Kroger Archon
Making e-comm management secure and scalable
OVERVIEW
The Archon project at KTD aimed to revolutionize the merchandising process for the e-commerce platform by creating a modern tool for Assortment Managers. The goal was to replace the archaic Excel-based system with a scalable, automated solution that would streamline processes, reduce errors, and allow for easier collaboration across teams. Over the course of a year and a half, the team developed a web-based app that not only modernized the assortment management process but also significantly improved efficiency and reliability.
TOP 3 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
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Fully and successfully transitioned off of Excel-based management, unlocking myriad opportunities within the Kroger Merchandising pillar
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Saved 250 hours of work, per Assortment Manager, per year
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Enabled future-proof scalability—two new online fulfillment centers have opened since Archon was launched
CLIENT
Kroger Technology & Digital (KTD)
MY ROLE
I served as the lead UX designer and primary researcher for the Archon project at KTD. My responsibilities included collaborating with Assortment Managers, conducting discovery sessions, planning and executing project strategy in conjunction with my PM partner, and leading user testing efforts. I played a key role in developing the web-based application and ensuring that it met the needs of our users effectively.
This process map shows an overview of the steps required to take an item from tactically planned to "executed"—meaning that it's ready to be added to assortment a customer would be able to see and shop. The top half shows the process before the Archon project started, and the bottom is the planned process improvements and simplification that Archon would bring.
Challenge
The primary challenge was to transition from the outdated Excel-based system to a modern, automated solution while ensuring seamless integration with existing processes and systems. Additionally, the team faced the challenge of understanding the intricate needs of the Assortment Managers and building a tool tailored to their workflows, which required extensive collaboration and empathy-driven research.
We literally can't open another fulfillment center if we continue to use Excel. It's completely maxed out.
Nick Hawes, MX Product Partner
Solution
The solution involved close collaboration with the Assortment Managers to understand their processes and pain points thoroughly. This involved conducting numerous discovery sessions, creating flow charts, journey maps, and documentation to establish a solid foundation of knowledge and trust over many months. Our users had been "burned" by some failed projects in the past, as well as forced into their current predicament through necessity so it took a lot of work to get them out of a devil-you-know preference mentality. After building the relationship and a clear-as-mud understanding of their needs—hey, Kroger data architecture is like a bowl of spaghetti—the team developed Archon, a web-based application that provides Assortment Managers with access to a comprehensive library of sellable items, automated assortment lifecycle management, and streamlined workflows. The application was designed to integrate with existing systems and enable modernization within the Merchandising ecosystem, reducing manual tasks and increasing overall efficiency.
The Importance of Testing
These are a collection of artifacts generated over the course of some of our testing and discovery sessions with users, including automation flow mapping & validations, feature prioritization matrix, a process map, and persona insights.
Throughout the project, user testing played a crucial role in ensuring the success of the application. We recognized the importance of gathering feedback from our users early and often, which is why we conducted a combination of usability testing, preference testing, and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) with our users every 2-4 weeks.
Usability testing allowed us to observe how users interacted with the application in real-world scenarios. By presenting users with tasks to complete and observing their actions, we gained valuable insights into areas of the interface that needed improvement, potential pain points in the workflow, and opportunities for optimization. This iterative approach ensured that we were constantly refining the user experience based on real user feedback, leading to a more intuitive and user-friendly application.
Preference testing provided us with insights into the preferences and expectations of our users. By presenting users with different design options or features and gathering their feedback, we were able to make informed decisions about the direction of the application. This helped us prioritize features and design elements that resonated most with our users, ultimately leading to a more tailored and satisfying user experience. But we also experienced a period of bugs and some automation breakdown due to a lack of robust QA (for the first 8 months of the project, we didn't have any dedicated QA testers...). Seeing that every step forward resulted in two steps back, my PM and I pushed for QA hires, and an automated testing regime. We were able to secure two great testers and got them up to speed so they could get us back on the rails, which they did in relatively short order.
UAT allowed us to validate that the application met the needs and expectations of our users before deployment. By involving users in the testing process, we ensured that the final product aligned closely with their requirements and preferences. Any issues or discrepancies identified during UAT were addressed promptly, ensuring a smoother rollout and higher user satisfaction.
