Each year, UniGroup and its network of companies onboard hundreds of new employees to handle the summer peak season. These workers, often temporary, must quickly learn legacy systems, leading to frequent errors and long training periods.
To address these challenges, I began with a research phase.
I initiated the research process with a Subject Matter Expert (SME) interview to identify key contacts and refine my approach. During this session, the SME provided a walkthrough of the order registration process, which informed the questions I would ask in subsequent user interviews.
Next, I conducted interviews with users from five different companies to understand their current registration processes. Each one-hour session included a screen-sharing walkthrough, where participants demonstrated their workflow. I then asked targeted questions to uncover pain points, preferences, and edge cases.
The current workflow consisted of various screens in the Mainframe - a legacy technology solution that lacked a proper UI. Users worked through these screens with only their keyboards, and until they learned how to register, a printed out guide was necessary to know what to enter into each field.
I documented interview notes in FigJam, which I later synthesized to identify trends and commonalities. This helped uncover systemic inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement.
Findings:
To ensure clarity and alignment, I documented the current order registration process, detailing interactions across various systems. System decisions and dependencies, highlighting research gaps and follow-up questions.
Since this process required a lot of double - sometimes triple - entry by users, I created an Airtable database, mapping fields by system and order type to help us keep track of what data we would need to successfully create an order of each type. This became a great resource across the organization, and facilitated easier collaboration with other teams.
With requirements in place, I developed a future-state workflow within the Move app.
I also created early mockups and presented them to internal teams to validate data needs and technical feasibility.
Once we finalized an initial design, we conducted usability testing to gather feedback.
Given the complexity of the form and its significant departure from the existing experience, a high-fidelity prototype in Figma wouldn’t provide a fully interactive experience. Instead, I built a functional prototype in Retool, allowing users to interact with a realistic version of the form.
One key area of improvement was the provider search functionality. In the current system, users had to switch between multiple systems (agent directory, agent exchange, etc.) to find providers near the destination address. Since this data was available via UniGroup’s API, I worked with the Enterprise-API team to integrate a provider search directly into the registration form. This allowed users to select from a pre-populated list, eliminating extra steps and improving efficiency.
I conducted seven moderated sessions with experienced order registration users. Each session began with a test overview, followed by allowing them access to the Retool app with a few instructions on registering a new order. Participants registered orders, using test estimates and real data sources.
After each testing session, I compiled my notes into Figjam, and after the last session I began to map out the notes to find the commonalities.
Standout Findings:
Based on user feedback, the following improvements were prioritized:
During implementation, we encountered a challenge: what happens when a user needs to add an agent outside the automated radius search? To address this, we implemented a manual entry option, allowing users to specify agents as needed.
I tested several options with engineering, users, and the E-API team, and was able to come up with a solution that allowed for users to: enter manually while still validating the agent number, choose from the radius search, or enter a "out-of-network" agent that wouldn't be validated by the same service that validated the agent numbers.
After user testing, and continuous discussion on technical feasibility - we landed on the final design.
Users can navigate through the form easily, with Next and Back buttons that ensure they complete all required fields before progressing. The sidebar navigation provides a clear visual indicator of their progress, while allowing them to jump from page to page as needed.
For consumer moves, customers must sign and approve an estimate before their move can proceed. Previously, order registration could require users to manually re-enter estimate details already provided to the customer, leading to redundancy and inefficiencies. To streamline this, we integrated a feature that automatically retrieves estimate data, eliminating the need for manual re-entry, reducing errors and saving users valuable time.
The provider radius search simplifies the process of finding a service provider at the destination. In the current system, users had to switch between multiple systems (i.e. agent directory, agent exchange, etc.) to find providers near the destination address. Since this data was available via UniGroup’s API, I worked with the Enterprise-API team to embed a provider search directly into the registration form. This allowed users to select from a pre-populated list, eliminating extra steps, reducing workflow interruptions and improving efficiency.
The updated form introduces enhanced error handling, making it easier for users to identify and correct mistakes. Clear, specific error messages are displayed in red, providing immediate feedback and guidance on what needs to be fixed before proceeding.
Once an order is submitted, users no longer have to navigate away to review or make changes. After a few seconds of load time, they can view, edit, add notes, or share the newly created order—all within the Move platform. This real-time access improves usability and ensures a more streamlined workflow.
This project reinforced to me the critical role of research and discovery in UX design. While an order intake form may seem straightforward, it involved complex logic, system integrations, and a deep understanding of order workflows. One of the biggest challenges was uncovering the purpose of certain legacy fields - some of which had no clear use in recent history - highlighting the need for ongoing discovery and thorough documentation.
Additionally, this project emphasized the value of cross-team collaboration. By continuously engaging with users and working closely with the Enterprise API team, we were able to align the form’s design with real-world usage patterns, ensuring it captured only relevant and necessary data.
Ultimately, the redesigned form resulted in faster order registration, reduced new-hire training time, and an 84% task success rate (TSR), highlighting the impact of user-centered design in optimizing complex workflows.