```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F7hSMUX1TePXljO97mIOo%2F75b5204b-5de2-4791-8ecf-18aa90dc444e.jpg?alt=media&token=143d443e-a31d-4fdd-91b6-85f24dc4834f","id":"75b5204b-5de2-4791-8ecf-18aa90dc444e","width":2048,"height":1634,"filename":"IMG_0222.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Jonah","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F7hSMUX1TePXljO97mIOo%2Ff76ee251-18a6-473c-a2ea-06ea34930f6c.jpg?alt=media&token=cef86e7a-5904-48f7-9cac-c51b36441ddb","id":"f76ee251-18a6-473c-a2ea-06ea34930f6c","width":2048,"height":1437,"filename":"IMG_0217.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"Forbidden Fruit","border":false}]}
```

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F7hSMUX1TePXljO97mIOo%2F382f4359-6f93-48e3-866d-af0ad83d357e.jpg?alt=media&token=9e4a210a-3c71-4a43-bc16-0d2994ac4d6a","id":"382f4359-6f93-48e3-866d-af0ad83d357e","width":1200,"height":800,"filename":"IMG_0233.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"We take packaging very seriously around here","border":false}]}
```

📷 : [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/inthewaitingco/)

🎨 : [Etsy shop](https://www.etsy.com/shop/inthewaitingco)

Sneak peek into the shop ✨

... is something I hope you never have to hear in any shape or form; though if you do (or have already heard this) I hoped to convey that this concept of color-blindness is damaging and dismissive.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F8Y4FN84Dmk80z3tZmW6D%2F8ffc4eb3-06b8-4051-87cb-03042a2c32d2.jpg?alt=media&token=eb5d1dd0-c592-4dec-a7f4-bb8bced028b9","id":"8ffc4eb3-06b8-4051-87cb-03042a2c32d2","width":3600,"height":4800,"filename":"barunkw_1.jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"The final design","border":false}]}
```

### The official prompt

> This design challenge wants to bring awareness to microaggressions in language (using words and phrases that have historical context and implications of which we may not be aware). Participants are encouraged to examine unconscious bias through an artistic lens and to bring forth implicit messaging into explicit awareness. The design should focus on unconscious bias and create new dialog around it through artistic expression. If you take on this challenge, imagine how you might educate your peers about microaggressions/bias in communication on posters in your local elevator.

### Some of the thoughts that went into the final design

**What drew me to this design challenge?**

Just reading the word “microaggressions” in the design prompt frankly stirred up a lot of emotion in me. Both negative and positive. **Negative** because each time I face or hear about an instance of microaggression, it has a particular way of crushing the spirit. **Positive** in that each time I face or hear about an instance, I’m better at communicating why a certain word or phrase is offensive, hopefully resulting in change. For this challenge I chose a particular microaggression that’s stuck with me through the years. At the moment of impact, I didn’t have the words to describe why it bothered me. On the surface it seemed harmless, even nice? But it was neither harmless nor nice, it was rooted in privilege and racism. Through this design challenge I hoped to be candid and continue the dialogue about race.

**What went into the design process, what did I research, and how did I go beyond the brief?**

I first reflected on the instance of microaggression, when that *well-intentioned* person assured me that *“they don’t see color.”* I contemplated how to pinpoint what bothered me about it, and how I could translate that into art. I started by googling that phrase, and was very sad but affirmed to find that I wasn't alone in this experience — like so many human experiences. Overall, I found through research that to deny color is to announce your privilege and to dismiss history, the good and the bad. And I thought about how there are so many different hues of human skin color, each beautiful in their own way. It’s a tragedy to not see them all.

That’s what initially gave me the idea to have overlapping circles to represent the spectrum of skin color. In terms of the message, I wanted it to be clear and to the point. First, drawing people in through the bold and controversial statement:

> *“When I look at you, I don’t see color.”*

Which, I expected to evoke feelings of, *“Huh… that doesn’t sound right.”*

Then, as the viewer scans down to the overlapping hues of skin color, I show how the above statement is rooted in denial.

Finally, landing on the translation at the bottom, that explains why the above statement is hurtful, and how at its core it’s saying, *“It’s more comfortable to not acknowledge race than deal with the difficult issues that come with it.”*

**What was the voting process like?**

It was so exciting watching the live voting (which was on our Amazon-wide design slack), but at the same time really nerve-racking!! 😬  I thought every poster that was submitted was incredible with powerful messages.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F8Y4FN84Dmk80z3tZmW6D%2F327a39ab-af48-4f18-a946-2655cf1ed57e.png?alt=media&token=5e9b7ed7-c039-4078-bf91-9d59435ad2c7","id":"327a39ab-af48-4f18-a946-2655cf1ed57e","width":3360,"height":2100,"filename":"Screen Shot 2020-11-12 at 8.59.49 PM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"The moment they revealed that I won the slack vote. I was SHAKING haha","border":false}]}
```

### If I can leave you with one thing

My hope is that the dialogue about race won’t stop and the words shared will be seasoned with grace.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2F8Y4FN84Dmk80z3tZmW6D%2Fa419fe9f-61cd-45ca-81d5-f1b9419fbf97.jpg?alt=media&token=8dcb394d-5026-4097-a310-2a8c6743147d","id":"a419fe9f-61cd-45ca-81d5-f1b9419fbf97","width":1080,"height":664,"filename":"Image from iOS (47).jpg","type":"image/jpeg","caption":"If not your family, who else will celebrate the small wins in life?","border":false}]}
```

When I look at you, I don't see color... 😬

```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fOCIIme6DY&t=64s&ab_channel=AmazonNews","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-fOCIIme6DY/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

Designed and launched this experience where any time a customer says “Alexa, thank my driver,” the driver who delivered their most recent package will be notified of the customer’s appreciation.

In celebration of this new feature and the holiday season, with each thank-you received from customers, drivers also received an additional $5, at no cost to the customer. We added the $5 for the first 1 million thank-you’s received. And, the five drivers who received the most customer “thank-you’s” during the promotional period, was also rewarded  $10,000 plus an additional $10,000 to donate to their charity of choice.

Since launch on December 7, 2022, millions of customers engaged with the feature thanking their drivers for their deliveries resulting in 1 million paid “thank you’s” reaching the campaign goal in under 36 hours.

We received overwhelming positive response by customers and drivers in social media (posts shared hundreds to thousands of times across TikTok, Twitter, FB, Insta and Reddit).

**Highlighting a few interesting positive media mentions:**

1. [Twitter](https://twitter.com/search?q=Alexa%20Thank%20my%20driver&src=typed_query) threads with influencers picking up the CX organically

2. [Reddit ](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/zf40h3/thank_you_5_bonuses_kinda_neat_well_see_how_well/ "https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonFlexDrivers/comments/zf40h3/thank_you_5_bonuses_kinda_neat_well_see_how_well/")discussions with drivers appreciating the feature

3. [Tiktok](https://www.tiktok.com/@elijahhh471/video/7174554206039248170) videos.

4. More than 70+ positive local broadcast placements including [NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/amazon-extends-5-thank-driver-program-extraordinary-demand-rcna62936), and [USA Today.](https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/12/21/amazon-alexa-driver-tips-alexa/10938201002/)

Alexa, thank my driver

Redesigned and launched the Add to Cart multimodal experience on Echo Show devices.

Here's the live experience on my Echo Show 5:

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/590011760","width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1220106148-de7689ea9de5ef51d788c64a5c6b4d7361c461fc5d3c4846b4b34b6dd9a2da7d-d_640"}
```

