Consolidating Fragmented Systems into a Seamless Experience

Surfacing critical e-Commerce order data into a centralized, scalable platform to streamline operations and enable faster, more confident decision making.

 

COMPANY
Kroger Technology & Digital
Cincinnati, OH

TIMELINE
Aug 2024–Aug 2025

ROLE
Product Designer
––––
Led all UX Research and UI Design, facilitation, and implementation.

TOOLS
Figma, Mural, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint

Problem Space

    • Fragmented data systems

    • Can’t access, view, download, or locate data quickly

    • Lack of end-to-end visibility across the order lifecycle journey

    • Over reliance on tribal knowledge

    • Manual processes and technical dependencies slow teams and prevent them from focusing on higher-impact work 

    • Limited ability to scale as business and fulfillment models grow

    1. Reduce Labor Costs

    2. Reduce Cloud Cost Savings

    3. Increase Customer Satisfaction

    4. Reduce Issue Resolution Times

    • Business Operations

    • Customer Support

    • Tech Support

    • Product Managers supporting internal backend systems

Kroger’s eCommerce operations have rapidly expanded into a complex, distributed network of fulfillment methods, partners, and systems. However, order management tools remain outdated and fragmented across teams, processes, and systems, making it difficult to scale operations, maintain context, and deliver a seamless customer experience.

 

PHASE 1

Onboarding

 

1.1 – Working Outside My Comfort Zone

Just a few hours into my new assignment, I realized the business’s pace had compressed my onboarding window from several weeks to just three days. Until this point, I’d never faced a situation where I didn’t have adequate time to research the space, meet users, or schedule 1:1s with team members, managers, and stakeholders.

To help me adapt to my new surroundings, I consulted with my manager and my design mentors:

  • How can I effectively lead design efforts if time constraints won’t allow me to become a subject matter expert?

  • To quickly close the knowledge gap, identify a subject matter expert embedded in the project and partner closely with them, leveraging their expertise to accelerate my onboarding and keep the work moving forward.

  • Adding dependcies to workflows is generally something I try to avoid. This dependency however didn’t hamper the project – it closed a gap and unblocked me from being able to push things forwards. Also, this wasn’t a permanent solution because I would organically reduce it throughout the product development lifecycle.

 

1.2 – Establishing Context

I used the precious little time I had left to take stock of what research and product artifacts had already been developed. This ensured I wouldn’t duplicate work moving forward, revealed which assets could be leveraged, provided insights into Order 360’s origin story, and enabled me to familiarize myself with the product’s core challenges, business goals, and expected benefits.

Project Vision in Loop

Concept Overview in Confluence

IBM Sterling OMS User Journeys

D365 OMS User Journeys

Internal User Interviews

Proto Personas

 

1.3 – Stopping the Swirl

My head was spinning by week 2. To combat this, I conducted a simple “Brain Dump” exercise in Mural. This enabled me to get all of my thoughts out in the open where they could be unpacked, organized, and synthesized.

Product Complexity

•

Conflicting Visions

•

Scope Creep

•

Personnel Churn

•

Aggressive Timelines

•

Internal Tensions Stemming from 2 Years of Project Swirl

•

Users and Stakeholders Begging for a Solution

•

New Services Being Added

•

Product Complexity • Conflicting Visions • Scope Creep • Personnel Churn • Aggressive Timelines • Internal Tensions Stemming from 2 Years of Project Swirl • Users and Stakeholders Begging for a Solution • New Services Being Added •

 

The “Brain Dumping” exercise yielded many actionable insights, but the most critical one was also the simplest – Order 360 didn’t have a clearly defined MVP.

 

This gap, in my professional opinion, is what prevented Order 360 from being able to move things forward. They valiantly tried researching and interviewing their way out of the swirl, but eventually those efforts started working against them because they only yielded more insights, opportunities, and problems. Order 360 didn’t need that; it already had a plethora of actionable ways to impact the business.

What Order 360 really needed was an MVP – something that could say, “Here’s what we’re going to focus on first, here’s why, and here’s how we’re going to do it.” This would give the team a solid foundation and foster a Now, Next, Later approach to Order 360’s product development.

PHASE 2

MVP Development

 

2.1 – Defining the Minimal Viable Product

Facilitating a large cross-team discovery workshop to explore and define the MVP wasn’t feasible due to time constraints. I worked around this by leading three workshops with Sydney, Order 360’s lead Product Manager. Sydney was the ideal candidate for this exercise because she was embedded in the project, had years of experience working in this space, and was the best subject matter expert that I had consistent access to.

