Scoresby International

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch is a Fortune 1000 specialty retailer selling high quality apparel and operating 850+ stores across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. To this point, they have engaged us for three projects, as follows:

UX Analysis & Design (Corporate Intranet)

Abercrombie & Fitch first engaged Scoresby International to help create a dynamic employee intranet which contains fresh, valuable, and easy-to-find information.

In accordance with the A&F culture, our solution broke from traditional intranets by blending department-managed content and forms with live video feeds from around campus. We also included helpful aspects of social networking, such as following other employees’ activity and tracking new or popular content.

After the redesign, employees reported that the revitalized intranet was much more inviting, useful, and easier to navigate.

UX Design (Global HR System)

A&F next engaged Scoresby to redesign and extend their HR system to give store managers in 40+ countries powerful, easy-to-use tools for managing associates, interviewing, hiring, advancement, contracts, and much more.

We also defined a companion system for store associates, giving them the ability to manage their profile, check work schedules, request shifts, opt into special programs, download documents, etc.

The result was an uncomplicated system that brought together several disparate applications into a single, cohesive workspace—one that enhanced usability and visual appeal, while streamlining and simplifying employee processes.

UX Research & Design (Mobile Inventory Management)

Owing to previous successes, A&F asked Scoresby to design a handheld system to guide and support store associates in all aspects of inventory management: receiving, replenishing stock, transfers, auditing, lookup, etc. Our mandate was to increase productivity, reduce error, and significantly reduce the need for training.

We first performed field studies, interviewed store associates, and reviewed existing processes in order to understand user needs. Then, from that research, we created a design that allowed new employees to be immediately successful, while progressively revealing opportunities for increasing efficiency over time.

Nando's

Originating in South Africa, Nando’s now operates nearly 1,100 restaurants in over 30 countries. In recent years, Nando’s has received numerous honors and awards, including:

being named a top 30 Hottest Brands by Avertising Age magazine
picked as the best place to work in Sunday Times’ big company category
receiving Grocery Manufacturers Association’s CPG Award for Innovation and Creativity

UX Field Studies & Design – United States (Point of Sale)

Nando’s USA first engaged us to redesign their Point of Sale system, with the goals of reducing transaction time and increasing learnability and efficiency. We began by visiting several Nando’s restaurants, observing and interviewing both employees and customers. Subsequently, we produced and presented a report along with video highlighting many opportunities for a POS redesigns—and for the customer experience in general.

We then created a new design that leveraged Nando's unique menu structure and ordering process, reating straightforward workflows and an easy-to-understand POS interface. We also outlined a development approach and worked with the vendor as we iterated toward a defined end state.

UX Field Studies & Design – Global Markets (Point of Sale)

On recommendation from its U.S. division, Nando’s Global asked for assistance extending the redesigned U.S. system and optimizing it for markets worldwide. We began by analyzing Nando’s processes and requirements in each market. Then we crafted a design/development plan which we presented at a summit of Nando’s leaders from around the world.

Our analysis had indicated that Nando’s South Africa is somewhat of a superset of all other markets; therefore, our plan called for focusing first on that market. Accordingly, we conducted field studies in South Africa, interviewing employees and observing interactions in order to uncover opportunities.

After analyzing our findings and presenting recommendations to the global team, we designed a system initially optimized for South Africa but which was easily adaptable to other markets. Then we supported and guided Nando’s chosen vendor throughout the development process.

General UX Strategy (Employee-Facing Systems)

Following our work in South Africa, Nando’s set up an ongoing, consultative relationship with Scoresby. Under that contract, we’ve had many opportunities to assist Nando’s with UX-related efforts, such as:

Working with vendors around the world in optimizing the original South Africa POS for local needs
Assisting with innovations related to kitchen prep and order delivery systems
Conducting collaborative sessions and designing approaches to convert paper-based training materials to interactive formats
Providing strategic guidance on various UX-related topics and initiatives

Panera Bread

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Panera Bread has annual revenues over $2 Billion and over 2,200 stores in the United States and Canada. During its final 20 years as a public company, from 1997 to 2017, Panera was the best performing restaurant stock, delivering an 86-fold return to shareholders.

UX Strategy (Various Systems)

On recommendation from one of its vendors, Panera Bread engaged us to conduct several on-site, rapid collaborative design sessions to quickly solve specific POS interaction problems. We then established a strategy for ensuring consistency across all of Panera’s employee-facing systems and receipts.

UX Audit / Gap Analysis (Point of Sale)

Panera developed a Point of Sale (POS) system and had it installed at a small group of test stores. Before rolling it out to a broader audience, they asked us to assess the system to identify opportunities for increasing speed and accuracy, and for better accommodating customer ordering patterns.

We met with Panera to understand their needs, review metrics, and get a look at the system before seeing it in action. Then we observed and interviewed cashiers in-store. After analyzing the resulting data, we created a report and presented our findings, which included short and long-term recommendations for the system.