### Background

One thing that sets the Echo Show apart from other smart assistants, is the power to shop on Amazon just by using your voice. But previously, when you said, for example “Alexa, add Kind Bars to my cart,” you’d see this:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FCpr74y5m5SdlYfeUzReO%2F23844afc-2b45-4962-b5af-035e67ecd4e8.png?alt=media&token=501cceb1-eb9b-41db-ad04-bcc65dc57f3f","id":"23844afc-2b45-4962-b5af-035e67ecd4e8","width":500,"height":331,"filename":"old atc.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

While this screen confirms for the customer that Alexa heard them correctly, it doesn’t provide enough information for them to confidently purchase it. We wanted to change this.\
\
My goal was to update this screen with more helpful product information and make customers feel more confident to make a purchase.

### Initial exploration

I observed there was low purchase rates and engagement with the older version of the Add to Cart screen.

My hypothesis was that this was for 2 reasons:

1. Customers don’t have enough information to confirm that the product is one they want to purchase.

2. Upon seeing that the product was added to cart, customers lack an incentive to follow through with a purchase.

I determined I could leverage the structure of Amazon’s existing product detail page but pare it down to the most essential information appropriate for a voice interaction with clear calls to action for customers.

### Process

My task to update the add to cart CX was complicated by the fact that at the same time, our team was transitioning to [Alexa Presentation Language](https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/alexa-presentation-language/understand-apl.html), which lets developers build multimodal skills for Amazon Alexa that support both a voice and visual experience. This meant our design team needed a system of patterns for multimodal experiences. Our APL partner team in London were the ones trailblazing this new design system initiative. However it was still very early-game and no one in Seattle was onboarding onto that system.\
\
I volunteered to trial the new system for this project. \
\
I first reached out to London, learned the system, and was encouraged to stress test it as much as possible. Being the first designer from another team to test the system, I gave feedback on what I liked about the system and areas where I thought it could be improved for a new designer onboarding to APL. I influenced new APL design patterns and empowered the rest of my Seattle-based team to start using this system.\
\
Through this project, I designed an updated add to cart CX, including accessibility specs for a screen reader version of this experience for users who are blind, while forging a brand new process of designing multimodal experiences in collaboration with our APL team in London.

### Results

**Metrics**

1. We saw statistically significant higher conversion rates on Alexa across the board after a customer added something to their cart.

2. I created a new template in the APL design system that other designers are able to leverage for their own purposes.

3. A bonus was that I became the first designer on my team who worked closely with our APL team to create multimodal experiences end-to-end. I bridged knowledge gaps in my Seattle team and circulated a new design process that empowered other designers to work on their own multimodal experiences.

**Learnings**

1. How to design a multimodal experience from start to finish.

2. The importance of creating clear accessibility specs for engineers to make sure we are designing delightful UX for all users, not just sighted people.

3. How to have a successful cross-collaboration with a partner team across the ocean (through simultaneous early and late meetings, over-communication, and great teammates).

4. It was a wonderful experience collaborating with my team, of mainly senior designers that I continue to learn so much from. It was awesome to play with, and occasionally break the design system that they built.