 

Step 1 – Problem Analysis

We organized all the known problems into groups, prioritized them, and mapped their relationships to uncover dependencies. In doing so, we were able to separate the systemic problems from the tangible ones. This clarity helped us cut through the noise and zero in on opportunities we could act on.

Step 2 – Feasibility, Value, and Impact Assessment

By running opportunities through two lenses—complexity vs. impact and savings vs. user type—we quickly identified which problems were worth solving first. This significantly increased our chances of being able to deliver quick wins, with a high potential for positive impact.

Step 3 – Feature Requirements and Scoping

We mapped out all potential features and their required capabilities, then drilled down into the supporting requirements. This process revealed which features were too complex for an MVP and allowed us to define a realistic scope for Order 360.

Step 4 – Summarizing the Initial MVP

We mapped the MVP as a flow chart, making it instantly clear which problems were being solved and how each solution connected to them.

Step 5 – Measuring Impact Potential

To ensure the MVP would deliver meaningful value, we charted how each proposed features would benefit our five core user groups. The results were overwhelmingly positive—of the 45 possible feature-to-user combinations, 34 were addressed, meaning the MVP would meet at least 75% of our users' needs upon launch.

 

When we shared the MVP with our team, stakeholders, and business leaders, it was met with tremendous enthusiasm and was cleared for implementation.

Order 360 was back on track!

OVERCOMING ADVERSITY

72-hours after the MVP was approved, engineering’s leadership was prepared to have their team build the UI themselves if the final designs weren’t ready by week’s end.

 

Managing expectations is one of the most important things a lead designer can do when they’re spearheading design efforts on an Agile product team. But what are you supposed to do when those expectations become ungovernable?

Instead of getting angry or reacting emotionally, I chose a more diplomatic approach. With my Product Manager’s help, we secured the support we needed from leadership to facilitate a peaceful conversation that swiftly diffused the situation, and enabled us to regain control of Order 360.

PHASE 3

Design Prep

 

3.1 – Mapping Design Requirements

Behind the scenes, my efforts to champion design’s value through ongoing work was finally starting to payoff. Gradually I was able to secure more time for essential processes like design prep. I made the most of the next 5-days by leading an ultra-lean design sprint that cut non-essential activities and focused on four core areas. This format ensured I could quickly assemble the insights and artifacts needed to drive a confident and impactful ideation phase.

 

Feature Requirements

Even though most of this work had been completed while we were rebuilding the MVP timeline, there were still a few gaps that needed to be resolved.

Journey Mapping

Exposed essential flows and connections between objectives, enabling us to craft a UI that was efficient, intuitive, and aligned to our users’ natural ways of working.

Competitor Analysis

Accelerated the build of medium-fidelity screens by revealing proven patterns, highlighting opportunities to combine solutions, and eliminating the need to design from scratch.

Storyboarding

Expedited the upcoming ideation phase by documenting all the required screens and features into a medium fidelity story that was used to pressure test and refine the concept even further.

PHASE 4

Ideation

 

4.1 – Working Around Data Nuances

The initial two-week timeline for developing a high-fidelity prototype was quickly undermined by complex data-related nuances. These persistent issues created major setbacks for engineering which in turn, reduced my ability to move things forward because it created blockers and copious amounts of rework. Unable to keep up with the demands of the original timeline, the product manager was forced to extend the deadline to five weeks. This gave engineering the space and time they needed to work through most of the data issues, and it provided me with the flexibility I needed to adapt to these changes and deliver a prototype that reflected what was truly achievable for the MVP.

 

4.2 – Delivering the High-Fidelity Concept

Operational Dashboard

Improved visibility by surfacing realtime data, enabling users to quickly monitor daily order statuses, key metrics, and alerts to identify active issues at a glance.

 

Advanced Order Searching and Filtering

Reduced system fragmentation and accelerated troubleshooting by unifying checkout, fulfillment, customer, operational, and third-party data into a single self-service platform, enabling users to quickly locate issues, assess impact, and act.

 

Enhanced Drill-down Capabilities for Individual Orders

Improved E2E order journey visualizations by consolidating order lifecycle data into a single, multi-faceted Order Details page.

 

Prototype Demo

CHAMPIONING THE USER

“We can move fast, but we can’t afford to move at the speed of stupid.”