Over the following year, we periodically met with Panera to review progress and strategize about future plans.

UX Audit & Design (Point of Sale)

Since our previous audit, Panera had implemented many of our recommendations, and now had decided to go with a new technology provider. They re-engaged us to review initial directions with the new vendor and to provide guidance as they implemented our long-term recommendations.

We began by conducting a quick UX audit of the system. Then, over three days, we met with Panera and their new vendor to collaboratively sketch a design that would alleviate the problems we found.

Panera liked what they saw, so they asked us to continue fleshing out the designs, extending them into loyalty, catering, delivery, etc. Through the process, we also created a completely new way of modifying. The new approach capitalizes on modification type probability to make selections visible without exposing the user to the huge number of possible permutations.

UX Testing (Point of Sale)

Panera wanted to get some hard data on how well the new system outperformed the old one, so they engaged us to create and conduct a study. We also took advantage of the user test to identify opportunities for further honing of the design.

We designed a study in which two cashiers of similar experience would simultaneously take orders from mock customers. We then compared the performance of each cashier on various quantitative and qualitative measures. There were several ways we controlled for bias, including the following:

Each mock customer worked from a unique script derived from actual ordering patterns observed in restaurants
Customers gave exactly the same order to each cashier—and in the same way (e.g., changing their mind, “remembering” to add something later, etc.)
Customers had no idea that the cashiers were using different systems to take their orders, but instead thought they were evaluating the success of two training methods.
Sessions were split with cashiers swapping systems halfway through, so everyone had the same amount of time using the new system as the old.
Statisticians within Panera reviewed the data and formulas to ensure our conclusions were correct.

Cashiers overwhelmingly preferred the new system and felt like it made them faster—and they expected their speed to further increase once they’d had more time to get familiar with it. Empirically, we saw that the new system actually did make them faster.

The study showed that new cashiers were able to start with almost no training, immediately working 10% faster with 30% fewer errors than on the old system. Tenured cashiers had to adjust to the new system, but after taking 40-50 orders using the new design, their speed also surpassed the old system.

Starbucks

Starbucks is the world's #1 specialty coffee retailer with tens of thousands of coffee shops in over 70 countries. The company also owns Seattle’s Best Coffee, Teavana, Tazo, Evolution Fresh, La Boulange, Ethos Water, and Torrefazione Italia Coffee brands.

UX Research & Design (Point of Sale)

Starbucks engaged Scoresby to create a single, highly-usable Point of Sale solution extensible to all stores worldwide. To accomplish this mission, we first visited a representative mix of stores across the U.S. and U.K., capturing employee/customer interactions and identifying immediate and long-term fixes to Starbucks' issues. Next, we created a Point of Sale design to meet Starbucks' goals, flow as employees needed, and solve problems discovered in the field.

Using our ground-breaking Conversational Ordering process, the new system accepts customers' unique ways of ordering rather than requiring a specific flow, and most cashiers can begin taking orders with a simple 3-minute orientation. Savings in training costs alone exceeded our project fees more than a thousand times over.

UX Research – U.S. (Point of Sale)

Fast forward several years following our original project, and Starbucks’ growth strategy had resulted in much greater variability between stores (e.g., in processes, menu, etc.). Starbucks re-engaged Scoresby to identify how to adjust the Point of Sale to meet their changing business needs, maximize efficiency, and improve the customer experience.

The primary goals for the POS assessment were to recommend strategies to deal with the changing business, optimize the POS to maximize efficiency, and identify ways to improve the customer experience.

After visiting several stores across Starbucks’ major brands, we produced a detailed report with our findings. Interestingly, the study showed that changes in operations and barista behavior had driven some fairly significant changes in customer ordering patterns. This discovery inspired new, innovative solutions as well as ideas for more deeply engaging with customers in digital environments.

UX Research – EMEA (Point of Sale)

Owing to the success of the previous two projects, Starbucks EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) also asked us to help identify ways to better support the 100+ franchisees across the region.

We visited stores in various EMEA restaurants to learn about the various situations and needs—and to look at the different ways customers place drink orders. We then created and presented a detailed report of our findings and a short highlights video illustrating key opportunities.

Working closely with Starbucks, we undertook the intense task of completely redesigning the POS using all of the knowledge that we acquired through previous projects and research. Our new design improves on past successes, further increasing speed, accuracy, and ease of use.

We supported Starbucks' vendor during development and presented the new system to licensees at the Global Licensing Framework Summit in London where we received overwhelmingly positive feedback.

Our partnership with Scoresby Interactive has been extremely valuable for us. We would not be where we are with our products—or have the level of excitement around them—without the user interfaces that Scoresby has helped us build. James Hervey, Director, Product Management Verifone

Verifone

Verifone is a global leader in secure electronic payment technologies, processing more than 7.6 billion transactions annually and 50% of the world’s non-cash transactions.

UX Design (Customer Self-Checkout Kiosk)

Verifone identified a potential need in the petroleum and convenience store markets for an in-store, self-checkout kiosk. Given we could not assume any prior experience, our goal was to design a clean, fast, and functional experience that required zero training, while at the same time, enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.