### The final design

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FCpr74y5m5SdlYfeUzReO%2F64282d12-5a3d-487f-8b19-e71ab0e650b4.png?alt=media&token=860ff48e-8ddf-479b-87b4-4ee1668e6b78","id":"64282d12-5a3d-487f-8b19-e71ab0e650b4","width":938,"height":620,"filename":"EchoShow_mockup.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Alexa, add batteries to my cart.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F7fe8b510-2858-4608-a8e8-5ddfe62e9830.png?alt=media&token=e86f3011-bd35-4f5f-aa82-d56c7c3235ed","id":"7fe8b510-2858-4608-a8e8-5ddfe62e9830","width":842,"height":595,"filename":"image (29).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Final Experience","border":false}]}
```

Designed and launched a new search experience on Echo Show Devices for a customer that knows, with some degree of certainty, what item they’re looking for. Alexa has high confidence that the product she recommends will suit the customer’s needs, and surfaces purchase buttons in the initial offer presentation. (2021-2023)

Partners: 3 Product Managers, 1 Researcher, 7 Engineers

For example, a customer who is reordering something like Tide Pods for the fifth time probably just wants to check a few things like is this the one I got last time, did the price change & when will this be delivered, rather than browse for a new laundry detergent. In that case they will see the new search experience I designed.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F375fb942-7262-4f8d-ab34-ce4757210144.png?alt=media&token=c4bca37a-7bf2-486c-b6ae-36f43545dac4","id":"375fb942-7262-4f8d-ab34-ce4757210144","width":1335,"height":760,"filename":"image (30).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Though, if the item that is in focus doesn't match their needs, the customer can always say next.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2Fc7bd847d-fd6f-48dd-a0a3-da5646942c1a.png?alt=media&token=d0a7a582-98bc-43ac-939d-f6236c6921d6","id":"c7bd847d-fd6f-48dd-a0a3-da5646942c1a","width":1335,"height":771,"filename":"image (31).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### What is the original search experience?

The original search experience is used for non-high confidence search queries where Alexa cannot provide a confident recommendation and will either 1) elicit more information from the customer, or 2) provide a broad response

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F79baab82-7fce-4007-8dc9-4946317a0b66.png?alt=media&token=b2e3a8aa-1cff-44b9-9844-1cb7880db3ab","id":"79baab82-7fce-4007-8dc9-4946317a0b66","width":1335,"height":771,"filename":"image (32).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Definitions

> **High Confidence Search**
>
> A search in which the customer knows, with some degree of certainty, what item they are looking for. In a high confidence search, Alexa has a high degree of confidence that the product she recommends is the most relevant to the customer.

> **Low Confidence Search**
>
> A search in which the customer in unsure which specific item they are looking and needs to conduct further research. In a low confidence search, Alexa cannot provide a confident recommendation and will either 1) elicit more information from the customer, or 2) provide a broad response.

### Process

In order to determine whether a search is high or low confidence I evaluated the following set of signals with my product & engineering partners to understand whether Alexa can provide a confident recommendation. We categorized signals into two buckets: explicit and implicit.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F628a0e72-e9ce-4717-b8ec-928ab45e4e1e.png?alt=media&token=76c9a9b8-6cea-4f53-83a0-32d90c663080","id":"628a0e72-e9ce-4717-b8ec-928ab45e4e1e","width":1490,"height":390,"filename":"image (33).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Research A/B Testing

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F9977b789-6818-4022-a563-bb76091b76e2.png?alt=media&token=90947188-94af-4372-9de0-c7938ef3e7bd","id":"9977b789-6818-4022-a563-bb76091b76e2","width":842,"height":595,"filename":"image (35).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Results

**Launch**

1. Launched experience in US markets in Jan 2023.

**Bps**

1. On Alexa Purchase rate observed a statistically significant improvement of +655bps (p <0.00001).

**Annualized OPS**

1. 1.07M and 52K Paid Units, based on experiment with 13.4K customers (10/20/22 to 11/16/22 and 12/1/22 to 1/13/23)

### The Final Design

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FGKhpvrPhkKwiNKbwjcXB%2F9749ce71-5c70-4436-bd0f-c4fbd30d0c19.png?alt=media&token=b4d63a84-6fd9-44b2-b0ed-b9d8eef4c42c","id":"9749ce71-5c70-4436-bd0f-c4fbd30d0c19","width":1800,"height":1367,"filename":"image (37).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

High Confidence Search

Co-design lead for a team of 6 composed of two product designers (including me), two product managers, one researcher, and one motion designer to illustrate a future vision 3-5 years out for Alexa’s presence and adaptability across devices and throughout customers lives, while identifying work that can be launched in the short term. The final output was **foundational research findings** and **7 signature experiences** that I communicated across teams in Amazon.

### Background

> **The goal:** Envision signature experience concepts for how Alexa can become a truly adaptive AI shopping concierge - personalizing every shopping experience across the Alexa ecosystem.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FM7Iu72ncx4jwuV4kOrgt%2F5c0dc102-354b-469a-8243-d50d52feace4.png?alt=media&token=f07b8f37-2bb7-47a1-986c-f838199b7418","id":"5c0dc102-354b-469a-8243-d50d52feace4","width":3580,"height":1158,"filename":"image (176).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### The Focus

1. **Envisioning big ideas**

2. **Pushing current boundaries**

3. **Storytelling, not detailed specs**

### Foundational Research

The 2-part foundational research helped us understand key characteristics of expert assistants and ways Alexa might assist customers across their shopping journeys.

We spoke with 8 individuals in customer service and personal assistant roles to better understand characteristics and hallmarks of “world-class service.”\
\
Then we spoke with 17 Amazon Customers to better understand their preferences and expectations regarding personalized shopping experiences, including how a Digital Shopping Assistant (DSA) like Alexa might learn or handle their individual preferences, context and connected experiences.

**Key Findings**

*Customer Service Group*

1. Establishing rapport with clients through empathy and active listening

2. Building trust with clients by demonstrating expertise and ability to meet client needs

3. Going above and beyond with supplementary gestures and attentions

*Amazon Customers*

1. All participants were open to having their personalization defined implicitly and explicitly.

2. Most participants also expected their preferences to be fine-tuned over time.

3. Most participants responded positively to the idea of context impacting recommendations, notably location, climate/weather, and events/milestones.

4. All participants expected profiles to come into play when shared devices were used.

5. All participants expected personalization to be seamless when across modalities, with the exception of switching to a shared device.

### Strategy Workshop

I organized a cross-team strategy workshop to share foundational research findings with key partners, as well as other teams across Amazons to get buy-in to this vision. The design strategy workshop generated a variety of ideas and input on how Alexa might become the world’s most adaptive personal shopping assistant.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FM7Iu72ncx4jwuV4kOrgt%2F3208cbe4-29cc-4ea1-82f5-9f68bf92a1a5.png?alt=media&token=7caa7961-f8ee-4a54-9729-9b6e548b7f69","id":"3208cbe4-29cc-4ea1-82f5-9f68bf92a1a5","width":1494,"height":869,"filename":"image (177).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Post workshop, created a design framework that summarizes strategy, informed by foundational research workshop conversations, design explorations, and more.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FM7Iu72ncx4jwuV4kOrgt%2F4b1031bc-cae9-4ffd-a2d5-c1dc64695c3f.png?alt=media&token=2b41adcb-6504-4c28-8d9d-bfc8933892ea","id":"4b1031bc-cae9-4ffd-a2d5-c1dc64695c3f","width":3840,"height":1816,"filename":"image (178).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Signature Experiences

Through synthesis of the workshop ideas and collaborative sketching and storytelling, we distilled the pool of potential ideas into a few key signature experience storyboards to explore and refine.

**Interaction and visual themes we explored**

* Explore z-space and layering

* Lean away from “Amazon grid” and lean into organic shapes and motion

* Play with multi-modality and cross-device interactions

* Explore individual, household, and collaborative moments

* Identify moments for transparent personalization

* Push beyond the current Echo visual system

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FM7Iu72ncx4jwuV4kOrgt%2F06634ead-f4ab-40f1-90d9-7fab9656681f.png?alt=media&token=82587ed4-9d93-48ca-9dd7-67078e67e428","id":"06634ead-f4ab-40f1-90d9-7fab9656681f","width":2016,"height":772,"filename":"Screenshot 2023-07-20 at 3.11.11 AM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Next Steps

1. Concept Validation

2. Take vision concepts and define shorter term opportunities that lead us to the vision.

3. Work with program leaders to align vision to OP1s, vision docs, and roadmaps.

Adaptivity Vision

Designed and launched the end to end multimodal experience for learning about, and signing up for Prime membership on Echo Show devices.

Here's the final experience on an Echo Show 5:

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/591937624","width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1223466571-05821492e0f065d5997d74c72f4a5044f777defcdaca1e21723206ff13114b8b-d_640"}
```

### Background

At the start of this project, Alexa received \~43k requests about signing up for [Prime membership](https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime) on Echo Show devices. However the conversion rate — i.e. a customer saying"yes" to starting membership, was below 1% of all requests. This indicated that customers were not comfortable, or had enough information to confidently start a membership.

> **The goal:** Build a new Prime membership user experience that shares Prime's most popular benefits, increase customer confidence in the program, and improve sign up rates for membership on Echo Show devices.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F34233d49-ef33-4392-93a6-6e9c19627901.png?alt=media&token=a5f449d0-d5e5-42b5-b65e-c2c7e44c368c","id":"34233d49-ef33-4392-93a6-6e9c19627901","width":938,"height":620,"filename":"old prime.png","type":"image/png","caption":"The old Prime membership user experience was a static screen with a long block of text and a generic stock image — that also got cut off at the edge of the screen 😬 ","border":false}]}
```

### Pain points

After an initial analysis of the old user experience, I noted some pain points:

1. The text was not easy to digest as it was a long string of text.

2. The header "Enjoy FREE Two-Day Shipping..." gave me a high level summary of the benefits of Prime, but it's not enough information for me to confidently start a membership.

3. The image was nice, but not really relevant — it made me think how can we align more with Prime as a brand today?

4. There was no clear call to actions for a user to continue their journey.

**Here is how I addressed the pain points...**

### 1. The text was not easy to digest as it was a long string of text

In order to make it easier for users to digest information about Prime, I explored templates that would progressively disclose information instead of sharing everything in a huge block of text.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F6e4ec95e-b25b-4ddb-8fd6-12c301d07fa7.png?alt=media&token=1b6b4591-c299-4df1-9fbf-aa79a1e53b25","id":"6e4ec95e-b25b-4ddb-8fd6-12c301d07fa7","width":1280,"height":800,"filename":"image (120).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Early exploration of using cards","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F00cff5e7-c95f-4d90-9534-f262eab116e4.png?alt=media&token=6ce78d29-ae6b-415b-9088-df5f5d3b15b2","id":"00cff5e7-c95f-4d90-9534-f262eab116e4","width":1280,"height":800,"filename":"image (121).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Early exploration of using a detail view","border":false}]}
```

I pursued a hybrid of these 2 options in a user flow that naturally guides users through an experience where they learn more about Prime in digestible chunks.