One of my proudest moments during Order 360’s development was advocating for usability testing when leadership felt it was unnecessary. All of my diplomatic attempts to justify usability testing had been exhausted. In a last ditch effort to champion human centered design, I consulted with my design mentors to formulate a simpler, more direct message – “We can move fast, but we can’t afford to move at the speed of stupid.”

That message cut through the noise and created space for me to reframe usability testing as a business asset and proven safeguard against costly rework. This shift in focus was the key to unlocking a value proposition that everyone could rally behind.

PHASE 5

Usability Testing

 

5.1 – Developing the Plan

    • Remote moderated usability tests

    • 5-7 participants

    • 1 facilitator

    • 1-2 note takers

    • Estimated time to complete – 2 weeks

    • Figma

    • Microsoft Teams

    • Mural

    • PowerPoint

  • All testing sessions were 30-45 minutes.

    • Introduction

      • Prep the participant

      • Background questions

    • Testing phase

      • Ensure the can open the prototype

      • Explain what is going to happen

      • Give the user the task

      • Ask 3 followup questions

      • Repeat the previous two bullets until all tasks have been issued

    • Conclusion

      • Notify the user the test has ended

      • Give the user 3-5 minutes to ask questions or share feedback, if they have any

      • Thank participant for their time

  • All 5 participants were internal KTD or corporate level stakeholders. No screening was needed since all participants had already been validated through prior research and interviews.

    • ORE

    • KCP

    • Defenders

    • Kroger Customer Insights

 

5.2 – Defining Success

The core goals of the usability tests were intended to answer a few simple questions about the MVP:

  • Is it intuitive?

  • Is it efficient?

  • Does it deliver the value it was intended too?

  • How can it be improved, if at all?

Quantitative Data:
Defining clear outcomes for each high-level question enabled me to produce a structured outline that would measure the MVP’s effectiveness in quantifiable terms. I used this outline to design the prototypes around a series of core tasks that could easily be tracked during the moderated usability tests.

Qualitative Data:
A script and with talking points and questions was used during testing to gather qualitative data from user feedback. As the facilitator, I used used the script to ensure each participant was given the same context, prompts, opportunities and questions. My product manager and a senior product designer from the UX Research team served as my note takers, capturing all the participants feedback in realtime.

 

5.3 – Measuring the Results

The results from the usability tests speak for themselves. Despite the incredibly tight time constraints, internal friction, lack of awareness about design methodologies, and the pressure to scrap even the most basic user-focused safeguards, the Order 360 MVP was going to deliver immediate value for our users and the business.

User responses corroborated our quantitative findings that Order 360’s MVP was intuitive, easy to learn, and poised to become a game-changer for streamlining workflows. The negative feedback was minimal and focused mainly on systemic issues beyond our control, future features not feasible for the MVP, or enhancements we had already identified and tracked for post-testing.

 

PHASE 6

Enhancements

 

6.1 – Determining Which Opportunities to Pursue

Leveraging feedback and observations from the usability tests, I compiled and prioritized a formal list of potential opportunities. I then facilitated a quick follow-up session with the team to review those findings and align on which opportunities to pursue.

 

Make the order lifecycle easier to skim

Problem:
The data source toggles were clear, but the display field was difficult to skim.

Solution:
Use a simple color-coding system to increase contrast between event types

(Note: The solution shown here was borrowed from another team. While it had clear flaws, we adopted it because it allowed us to surface the data more quickly. Since the Order Events UI was already slated for a post-launch redesign, the color-coding approach was only meant to be a quick, temporary fix.)

 

Add ‘Estimated Totals’ to the price summary to make the pricing journey more transparent.

Problem:
’Estimated Totals’ weren’t apart of the original MVP, but 80% of users reported that this data was critical for resolving pricing issues and discrepancies.

Solution:
Use the inspiration screen a stakeholder shared with use to incorporate ‘Estimated Totals’ into the price summary breakdown on the Items section of the Order Details page.

 

Make issue resolution faster by displaying which division and timezone the order originated from.

Problem:

Not showing which time zone or division the order originated from made cross-zone calculations very difficult which would delay our users’ ability to resolve issues quickly.

Solution:

Add a new line items to display the “Origin” and “Division” fields.

 

Make it clear that Order 360 can search multiple Order IDs at a time and provide helper text explaining how those IDs need to be separated.

Problem:
The helper copy in the search bar didn’t say wether multiple Order IDs could be used, or how to separate them.

