma, the store manager, will meet him shortly.
Emma comes out, and James shares his delightful experience with the store manager.
Emma reviews James's request
She reviews Jame's request to learn more information about his organization. She cross-referenced his requested dates with her store's master calendar for any conflicts. Since it does not conflict with upcoming events, she approves Jame's request. She returns to his task.
Emma greets James
On the day of Jame's event, Emma receives a notification about her arrival. She greets him at the front of the store. She is accompanied with an Associate to make sure James has everything he needs to prepare for the fundraiser. Emma goes back inside the store.
Emma sees Jame out, feeling appreciative
She receives Jame's checkout notification and meets with James. She asks him a few questions about her experience and captures his feedback in the space donation app.
After James leaves, Emma returns to the store, feeling appreciative that she can help out her community.
NGOs Flow
User Interface
Translating James and Emma's journeys into a product that can help them to touch, feel and validate our solution for them.
Quick and seamless onboarding
James can now quickly onboard the space donation through Walmart's website. The website helps James to download the mobile app. Using the app he can quickly register by using front-door integration that automatically verifies his NGO.
Easy space booking
James can book a space from the mobile app by providing brief information about the event he is planning to host at the store. This will give Emma, the store manager, an idea about the event.
Check-in and check-out
James can check in and check out through the app on the day of the event. This will help the store manager to know James has arrived and he can help James with setting up for the event.
Share your story
After checking out, James can share the story of the event and give feedback about his experience of doing the event at the Walmart store.
Outcomes
The project delivered a suite of applications serving NGOs, store managers, and Walmart's leadership—the NGO mobile app streamlined space booking, enhancing user experience. The store manager app facilitated space management and request handling.
Additionally, the leadership dashboard offered insights into store and market performance, along with NGO feedback.
Learnings
It was my first experience collaborating closely with the design, product, and technology teams. Product partners guided me on the donation program's business, legal, and strategic aspects.
Engaging with engineers provided insights into design feasibility, challenges with the existing system, and underlying technologies.
© Shubham Khatkar 2024