By incorporating user testing throughout the project lifecycle, we were able to iterate quickly, address user feedback effectively, and ultimately deliver a product that met the needs of our users. This iterative approach not only resulted in a more user-friendly application but also fostered a sense of ownership and collaboration among our users, making them active participants in the development process.
Adding the Creature Comforts
To enhance user satisfaction scores after initial launch, our focus shifted to implementing quality of life improvements in the Archon application. One significant enhancement was the introduction of customizable workspaces, allowing users to tailor their interface to their specific needs and preferences. This feature not only improved usability but also empowered users to streamline their workflows more effectively.
In addition, we incorporated intuitive shortcuts inspired by users' familiarity with MS Excel. By leveraging their existing knowledge, we minimized the learning curve and enabled users to navigate the application more easily. This intuitive design approach contributed to faster adoption of the new system.
Furthermore, we introduced Live Grid Editing functionality, which revolutionized the way users updated data. This feature enabled efficient updates while leveraging sophisticated data validations to prevent human errors. By providing real-time feedback and validation checks, we ensured data accuracy and reliability, further enhancing user confidence and satisfaction with the application.
Sometimes, unfortunately, these quality improvements would come too late to have the desired effect. Because our time-to-MVP was longer than expected, our users developed some usage habits, which later proved too hard to break. For instance, we assumed that implementing extensive keyboard shortcuts would be a huge timesaver for our users. Since they were Excel power users, where the assortments had been managed previously, we mimicked their shortcut patterns as closely as possible. But in follow-up user testing sessions months after the shortcuts rollout, we did not observe any significant shortcut usage. They had already formed strong habits around doing everything with a mouse.
This is a prototype demo of a feature we call 'Live Edit Mode' which enables users to make quick edits directly in the grid, but still have the safety of knowing that any input is validated against a set of rules for data integrity.
Results
Since the launch of Archon, Kroger has seen significant improvements in the merchandising process:
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Saw an overall reduction of workload amounting to 250 hours of work, per Assortment Manager, per year!
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Reduced incidents requiring Assortment Manager triage.
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Increased visibility and accessibility of assortment data to 50+ view-only users.
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Eliminated 10 manually maintained Excel spreadsheets.
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Reduced time on task for key processes, with one team experiencing a reduction from 5 hours to 10 minutes per week.
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Created a connected, scalable system that is not constrained by the limitations of Excel.
Moving forward, the team continues to enhance Archon's usability, connectivity with other Kroger applications, and automation capabilities. The ultimate goal is to fully automate tedious labor tasks, allowing Assortment Managers to focus on strategic planning and maximizing their talents.
The activity log demo above was a redesign of a section that captures all "actions" that happen to an item over its lifecycle in an assortment. It's a comprehensive history that the Assortment Managers often reference when triaging issues. The original implementation had a separate line-item in the log for each action (even when edits of multiple fields were made in a single pass). This design groups those multi-field edits and presents the most important info at the top level, while adding additional data one level down.
This video shows a quick overview of Product Library tab along with the edit process and some of the micro-animations that help contribute to our users confidence and peace-of-mind.
This was a fun addition to our grid tabs feature that enabled personalization of the tabs through color-coding and renaming.
Hungry for more?
Kroger Archon
Making e-comm management secure and scalable
OVERVIEW
The Archon project at KTD aimed to revolutionize the merchandising process for the e-commerce platform by creating a modern tool for Assortment Managers. The goal was to replace the archaic Excel-based system with a scalable, automated solution that would streamline processes, reduce errors, and allow for easier collaboration across teams. Over the course of a year and a half, the team developed a web-based app that not only modernized the assortment management process but also significantly improved efficiency and reliability.
CLIENT
Kroger Technology & Digital (KTD)
MY ROLE
I served as the lead UX designer and primary researcher for the Archon project at KTD. My responsibilities included collaborating with Assortment Managers, conducting discovery sessions, planning and executing project strategy in conjunction with my PM partner, and leading user testing efforts. I played a key role in developing the web-based application and ensuring that it met the needs of our users effectively.
TOP 3 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
-
Fully and successfully transitioned off of Excel-based management, unlocking myriad opportunities within the Kroger Merchandising pillar
-
Saved 250 hours of work, per Assortment Manager, per year
-
Enabled future-proof scalability—two new online fulfillment centers have opened since Archon was launched