### 2. The header "Enjoy FREE Two-Day Shipping..." gave me a high level summary of the benefits of Prime, but it's not enough information for me to confidently start a membership.

The header is a good quick synopsis of what a Prime membership entails, however it's only the tip of the iceberg.

To dive deeper on the key benefits of Prime I met with the **Prime membership design team** at Amazon. They were so helpful, and shared data on which benefits customers cared about the most.

I learned the top 3 benefits that customers love about Prime are:

1. Fast, free shipping on millions of items

2. Prime Video

3. Amazon Music

In addition, they shared the latest Prime branding to follow in order to have a cohesive Prime experience across all platforms, not just on Echo Show devices.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F0d07a205-4151-4092-a3f1-127795621c98.png?alt=media&token=babdb437-966f-419a-bd5e-6b6e08cca2c7","id":"0d07a205-4151-4092-a3f1-127795621c98","width":1280,"height":800,"filename":"image (122).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Narrowed down to 3 key benefits, and leveraged Prime branding and language","border":true}]}
```

### 3. The image was nice, but not really relevant — it made me think how can we align more with Prime as a brand today?

After meeting with the Prime design team, I leveraged their brand guidelines for language, illustration design, and color.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F91651667-1be4-479a-a5e1-4d29b3842e12.png?alt=media&token=da3100dd-2d07-4cae-8cbd-0956abc84667","id":"91651667-1be4-479a-a5e1-4d29b3842e12","width":1280,"height":800,"filename":"image (123).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Getting PRIME-Y :) ","border":false}]}
```

### 4. There was no clear calls to action for a user to continue their journey.

I added 3 buttons at the bottom of the learn more screen that give clear calls to action for the user to continue their user journey:

1. TRY PRIME FOR FREE — starts a user's Prime membership (if applicable)

2. LEARN MORE — takes users to the learn more about Prime benefits screen you see above

3. VIEW TERMS — opens an overlay with terms and conditions

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2F1244d88d-8d4a-48e0-a3ce-52132823a9db.png?alt=media&token=1339ea26-37d7-4bc0-8d6b-cf5854b9082f","id":"1244d88d-8d4a-48e0-a3ce-52132823a9db","width":1282,"height":802,"filename":"image (124).png","type":"image/png","caption":"Now the user has 3 clear calls to action that they can take","border":false}]}
```

### User flow diagram

Once I determined the right content and layouts for the user experience, I mapped out the entire end to end journey in a flow diagram, including VUI (voice user interface) dialog prompts. This diagram made it easy to communicate what the user flow should look and sound like with my partners including: other designers, product manager, and engineers.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2Fcdb112e3-c29b-4b95-bb77-ac521bb8c986.png?alt=media&token=18259e01-bdbd-4207-9af1-e82023526bac","id":"cdb112e3-c29b-4b95-bb77-ac521bb8c986","width":4973,"height":3849,"filename":"prime flow diagram.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Flow diagram","border":false}]}
```

### Accessibility

Once the designs were finalized, a key part of the process was building the screen reader component for the user experience. This allows users who are blind to enjoy the experience as well.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2Fc76675c2-12e0-4ce7-b402-b58a8b666b90.png?alt=media&token=aade844a-eee4-4e40-aac5-0312e285e4bc","id":"c76675c2-12e0-4ce7-b402-b58a8b666b90","width":3106,"height":1346,"filename":"image (126).png","type":"image/png","caption":"An example of accessibility specs I would create to support a screen reader experience","border":false}]}
```

### Results

**Metrics**

1. On April 12th we launched the Prime sign up experience across all Echo Show devices. This CX is available in US in all supported locales.

2. We saw statistically significant higher sign up rates, from less than 1% to 3% of all Prime membership requests on Alexa after launching the experience.

**Learnings**

1. How to design a multimodal experience from start to finish.

2. The importance of creating clear accessibility specs for engineers to make sure we are designing delightful UX for all users, not just sighted people.

3. How to have a successful cross-collaboration with teams across Amazon.

### The final design

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FQv40fSR8m4By3eGTIYge%2Fae0f2111-1dfb-4205-8235-a7fdbb37ae2f.png?alt=media&token=dc7dd66c-60ab-456a-a1bd-da1259e39e31","id":"ae0f2111-1dfb-4205-8235-a7fdbb37ae2f","width":938,"height":620,"filename":"prime.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Alexa, how much is Prime membership?

```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXkDMBNCoFo&t=1s&ab_channel=AmazonNews","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uXkDMBNCoFo/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

\*This project is confidential, and certain details cannot be published.

## **Background**

Design features with new generative AI-powered capabilities in Amazon’s store to make shopping even easier and more convenient for customers.

Rufus is a generative AI-powered expert shopping assistant trained on Amazon’s extensive product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, and information from across the web to answer customer questions on a variety of shopping needs and products, provide comparisons, and make recommendations based on conversational context.

> **Fun fact:** Rufus is named after a beloved Welsh corgi who roamed the first Amazon warehouses and apparently loved meetings. :)

## **My Role in Rufus**

I led design end-to-end for the following Rufus generative AI/LLM features, working with product, engineering, research, and science partners to define an MLP and long term vision to work backwards from:

1. The AI default response when a user swipes up on the bottom sheet after they type in a keyword like "coffee maker" and taken to a search results page with product results.

2. The AI response for when a user types a simple keyword query. i.e. "coffee maker" or "air fryer"

3. The AI response for when a user types a broad research query, i.e. "what to look for in a coffee machine" or "what are different types of air fryers"

## **Design Process**

**Project Kickoff**

I work closely with my project manager to define scope of work and working backwards plans from launch timelines & prioritization from our C-suite. At this phase I determine the action items for design & eventually what are our ideal outcomes, plan upcoming research, and schedule leadership reviews.

**Design Iteration**

After defining scope, I work on an initial design proposal that I vet with science partners to determine LLM feasibility, otherwise define iterative steps to get to the long term vision so that the model can start learning new patterns and behaviors for answering shopping questions depending on customer queries.

For example, a recent Rufus project I’ve worked on is creating a taxonomy of how the AI should produce actionable responses depending on query specificity. I defined logic for how the AI should interpret different shopping queries and respond accordingly depending on where the customer is in their shopping journey. For broader queries customers may need more of a high-level guided experience, whereas for narrower queries customers may be ready to see direct product recommendations. In either situation, each experience brings customers closer to buying their desired product.

In order to have these types of forked experiences, I work with science partners to define what expected responses are, and how we can start to route the right ones to customers.