Solutions:
First, add a title next to the search bar to communicate what is searchable. Second, update the helper text to include rules about ID spacing. Third, include an error state that will communicate when search maximums have been reached.

 PHASE 7

Delivery

 

7.1 – Prepping for Handoff

Fortunately, prepping Order 360 for handoff was a seamless process. To keep things smooth, I broke the handoff into manageable chunks. Rolling the final design out in sections allowed me to:

  • Schedule focused pre-handoff reviews so engineering could familiarize themselves with components, catch errors, account for missing edge cases, and walk through complex flows.

  • Prevent the team from feeling overwhelmed by staggering the workload as they wrote stories.

  • Anticipate engineering’s workflow by observing how they processed designs, which helped me prepare for desk checks

 

7.2 – Soft Launching Order 360

Order 360 was soft launched to core users in August 2025. While the original plan was to roll it out enterprise wide, performance concerns tied to our complex data infrastructure required validation that was only possible in a live, production setting. Conducting a soft launch was the safest and most responsible way to prepare Order 360 for its larger rollout. To ensure our launch strategy worked as intended, we met with our core users beforehand and explained the situation to them. This context improved transparency and helped establish realistic expectations.

Recognizing the uniqueness of this situation, I pivoted and used this opportunity to gather additional user feedback that we could later use to help inform our Post MVP plans. I accomplished this by partnering with a senior UX researcher to develop and launch a targeted user feedback survey. Unfortunately, shortly after launching the feedback survey, I was impacted by Kroger’s second round of layoffs and was unable to see the results of those efforts.

 

7.3 – Product Demo*

*Certain areas have been blurred out to protect sensitive customer information.

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 Outcomes & Lessons

Project Reflection

 

Outcomes

Order 360 successfully transitioned from an ambiguous, fragmented initiative into a validated MVP that gave Kroger’s eCommerce operations a centralized, scalable order management platform. The product’s soft launch confirmed that the solution was intuitive, efficient, and highly valuable for streamlining workflows, while surfacing opportunities for future enhancements. Engineering gained a clear, actionable design foundation, and stakeholders saw measurable progress toward reduced resolution times, improved scalability, and a more seamless customer experience.

  1. Successfully led UX research and UI design strategy, guiding Order 360 from concept to launch in 10 months.

  2. Made gathering order data for subpoena requests 75% faster, enabling Kroger’s legal team to support fraud and identity theft investigations more efficiently.

  3. Cut insight generation times by 97% by consolidating order data into a single source, saving Kroger an estimated $130k annually, with more savings expected to follow the full rollout.


Lessons Learned

  • When You Can’t Be the Expert, Partner with the Experts
    It sounds obvious in hindsight, but it wasn’t in the moment. Up to this point, I’d always been given the time and space to become confident in a domain before leading design. With Order 360, that luxury didn’t exist—I had to adapt quickly. What I learned was simple but invaluable: when you don’t have time to become the subject matter expert, lean on those who are. By partnering closely with embedded experts, I was able to keep the work moving forward while building my own knowledge organically throughout the product lifecycle.

  • The Art of Knowing What to Sacrifice
    Everyone has their own way of working, but a fast-paced environment forces you to redefine what’s truly essential. This project pushed me into that space, and I was surprised at how emotional some of those trade-offs felt. Early on, I feared skipping certain exercises would lead to chaos—and at times, it did. But I ultimately learned that even complex projects can move forward with fewer tools than you might expect. The key lies in carefully choosing what to sacrifice. Years of experience helped me make those calls with confidence, but I recognized that without that background, the process would have been far harder to navigate.

  • Knowing Which Hill You Want to Die On
    I often had to forego exercises and artifacts I believed would make Order 360 more human-centered. Normally, I’d use diplomacy to advocate for my approach, but most of these discussions didn’t go my way. I realized early that fighting over every decision wouldn’t help the team or the product. Instead, I had to be strategic about which battles were worth taking to the end. For me, that hill was user testing. Skipping it was non-negotiable. By trusting my instincts, leaning on diplomacy first, and consulting a network of design mentors when needed, I was able to secure buy-in and ensure the product was validated by real users.


Reflection

Looking back, Order 360 was as much about navigating people, systems, and culture as it was about designing a product. I learned how to accelerate onboarding through partnerships, manage expectations in high-pressure environments, and advocate for users when it wasn’t the popular choice. While the soft launch and eventual layoffs cut the story short, the project left me with sharpened skills in facilitation, storytelling, and strategic design—skills that I’ll carry into every future product challenge.