Project Overview
Officeworks is Australia's largest supplier of office and stationary products catering for all your work, home, and school needs. The new app makes shopping at Officeworks even easier, both online and in-store. Users are now able to create, edit, and browse shopping lists on any logged-in device, access exclusive online buys and shop from the latest catalogue, browse product information, scan barcodes for fast reorders, and find their nearest Officeworks store.
Project Commissioner
Officeworks
Project Creator
Outware Mobile
Team
James Litjens – Project Manager
Joshua Kenzie – Visual Designer
Lachlan Mooney – iOS Tech Lead
Alex Chiviliov – Android Tech Lead
Troy Baker – QA
Sande Harsa – iOS Developer
Tristan Burnside – iOS Developer
Ming Tee – iOS Developer
Kruti Garga – Android Developer
Xiao Clark – Android Developer
Project Brief
The Officeworks app project evolved out of a 2015 strategy engagement, where Outware helped Officeworks to define their mobile strategy roadmap. In 2016, Officeworks then engaged Outware to rebuild their existing iOS and Android apps from the ground up, with a focus on improving customer experience and increasing shopping basket conversion.
Key objectives of the project included: making products and services easy to find; giving customers confidence in selection and choice; and making transactions as easy as possible.
Outware ran intensive workshops with Officeworks to identify the target audience, which was defined as small/home business owners. The app experience was then tailored to meet the needs and desires of this audience.
Project Need
iOS development was undertaken using the latest versions of Swift and ReactiveCocoa, while Android development was undertaken using emerging technologies such as RxJava and Android Data Binding.
User Experience
A major requirement of the project was that the app be easy to use. Outware ran a three-day workshop with Officeworks to determine key requirements for the app, and then used this data to develop wireframes.
User testing was conducted in one-hour sessions throughout the project. Users were asked to operate a prototype and respond to questions. This allowed the UX team to identify issues early in the process and utilise feedback to develop a seamless user experience.
The app has been designed to function as a companion to the existing Officeworks website, so that online shopping feels familiar across platforms. Outware developed upon existing Officeworks branding to create a visual experience that is familiar to users, yet still feels like a native app on both iOS and Android devices.
Major features of the app, such as the 'Find' function, have been designed with ease-of-use in mind. On iOS, this feature is centrally located in the tab bar, while on Android, a Floating Action Button (FAB) sits in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
The app makes use of drop-down menus to display detailed product information in a clean and uncluttered way, and the 'Add To Cart' button is prominently displayed to ensure that the user interface is both functional and delightful.
Project Marketing
Officeworks is marketing their app via their existing eCommerce website, as the app has been designed to function as a companion to the web store.
Project Privacy
Standard data security measures were followed, with any private data retained on the client side being stored using standard iOS keychain security. All sensitive communications, such as payment details, are facilitated using secure connections.
2017 TECH Design Awards
RetailTech
Whether it's the online, VR, AR or IRL there's a tech solution to enrich the experience and increase customer engagement when spending money. This category recognises that tech fuels the retail experience and rewards solutions that increase engagement and user experience while shopping.
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