**Usability Research**

I strengthen design rationale with usability research studies working with research partners and external Amazon customers to get insights on features.

**Leadership Review**

Once designs are finalized, they are presented to leadership, from VP to CEO level depending on priority of the feature and once aligned on direction, I work with engineering and product to execute designs in the beta app that are later dialed up to prod.

## **Initial Beta Launch Metrics & Press**

On Thursday, 2/1, we announced Rufus, a generative AI-powered expert shopping assistant becoming available in Amazon’s mobile app. We broke the news on [About Amazon](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-rufus "https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-rufus") with an exclusive article authored by Rajiv Mehta and Trishul Chilimbi, and conducted broad outreach to reporters across business, retail, tech, and local publications. We reinforced Rufus during [earnings](https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-release/news-release-details/2024/Amazon.com-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-Results/ "https://ir.aboutamazon.com/news-release/news-release-details/2024/Amazon.com-Announces-Fourth-Quarter-Results/") later in the day, and amplified the news through Amazon and executive social channels.

**Key Metrics:** Our About Amazon post garnered 33k page views (+810% above benchmark) in the first 26 hours, outperforming other media publications (CNBC had 5k page views and TechCrunch had 3k page views). Organic Google search and Google News drove a strong influx of readers (8k page views), where we ranked #1 in the newsfeed and for relevant keywords like “Amazon AI,” “Amazon Rufus,” and “Amazon.” The majority of other readers came from executive social content on LinkedIn (6.7k page views, including posts from [Andy Jassy](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158979342109171713/ "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158979342109171713/") and [Doug Herrington](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158916417503830017/ "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158916417503830017/")), direct sources (14k page views, including third-party AI newsletters and news-generator apps like Apple News), and backlinks from media outlets (1.1k page views, including [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/amazon-announces-ai-shopping-assistant-called-rufus.html "https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/amazon-announces-ai-shopping-assistant-called-rufus.html"), [Engadget](https://www.engadget.com/amazon-launches-rufus-an-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-204811837.html "https://www.engadget.com/amazon-launches-rufus-an-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-204811837.html"), [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/ "https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/"), and [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/1/24058381/amazon-ai-shopping-assistant-rufus "https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/1/24058381/amazon-ai-shopping-assistant-rufus")).

**External Media Highlights:**

* Axios: [Amazon rolls out Rufus, a new AI shopping assistant](https://www.axios.com/2024/02/01/amazon-app-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant "https://www.axios.com/2024/02/01/amazon-app-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant")

* Bloomberg: [Amazon Adds AI Shopping Companion Named Rufus to Retail Store](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-01/amazon-adds-ai-shopping-companion-named-rufus-to-web-store "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-01/amazon-adds-ai-shopping-companion-named-rufus-to-web-store")

* Business Insider: [Amazon is launching a chatty AI assistant called Rufus to help people become smarter shoppers](https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant-chatbot-2024-2 "https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant-chatbot-2024-2")

* CNBC: [Amazon Announces AI Shopping Assistant Called Rufus](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/amazon-announces-ai-shopping-assistant-called-rufus.html "https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/01/amazon-announces-ai-shopping-assistant-called-rufus.html")

* Digital Trends: [The Amazon app on your phone just got a cool AI feature](https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/amazon-app-ai-chatbot-rufus-shopping-assistance-news/ "https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/amazon-app-ai-chatbot-rufus-shopping-assistance-news/")

* Engadget: [Amazon Launches Rufus, an AI-powered Shopping Assistant](https://www.engadget.com/amazon-launches-rufus-an-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-204811837.html?src=rss "https://www.engadget.com/amazon-launches-rufus-an-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-204811837.html?src=rss")

* FOX Business: [Amazon Launches AI-powered Shopping Assistant Rufus](https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/amazon-launches-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-rufus "https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/amazon-launches-ai-powered-shopping-assistant-rufus")

* GeekWire: [Amazon Unveils ‘Rufus’ AI Shopping Assistant, Rolling Out in Coming Weeks in Mobile App](https://www.geekwire.com/2024/amazon-unveils-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant-rolling-out-in-coming-weeks-in-mobile-app/ "https://www.geekwire.com/2024/amazon-unveils-rufus-ai-shopping-assistant-rolling-out-in-coming-weeks-in-mobile-app/")

* Mashable: [Amazon launches AI shopping assistant called...Rufus?](https://mashable.com/article/amazon-rufus-generative-ai-shopping "https://mashable.com/article/amazon-rufus-generative-ai-shopping")

* TechCrunch: [Amazon Debuts ‘Rufus,’ an AI Shopping Assistant in Its Mobile App](https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/ "https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/")

* The New York Times: [Amazon Enters Chatbot Fray With Shopping Tool](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/technology/amazon-earnings.html "https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/technology/amazon-earnings.html")

* The Wall Street Journal: [Amazon to Launch AI Shopping Assistant](https://www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-to-launch-ai-shopping-assistant-2a14c32c "https://www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-to-launch-ai-shopping-assistant-2a14c32c")

* ZDNet: [Meet Rufus: Amazon Launches an AI Chatbot to Help Shoppers](https://www.zdnet.com/article/meet-rufus-amazon-launches-an-ai-chatbot-to-help-shoppers/ "https://www.zdnet.com/article/meet-rufus-amazon-launches-an-ai-chatbot-to-help-shoppers/")

**Internal Media Highlights:**

* [About Amazon](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-rufus "https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/retail/amazon-rufus")

* [A-to-Z News Article](https://news.a2z.com/contents/37649223 "https://news.a2z.com/contents/37649223")

* Amazon [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20Xntyt2oI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== "https://www.instagram.com/reel/C20Xntyt2oI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA=="), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Amazon/videos/starting-today-a-small-subset-of-us-customers-using-our-mobile-app-can-start-con/838121958117264/ "https://www.facebook.com/Amazon/videos/starting-today-a-small-subset-of-us-customers-using-our-mobile-app-can-start-con/838121958117264/")

**Social Media Highlights:**

*Executive Social Highlights*

* Andy Jassy: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andy-jassy-8b1615_ever-notice-its-hard-to-get-great-answers-activity-7158979342109171713-z0Rr "https://www.linkedin.com/posts/andy-jassy-8b1615_ever-notice-its-hard-to-get-great-answers-activity-7158979342109171713-z0Rr"), [X](https://twitter.com/ajassy/status/1753214612697423982 "https://twitter.com/ajassy/status/1753214612697423982"), [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@ajassy/post/C20z2MqvHY5 "https://www.threads.net/@ajassy/post/C20z2MqvHY5")

* Doug Herrington: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/doug-herrington_one-of-the-perks-of-my-job-is-early-access-activity-7158916417503830017-6WBZ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios "https://www.linkedin.com/posts/doug-herrington_one-of-the-perks-of-my-job-is-early-access-activity-7158916417503830017-6WBZ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios"), [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/C20WzBCSp2W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== "https://www.instagram.com/p/C20WzBCSp2W/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA=="), [Threads](https://www.threads.net/@herrington_doug/post/C20W93zSWei "https://www.threads.net/@herrington_doug/post/C20W93zSWei")