To get there, we applied well-established UX design principles—shaped and extended by preious knowledge and research. Onscreen elements were a bit larger to ensure they were easy to see and touch, and a purposely flat navigation structure helped ensure that users never lost their sense of place.

We also looked at the customer journey and incorporated some aspects of the customer’s physical world to help it feel more familiar—such as product images and gesture-sensitive receipts that grew longer with each item added. By blending the innovative with the familiar, we created an experience for the customer that was engaging and comfortable at the same time.

UX Design (Employee Mobile Point of Sale & Fuel Checkout)

Verifone also needed a portable solution for employees who needed to monitor pumps and check out customers when away from the counter. Our foremost goals were simplicity, speed, and ease of use.

Our new design allows cashiers to easily scan products, charge for fuel, or browse for products using an innovative approach we call “peek menus”. This approach makes the most popular, non-scannable products from each category available from a single screen—while letting them see the entirety of a selected category without duplicating buttons for the most popular items. By always keeping options in the same position, we capitalize on muscle memory and reduce the need for users to think.

Speed is further increased by ensuring that tasks the cashier does the most often are the easiest to access. Less common options are available in a secondary layer, reducing clutter. We purposefully used placement, animation, style, and color to communicate actions and relationships between on-screen elements, culminating in a system that’s elegant in both form and function.

Wagamama

Wagamama is an award winning British restaurant chain operating 190+ high-end Asian restaurants in over 20 countries. The word wagamama (わがまま) is Japanese for "self-indulgent", "self-centered", "disobedient" or "willful" and is most often translated by the brand as "naughty child".

UX Design (Handheld Ordering System)

Wagamama provides servers with a handheld device for taking orders at the table. However, the original system was very hard to use—so much so that even tenured servers refused to use it in front of customers. Instead, they would take handwritten notes and later enter the orders on a stationary till where they weren’t under as much pressure.

A further difficulty was that Wagamama’s menu is centered around dish “codes”—and since the old interface required memorization of those codes, new employees needed to go through several weeks of training before they were allowed to take orders. Even when management felt that employees were ready, the pressure of using the old system was so high that it had become a direct cause of increased employee turnover.

Enter Scoresby International.

In order to really understand the system’s underlying problems, we began by visiting restaurants to interview/observe servers and to see their interaction with customers firsthand. Following the restaurant visits, we documented our observations, outlined the problems in more detail, and prioritized our effort.

We then established a solid information architecture and defined flows to guide screen designs—flows that would support various customer ordering patterns and cashier needs. We based the organization, flow, and options on observed probabilities while keeping the interface as consistent as possible across varying dishes. Our design also accommodated other aspects important to Wagamama, such as the need for better tracking and ways to better accommodate customers with food allergies.

In the end, we created a system that supports Wagamama’s codified menu, while allowing new employees to start taking orders their first day. The system effectively teaches menu codes “on the fly” instead of requiring servers to know them up front—though we encourage steady memorization by purposefully making it a bit more efficient to know the dish codes.

Wagamama leadership, managers, and cashiers were all extremely excited for the changes—as well as for the outcomes: increased speed, new zero training, significant cost reductions, etc.

Zurich

Zurich is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With about 54,000 employees, it provides a wide range of products—both property and casualty and life insurance—in more than 210 countries and territories.

Usability Test (Claims Management System)

We met with leadership at Zurich’s home office to learn about their claims system and to understand their pain points, goals, and expectations. As part of those sessions, we sat with a few claims personnel to observe their workflow and learn about the system from their point of view. We then created a test plan for evaluating the system using a mix of both employee- defined and researcher-defined tasks.

We conducted usability test sessions with claims system users in Dallas and Chicago. Participants specialized in different lines of business and varied significantly in the level of experience (from just a few months with Zurich to almost 20 years). We developed an extensive presentation divided into top themes and opportunities—with supplemental details, charts, annotated screen shots, etc. for readers who wanted to delve further.

Following our presentation, we met periodically with Zurich representatives to guide the redesign.

UX Audit, Design, and Testing (Call Center System)

We began by meeting with variously tenured call center agents, and watched as they took calls and completed non-call work for all lines of business. We also met with their managers and coaches to get their perspective on the system.

We then conducted an expert review of the system and produced a 60+ page report consisting of top general issues, specific screen-by-screen findings, and over 200 specific recommendations for improvement. We also included applicable user experience principles to guide improvement in areas not covered.

Next, Zurich commissioned us to create redesigns that solved for the problems we uncovered. We did so, working closely with internal personnel and getting feedback from others at weekly meetings. Once the main user paths were designed, we created a prototype for use as a usability test environment.

Employees at Zurich’s Colorado Springs call center used the prototype to evaluate the system, and the new approach was extremely well received. Subsequently, we made a few adjustments, presented findings to leadership, and worked with them on strategies for implementation.