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pepsico_frontline_cover.jpeg

Jan 2021 - June 2022

Frontline App

My Role

Creative Director and Process Director

Skills Used

IA, UI Design, Visual Design, Resource Management, Communication, Leadership

PepsiCo was building a new iOS mobile app and backend in Saleshub to replace the previous version that was becoming obsolete. I was brought in mid-project to fill the positions of two outgoing team members: Creative Director and Process Director.

Overview

Pepsico frontline workers (those who deliver product to stores) use a handheld device to facilitate many aspects of their day-to-day job. This device allows them to do things like check-in and out of delivery appointments, manage stock, report delays, etc. It was operating on outdated 3g technology and the carrier was going to drop support soon. For this reason, they were planning to replace the whole system with an as-is replacement of functionality. They were going to issue new iPhones to the frontline employees and create a new iOS app to replace the old functionality. The backend would be managed in Salesforce and iPads would be issued to all frontline managers.

Responsibilities

When I was brought into the project it had already been underway for about a year. The UX team was approx 10-15 members, almost all of whom were IBM contractors. It consisted of a research team, a handheld UI design team and a salesforce UI design team. I was brought in to lead the UX team and replace the roles of two outgoing IBM team members: the Creative Director and the Process Director. The project was running SAFE Agile. The product was still in development. There was a roadmap and design system and the team was in progress on an as-is recreation of screens and functionality. The design system for the app closely followed Apple's HIG (human interface guidelines) and the design system for the Salesforce backend site was rooted in the Salesforce Lightening design system. My responsibilities included:

 

  • approve new additions to the design system

  • institute new processes when necessary or optimize existing processes when possible to improve efficiency and/or quality

  • help to resolve questions and concerns between the UX team and the various business stakeholders

  • assist the team with prioritization, planning, problem-solving, and design decisions

  • oversee the transition of resources from onshore to offshore

  • facilitate the conversion of design files from Sketch to XD

  • verify contract resource monthly invoice

SALESHUB+ UI SAMPLES

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Opportunity and Achievements

I was offered this role as a stretch opportunity to provide value in another role, on another team, in a different department. For a UX designer at PepsiCo, the frontline worker is a key persona, but it is one that I knew the least about coming into this project so it was a great growth opportunity for me. The following are some notable achievements during my year and a half on the project:

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  • I helped to successfully transition the majority of the UI resources from offshore to onshore (as required due to budget constraints) without any disruption to the project. In order to achieve this I had the outgoing team members create an extensive amount of knowledge transfer and other onboarding materials including:

    • a historical project overview deck

    • video and PDF walk-throughs of all processes

    • video walkthroughs of all features designed to date

    • a checklist document for to-dos

  • I instituted a new, more successful, change request process and tracking system. When the business would need a change to be made to an already delivered design they were using a combo of MS Teams chat and a tracking spreadsheet. This process left too much room for error so I worked with the UX team and business to convert this process to MS Planner. This allowed each request to be a centralized object with much richer attributes including, an owner for accountability, a due date, notifications, priority, commenting, and more.

  • I introduced a more effective and efficient tool for usability testing. The research team switched from moderated zoom calls to a blend of moderated and unmoderated tests on the usertesting.com platform. 

  • All required as-is features were completed and version 1.0 of the product was launched to the field with no reported UI issues

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