* Adam Selipsky: [X](https://twitter.com/aselipsky/status/1753238486180917613?s=46 "https://twitter.com/aselipsky/status/1753238486180917613?s=46")

* Rajiv Mehta: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rmmehta_if-youve-ever-shopped-on-amazon-and-wished-activity-7159061046727479296-R27R "https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rmmehta_if-youve-ever-shopped-on-amazon-and-wished-activity-7159061046727479296-R27R")

* Trishul Chilimbi: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158918145263419392/ "https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158918145263419392/")

**Top Quotes:**

* *“And the company is now looking to give customers a new way to shop, while signaling to investors that it is doubling down on artificial intelligence. Ahead of the earnings report on Thursday, Amazon announced it was adding an AI-powered shopping assistant dubbed “Rufus” to its e-commerce store.” –* Catherine Thorbecke, *[CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/tech/amazon-q4-earnings/index.html "https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/01/tech/amazon-q4-earnings/index.html")*

* *“Last year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that every business division at the company was experimenting with AI. Today, Amazon has announced its most ambitious AI product yet: a chatbot named Rufus to assist with your online shopping.”* – Nadeem Sarwar, *[Digital Trends](https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/amazon-app-ai-chatbot-rufus-shopping-assistance-news/ "https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/amazon-app-ai-chatbot-rufus-shopping-assistance-news/")*

* *“The launch of the AI chatbot comes on the heels of other AI-powered additions across Amazon.com aimed at improving the shopping experience for consumers, ranging from tools that help customers find clothes that fit to those that enhance product reviews with summaries of product highlights and customer sentiment, as well as others aimed at advertisers and sellers.” –* Sarah Perez\*, [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/ "https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/01/amazon-debuts-rufus-an-ai-shopping-assistant-in-its-mobile-app/")\*

* “*Consumers are more than twice as likely to search first on Amazon versus other search engines when they are looking for a specific product to buy. But the e-commerce giant has long wanted to attract customers when they are still brainstorming and researching their options, when they typically turn to other sources, from TikTok to Google. Rufus is an attempt to bring customers into Amazon before they know precisely what they want.” – Karen Weise, [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/technology/amazon-earnings.html "https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/01/technology/amazon-earnings.html")*

Rufus Beta Launch, Amazon's Generative Shopping AI at Amazon

Designed and launched the end to end multimodal experience for post-purchase order tracking on Echo Show devices.

Partners: 2 Product Managers, 1 Researcher, 2 Engineers

Here's the final experience on an Echo Show 5 & 10:

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/742511673","width":426,"height":240,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1493939322-905f676af3232b3b70d2634feb70a80b47e8a3588cfd7176619fa0799afeda3b-d_295x166"}
```

* **1.4 million** monthly active users of "Alexa, where's my stuff" worldwide.

* **5 million** monthly order tracking interactions take place with Alexa.

* Experience is available on all Alexa Echo devices from Echo Dot, Echo Show 5/8/10/15, Fire TV, + new devices.

> **The goal:** Redesign the order tracking experience on Echo Show devices to give users more information about their orders, and provide clear follow-on actions.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2Fbb27871a-de27-4473-b73f-854c7c55f661.png?alt=media&token=a53f896f-0b93-4bff-b0ce-ca04a3ed5236","id":"bb27871a-de27-4473-b73f-854c7c55f661","width":1000,"height":520,"filename":"Artboard Copy 3.png","type":"image/png","caption":"The old delivery experience had only basic delivery information, terse accompanying voice UI, and was inconsistent with how deliveries are presented on Amazon.com.","border":false}]}
```

### Opportunity Areas

After an initial analysis of the old user experience, I defined opportunity areas:

1. **Consistent visuals** with other Alexa Shopping experiences.

2. **Consistent information architecture (IA)** based on what users are familiar with on Amazon.com or Amazon app.

3. **Engaging follow-on actions** for a richer order tracking experience.

4. **Improve voice experience** & provide helpful information about order tracking.

**Here is how I explored the opportunity areas...**

### 1. Consistent visuals

Made an inventory of all the components I would need, and checked whether they existed in our design library.

* Product image ✅

* Text strings ✅

  * Delivery status

  * Estimated time of arrival

  * Package carrier, i.e. UPS

  * Delivery location

  * Order details

* Alexa "Try hints" ✅

* Store Logos ✅

* Ordinals ✅

### 2. Consistent information architecture

**Amazon.com** lists items you've ordered **individually**. This is important when a user wants to take **item-specific actions** such as returning an item or viewing details for one item. Our **old experience** **grouped items** based on whether they arrived in the same delivery box, which worked but is **not scalable for follow-on actions.**

* I split groups of packages into item-by-item cards even if they arrived in the same box.

* This made it easier to build item-specific follow-on actions, and was more scalable for future features.

* This update also has interesting implications on the voice experience since the old voice experience grouped items... stay tuned!

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2F05e366e0-0d4f-4d3f-b771-8b19196702d9.png?alt=media&token=3a9b300d-d465-4cdd-b34e-83de3bf63212","id":"05e366e0-0d4f-4d3f-b771-8b19196702d9","width":1320,"height":840,"filename":"Artboard.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### 3. Engaging follow-on actions

The old experience was **not interactive**, so users couldn't tap or interact further by voice. I explored & tested different options with my user research partner in a **usability study** for follow-on actions a user could take to continue their order tracking journey with Alexa.

I sought answers for these questions:

* What level of information do users care to see in the UI?

* Where do users expect to be taken to when they tap an order card?

* How much information do users really care to hear in the VUI?

And discovered...

**What level of information do users care to see in the UI?**

Participants appreciated that the UI had all the **important information** they wanted up front, i.e. Delivery Status, Product Image, etc...

> *"This page shows me mostly what I want to know. I think I could ask, or click on them to view more information if I wanted to." – P8*

**Where do users expect to be taken to when they tap an order card?**

Participants had a strong preference of seeing an **order details page** over a **product details page** if they clicked for more information from the Your Deliveries main screen, but were unsure why they would click at all.

> *"I thought it was going to go right into the order details, rather than the product details. Why would I want to add to cart or buy it now when I’ve already bought it?"* – P1

**How much information do users really care to hear in the VUI?**

Participants wanted **shorter audio experiences** with the option to ask for more information; especially when they owned a device with a screen — where information was already being shown visually.

> *"Just tell me what I need to hear." – P5*

### 4. Improve voice (VUI) experience

Leveraged insights from both the usability study & user testing survey with 15 participants to validate redesigning the voice experience for Where's My Stuff since we observed overwhelming feedback that the old experience was not satisfactory.

