UX Internship • User Research • User Testing • Desktop and Mobile UI Design
Dynacraft
Founded in 1984, Dynacraft is the largest privately held distributor of bicycles, scooters, and battery-powered ride-on toys in the U.S. More than 30 years and 77-plus million units later, Dynacraft is the preeminent player in the wheeled goods industry and the North American leader in the design and distribution of bikes, scooters, and battery-powered ride-on toys. You’ll find their products at major national and regional mass-market retailers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
My Responsibilities / Contributions
Objective
For the duration of my internship, I was in charge of leading user research on Dynacraft’s current website; looking for problem a space I could tackle to improve the online experience for current and potential Dynacraft users.
Research
I started by familiarizing myself with the company’s demographics and current web analytics. From there I moved on to observing screen recordings to watch for any patterns or pain points. Eventually I asked a series of questions through surveys and polls using Hotjar to better understand user motivations to develop hypotheses to later test.
5 Main Functions
Dynacraft’s website has five main functions: Shopping, Product Registration, Product Assembly, Troubleshooting, and Warranty Claims.
2 Categories
Each of the 5 main functions can be categorized as either shopping or support. Early on in my research I conducted polls asking why users were accessing the website; for shopping or support?
A majority of users answered support, as this was not surprising since Dynacraft is primarily a B2B company.
Going Deeper…
I followed up by asking iterations of “support” questions. Over and over users stated they were looking to order replacement parts. I found frustration in users who could not accomplish this. (Dynacraft does not support users ordering their own replacement parts; they must file a claim through customer service.)
So I decided to go deeper in the area of replacement parts…
“What type of replacement parts would you be more likely to order?”
I asked users the above question before I solidified a design direction to improve the customer experience of Dynacraft’s website. It was safe to say users overwhelmingly wished to purchase additional and replacement parts.
If I could solve this problem, it would not only satisfy users and create another revenue stream; but I could also decrease the work for the customer support team.
Information Architecture
I began by breaking the website down into its essential components. I included the new option to order replacement parts, and developed multiple potential structures for the new site. I used tree testing to find the optimal site architecture by creating a series of tasks for users to complete.
Click through the images below to see the tasks, iterations, results, and more.
Design
Now knowing the optimal structure for the support side of the website, I translated that information into low-fi wireframes. I prototyped 6 different iterations to be user tested further.
Including The New Feature
Working with the customer support team, we found it best to include the option to order parts progressively over time. Starting out, users will have the ability to select the parts they need. However, it would still be sent as a “warranty claim” that customer service would have to process. If that process becomes successful, then potentially Dynacraft would rework their business model to allow users to purchase parts directly from their site.
Initial Roll Out
After 6 Months
In Conclusion
During my time in this position I only made it mid-fidelity UI. I had the opportunity to present my findings and designs to the company owner and received great feedback. Below is Dynacraft’s current website, and on the right is my redesign based on my research.
Any Questions?
Thanks for making it all the way through this project! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at charliebowlesdesign@gmail.com
Click here to return to all my work!