Context & Initiative
Business Context
Historically, there was no dedicated page for business customers to view their previous orders without contacting sales. That gap made thorough discovery and research essential before defining a new experience. Cox Business needed an order interface that could serve the full range of business customers while keeping the experience clear and scalable.
Initiative
- Define, ideate, and deliver a brand-new order interface for business customers
- Enable self-service order visibility and status without requiring contact with sales
- Support both small businesses and large multi-location enterprises with a single, scalable experience
My Role
Lead UX designer responsible for defining, ideating, and delivering the new order experience, from discovery and comparative analysis through wireframes, collaboration with partner teams, and high-fidelity visual design.
Constraints
Visual design and launch needed to move faster than completion of some back-end technologies, requiring a phased approach to development and stakeholder visibility.
Discovery
Landscape
Residential customers already had an order experience, but the complexity of enterprise orders posed a unique challenge. Cox Business serves a wide range of clients, from small salons to large multi-location enterprises, so the solution needed to be both simple and scalable. With no prior user expectations for this new feature, we had room to draw inspiration from strong order experiences elsewhere.
Research & Data Inputs
Internal analytics teams and third-party consultants provided a solid foundation of capabilities and expectations. That allowed me to focus on comparative analysis and draw inspiration from the best order processes on the web to inform the new experience.
User Segments
- Small to mid-size businesses (e.g., single-location operations)
- Large multi-location enterprises
- New and existing customers at any business level
Problem Definition
Business customers had no dedicated way to view their order history or status without contacting sales. The absence of a self-service order experience created friction and dependency on other channels. At the same time, enterprise order complexity meant the solution had to work for both single-location and multi-location customers without adding confusion.
We needed a new interface that was simple for the smallest businesses and scalable for the largest.
Process & Rationale
Approach
- Scope and requirements: Use analytics and consultant input to define scope and set requirements
- Early wireframes: Foster discussion and collaboration with sales, development, and customer service
- Iterative refinement: Update wireframes based on user needs and partner team requirements
- Component finalization: Finalize major components: main order page, order history, dashboard interactions, and notifications
- High-fidelity and phased launch: Transition to high-fidelity screens; split visual design into two phases to align with MVP and back-end readiness
Collaboration
Wireframes were used to drive discussions with sales, development, and customer service representatives. This collaboration was crucial in detailing and refining the initial order experience; wireframes were iteratively updated as we identified user needs and accounted for partner teams' requirements.
Key Challenges
The need to launch an MVP faster than some back-end technologies were ready meant we couldn't ship everything in one release. We divided the visual designs into two phases with detailed change log updates to ensure clarity between phases.
Solution
The end result was a status-focused order experience that catered to both new and existing customers at any business level. By focusing on the status of an order (processing, shipped, and delivered), we pinpointed and showcased the most valuable information for the user. This focus on order status was consistently maintained from the order page to the dashboard and into alerts.
Key Components
- Main order page
- Order history
- Dashboard interactions
- Notifications
Key Design Decisions
Status as the Primary Lens
Order status (processing, shipped, delivered) became the organizing principle so users could quickly see what mattered most.
Consistency Across Touchpoints
The same status-focused information and mental model was maintained from the order page through the dashboard and into alerts.
Two-Phase Visual Design
Splitting the design into two phases allowed the MVP to launch on time while keeping stakeholder and development alignment clear via change logs.
Validation & Iteration
Wireframes were iteratively updated throughout the process as we identified user needs and incorporated feedback from sales, development, and customer service. After finalizing major components, the move to high-fidelity and the two-phase rollout were informed by the MVP and back-end constraints.
Success was validated through ongoing collaboration with partner teams during wireframe and high-fidelity phases, and through the clarity of the two-phase rollout and change logs.
Outcome & Reflection
Key Achievements
- Created a brand-new, status-focused order experience
- Introduced updated global components
- Launched a new global page header style
- Integrated current order functionality into the orders experience
- Enabled service appointment scheduling through the order interface
- Engaged and alerted users of equipment available for self-installation directly from the order page
Impact
By employing a user-centered design approach and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams, we delivered a robust, scalable order experience that met the diverse needs of Cox Business customers.
