RODAN + FIELDS CONSULTANT EXPERIENCE

Leading the redesign for the R+F Business Suite, a set of tools Consultants use to understand and track their performance, manage their teams and customers, and grow their businesses. Consultants are the exclusive marketing and sales drivers for Rodan + Field’s digital-only commerce operation. R+F revenue rose from $500M in 2015 to $1.3B in 2017. 

Empathize

I started by researching how Consultants run their businesses, how they currently use PULSE and what their biggest pain points are. To do this, I conducted group interviews, surveys with over 7,000 respondents, follow-up interviews, and home visits. Simultaneously,  I began exploring the competitive landscape: direct selling competitors, CRMs, analytics dashboards, and social/productivity tools. Consultants referred to PULSE as the "black hole of information new Consultants should avoid." They also talked about how difficult it is to run their businesses due to site's lack of functionality and desktop only UI.

INTERPRET& Define

With the help of my PMs and greater UX team members, I synthesized the research results and business goals to better define the problem we want to solve. We did this through bucketing and affinity diagraming findings. It became clear that the redesign of PULSE had to bring back the essence of R+F, which is highlighting the human connections that really empower Consultants to grow their teams and businesses. The new tool needed to be light-weight and delightful, something I wouldn't mind checking after a long day at work.Below are the high level needs we uncovered through research:

1. Income supplementation fuels my ambition, so the value must be clear
2. Most of us are new to direct selling, so help us reduce the learning curve.
3. Communicating with my team is essential to motivate, train and assist them to succeed.
4. I need tools for personal growth, like recognition and custom goal tracking.
5. I want guidance based on trends and insights because reports are cumbersome.
6. I want training and tools to run my business efficiently and effectively.
7. I need access to data on-the-go, so keep it simple. Can't access 30+ sites for information.

Ideate

By collaborating with my product team, engineering, business stakeholders, Consultants (end users) and executive sponsors, I explored multiple ideas and solutions to the problems being defined. I conducted workshops (Information Architecture, Consultant Journey Map, Grounded Brainstorming). I then created paper prototypes and multiple concepts, which we validated with business stakeholders and users. A few key differences I introduced in the redesign:

1. Consultant and customer profiles to bring back that human connection instead of focusing on numbers and spreadsheets.
2. In-context learning and actions to clearly explain insights and act on them.
3. Simple charts and graphs to make information easier to digest and skim without overwhelming Consultants.

Prototype

I then created detailed high-fidelity flows for the best solution to validate with users through user research and during our annual convention. Consultants really loved (most of) the initial concept.

Test

We continued to validate the solution as Consultants started to use the actual product through a pilot program. Detailed designs were based on usability research, and business and development feedback. I collaborated closely with my product team and engineering to create an MVP prototype based on feedback, prioritization and technical capabilities. Through testing and refining, the design has continued to evolve over time.