In addition, the old voice experience did not align with the new information architecture of splitting items out of groups.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2F1ba0a69e-6fba-4e3a-9581-34710eb64266.png?alt=media&token=662a5cc7-66dc-4a58-9c6d-9b8268dc7b4c","id":"1ba0a69e-6fba-4e3a-9581-34710eb64266","width":7016,"height":4564,"filename":"WMS Redesign VUI flow diagram.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Handoff — User flow diagram

I mapped out how the screens relate to each other so that my engineering partners could easily see the end to end flow.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2F926f7fca-c06e-4e4f-9359-58fee8dc1a57.png?alt=media&token=dce59321-b181-4fc4-a0cd-ce2516046bb3","id":"926f7fca-c06e-4e4f-9359-58fee8dc1a57","width":2452,"height":2110,"filename":"image - 2022-08-24T005507.020.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Handoff — Information Hierarchy

I defined the hierarchy of information in design specs so engineering partners could code logic for what information would take precedence when there is more information to share than screen space.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2Ff2f2eb96-40fb-45a0-816b-cb03ed94a477.png?alt=media&token=a365cabf-f908-4788-bbed-fdc920886b9e","id":"f2f2eb96-40fb-45a0-816b-cb03ed94a477","width":5632,"height":3735,"filename":"Echo Show 5 Prioritization.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Accessibility

I designed the screen reader accessibility specs to ensure that our team is creating experiences that are inclusive to blind users.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2Fbeb7901d-63dc-467c-aa98-ee0aa935d560.png?alt=media&token=f54dea95-e29b-41c0-802d-38cf7fa721a9","id":"beb7901d-63dc-467c-aa98-ee0aa935d560","width":2522,"height":1464,"filename":"Screen Shot 2022-08-24 at 12.59.22 AM.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Results

**Metrics**

1. Launched in October 2022

2. Observed around 10 bps reduction multi-turn error rate (MT-ER) from CX quality team’s manual annotations. In addition to multi-turn metrics. Also observed +750 bps on our responses coverage metrics and +700 bps on our responses’ precision metrics based on engineering team’s manual annotation.

3. Customer satisfaction increased by 1000 bps from 67% to 77% . There was improvement of 190 bps in terms of Multi-Turn CX improvements as customer got more details on their orders and shipments at item level.

**If I had more time I would...**

1. Explore a live map tracking for deliveries.

2. Explore how to show relationships between items arriving at the same time.

3. Explore showing the photo the delivery driver takes at moment of delivery.

**Highlights**

1. Updated the UI to be consistent with Alexa Shopping & Amazon.com.

2. Conducted 2 research studies to validate UX decisions.

3. Created a more efficient VUI architecture for order tracking.

4. Wore multiple hats (Designer, PM) throughout the whole process.

5. Successful collaboration and handoff of final design with engineering partners.

### The Final Design

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FcDxHbFtXKJm8eg740LcT%2Fcc480eb2-ac7f-4445-9b7a-1620983e1f7c.png?alt=media&token=ee43e353-e584-4760-a40e-678694c35965","id":"cc480eb2-ac7f-4445-9b7a-1620983e1f7c","width":938,"height":620,"filename":"wms_final.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

Alexa, where's my stuff?

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FflaUu6Zxi0JIxnLOBsMW%2F7a6bb246-cc25-4274-8a72-57a3c9539807.png?alt=media&token=362dd816-abf4-42f9-a3c7-c2b30d5b3e60","id":"7a6bb246-cc25-4274-8a72-57a3c9539807","width":1280,"height":1920,"filename":"image (39).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FflaUu6Zxi0JIxnLOBsMW%2Ff6f546c3-63ea-49f5-9a3e-4c3f1f018abd.png?alt=media&token=edfd155e-0609-4154-9608-75b15bc6adcf","id":"f6f546c3-63ea-49f5-9a3e-4c3f1f018abd","width":2048,"height":1536,"filename":"image (38).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FflaUu6Zxi0JIxnLOBsMW%2Fa1f1d961-8237-46fc-8fc1-3ef6a0ab30b3.png?alt=media&token=84ee0674-54d7-44f0-a94b-0d772688eba6","id":"a1f1d961-8237-46fc-8fc1-3ef6a0ab30b3","width":1280,"height":1596,"filename":"image (40).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FflaUu6Zxi0JIxnLOBsMW%2F18b8c648-a4af-48f9-896e-2ada7115024c.png?alt=media&token=6891d359-2254-4126-8d18-127f3e5bf6b1","id":"18b8c648-a4af-48f9-896e-2ada7115024c","width":2048,"height":1536,"filename":"image (41).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FflaUu6Zxi0JIxnLOBsMW%2Fade2ccef-aba6-48bc-8c70-babfec305c83.png?alt=media&token=3103e744-8875-48d5-9495-9794eb68cc4a","id":"ade2ccef-aba6-48bc-8c70-babfec305c83","width":2048,"height":1121,"filename":"image (42).png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

We interviewed [Barun Kwak](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAABwkUxABVDrcmZuW3XFVLsL12MHHPIzgrmc), UX Designer at Amazon, about her background in design. She began her journey with Amazon as a UX design intern and returned after graduating to the same team, where she has stayed ever since. As a designer, she has worked on several projects, including Alexa, Thank My Driver; which she talks about below!\
\
Tell us about your background and how it led you to a career in design.\
\
🎤 I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a double major in Human Computer Interaction and Business. I remember doing a conversational UI project in one of my studio classes thinking, “When will I ever use this in real life?” Little did I know that I’d be doing conversational design in almost every project I’ve been involved with at Amazon since starting here.\
\
What does your design team do at Amazon?\
\
🎤 Our design team crafts experiences for Alexa to become customers’ go-to shopping companion. We envision Alexa helping you through each step of the shopping journey, like discovery and purchasing. We work with pretty much any device you can invoke Alexa, such as mobile, Echo Show, FireTV, and more. A couple of examples you can try right now are “Alexa, add avocado to my Shopping List,” or “Alexa, reorder coffee beans.”\
\
Tell us your favorite part about designing "Alexa, Thank My Driver”.\
\
🎤 My favorite part about designing this feature was leaning into the holiday spirit of giving. As a customer, we are usually on the receiving end of getting packages from drivers, so it’s awesome to give appreciation to them during an especially busy time for them. I recognize that this is a rare opportunity to do something purely to celebrate drivers, and I felt so lucky to be working on this with the best partners — Naseema, Lily, Annie, Josh, and Ellen.\
\
Do you have any side explorations or hobbies?\
\
🎤 Too many :) Finding the best sushi place in NYC, snowboarding, marathon training, playing with my sister’s dog Frankie, illustration, and film photography.\
\
[#AmazonDesign](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=amazondesign&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7033844995216330752) [#Design](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=design&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7033844995216330752) [#Amazon](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/hashtag/?keywords=amazon&highlightedUpdateUrns=urn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7033844995216330752)

Amazon Design Feature on my Career

Designed landing page, initial screens, branding language, and logo of [momo](https://www.momo.credit/), a startup that is focused on making credit cards simple and accessible for the everyday consumer.

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/474302936","width":384,"height":240,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/986119701-46936c9acbc15f234ea6eb0fba608b06dff7c919b813f9852e9855d98dd3fb6c-d_295x166"}
```

### Kickoff

I started this project by trying to understand **momo** deeply. I asked the clients questions such as the ones listed below:

1. What is your mission statement?

2. Who are your customers?

3. What makes this product valuable?

4. What are the key features of momo?

5. Do they have a vision for the look & feel of momo?

After receiving their answers, I identified 3 key themes to keep in mind:

1. momo is a personalized card recommendation engine combined with a mobile wallet that uses the optimal credit card for every transaction.

2. momo is friendly, trustworthy, and similar to a friend who knows a lot about credit cards

3. momo's key market > college students that are just starting to get credit cards, and have limited knowledge of cards/rewards/points etc.

### Competitive analysis

Next, I conducted a competitive analysis of other products in the same space as momo.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FgKsaAVnSifPYleZmkxZx%2F04af6521-915c-4cc4-bdc0-9001ef1351fc.png?alt=media&token=bbec8449-68ad-4d05-9d80-50c0afa982f1","id":"04af6521-915c-4cc4-bdc0-9001ef1351fc","width":702,"height":562,"filename":"momo comp analysis.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

With this analysis, I broke down the major themes and contructed a high level information architecture for momo's landing page.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FgKsaAVnSifPYleZmkxZx%2Fecee4907-22bc-41fc-857d-747f47082320.png?alt=media&token=3fa41bbd-a853-4123-a704-f8eb505327cb","id":"ecee4907-22bc-41fc-857d-747f47082320","width":696,"height":348,"filename":"momo info structure .png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Ideation

I created several lo-fi wireframes for potential templates to use for momo's landing page.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FgKsaAVnSifPYleZmkxZx%2F814835ff-2267-402b-af11-c1eca1ebf5b1.png?alt=media&token=d6225317-9fd2-4aa9-87db-0d9c235c86f5","id":"814835ff-2267-402b-af11-c1eca1ebf5b1","width":800,"height":4307,"filename":"lo fi momo.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Content

I brainstormed what kind of content to include in the landing page, and narrowed it down to 6 key elements:

1. Short version of mission statement

2. Longer version of mission statement

3. Value proposition 1 — momo picks the best card for any given transaction

4. Value proposition 2 — momo gives personalized card recommendations

5. Value proposition 3 — you don't have to carry a wallet anymore

6. Mobile screens — Splash screen, active payment screen, card efficiency UI

With these elements, I organized a brainstorm with the clients to get a sense of what kind of voice they envisioned momo to have. I used that time to make sure their landing page was crystal clear to a first-time momo user trying to understand what's great about momo.

Afterwards, I polished the content with proposals for each of they key elements, which I received feedback on which option the clients preferred.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2FgKsaAVnSifPYleZmkxZx%2F595caba8-1d47-4d5e-9381-6d0fa3a30bf8.png?alt=media&token=0df40dc5-345f-4d94-90c8-d6ec5e14c147","id":"595caba8-1d47-4d5e-9381-6d0fa3a30bf8","width":800,"height":287,"filename":"5f951919a15dd45a3f1b0e7d_Screen Shot 2020-10-24 at 11.19.46 PM-p-800.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Final demo

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/474302936","width":1152,"height":720,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/986119701_100x75"}
```

UI for momo — the smart mobile wallet

```cv
youtube
{"url":"https://youtu.be/-fOCIIme6DY","width":200,"height":113,"thumbnail":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-fOCIIme6DY/hqdefault.jpg"}
```

Alexa Thank My Driver

### I led a hackathon team of 4 product designers, 1 engineer, and 1 product partner who is blind, to propose an idea for Alexa to be integrated in the Amazon app to identify products verbally for users who are blind. 

### See our final hackathon video:

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/590659323","width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1221403265-51a4f94a9e5c54e90d7e6c564829d66fc1c89157399147f88fb9013646aa5308-d_640"}
```

A11yhack — Accessibility hackathon

Designed and launched the multimodal Amazon cart experience on Echo Show devices in a massive collaboration across Alexa Shopping Design teams.

Here's the live experience on my Echo Show 5:

```cv
vimeo
{"url":"https://vimeo.com/590013649","width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":"https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/1220109514-1c1101b5dd29ed60c2e9b44f83146d23eb48181d0334b7250a02a9bfdde7d76a-d_640"}
```

### Background

When I joined Alexa Shopping, I was surprised to learn that Echo Show devices didn’t support a shopping cart. Every purchase had to be made in the moment, which limited Alexa’s usefulness as a shopping assistant. I learned that while there had long been a desire for a shopping cart on the devices, it had always been deprioritized. I decided to get the conversation started again.

### Project overview

Alexa shopping includes both retail (Amazon.com) and grocery (Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh) use cases. While our teams are organized this way, I knew that the customer experience should be consistent for both. To ensure this, I formed a close collaboration between my team (retail) and the grocery team. I also worked with the team owning Alexa Shopping’s design templates to ensure consistency with the rest of the shopping experience.

As the owner for the retail shopping cart experience, I aimed to create a feature that worked consistently across all of Alexa Shopping. This involved collaborating with two partner teams: the multimodal templates team and the grocery team.

### Initial exploration

Taking past explorations as inspiration, I formed a perspective on what the essential aspects are for a shopping cart on Echo Show devices.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2Fxtpxomf73gGc709JGJC7%2F9a13928f-fdf2-405e-9137-dee29213561c.png?alt=media&token=606acc6f-438d-46df-b508-7ce3da72bac5","id":"9a13928f-fdf2-405e-9137-dee29213561c","width":500,"height":223,"filename":"cart exploration.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

With this perspective, I moved onto low fidelity explorations.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2Fxtpxomf73gGc709JGJC7%2F666947d0-d3f9-43bb-a6b0-def238615c17.png?alt=media&token=f623764f-eefa-4a67-9a15-8524c5ba8d3e","id":"666947d0-d3f9-43bb-a6b0-def238615c17","width":800,"height":401,"filename":"cart lo fi.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### Process

We aimed to create an experience that evoked the familiar cart and checkout process on Amazon.com, but calibrating it for a multimodal device, understanding the unique constraints and benefits of using a voice assistant.

**We knew we needed to lean on voice interactions, and make the screen experience clear and simple.**

Given the limitations of screen size and shorter interaction times (people tend to only pay attention to what Alexa's saying for \~15 seconds), we needed to be thoughtful about what features to include. For example, we decided for now to exclude a “save for later” feature since customers are typically interacting with Alexa for short periods of time to buy 1-2 items.

### Learnings

1. How to design a complex multimodal experience from start (creating new templates) to redlining to experimentation to launch.

2. How to have successful cross-collaboration with multiple teams.

3. How to ruthlessly cut unnecessary information, given limited screen sizes on the Echo Show.

4. How to pursue big ideas in my team and bring people together with healthy communication.

### The final design

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FSwtyBbZBoqMGUTS0MZgq3HEuUVz1%2Fxtpxomf73gGc709JGJC7%2F6da7e634-4b4a-4f60-8eb9-c53072c93768.png?alt=media&token=9be389c3-3d7f-4ea3-800c-9a0e92fb0f7a","id":"6da7e634-4b4a-4f60-8eb9-c53072c93768","width":632,"height":418,"filename":"hi fi cart.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```