A presentation I gave at the Next Generation Retail Summit about the growing importance of the UX practice in retail. Our discipline is often poorly defined (fully our own fault), which also complicates the internal evangelization that is required to ensure that the companies we work for understand our mission, our purview, and how we benefit the business. In this presentation I attempted to help answer these issues.

1. HOW U S E R E X P E R I E N C E
got a seat in the boardroom
MARKO BON
GLOBAL DIRECTOR, USER EXPERIENCE, BROOKS BROTHERS
TUCSON, ARIZONA, MAY 16 2013

2. A M E R I C A’ S O L D E S T R E T A I L E R
195 years of Heritage

3. A M E R I C A’ S O L D E S T R E T A I L E R
195 years of Heritage
“ W E A R E N O T G O O D B E C AU S E W E A R E O L D, BU T R AT H E R
W E A R E O LD because we are good.”
- Claudio Del Vecchio, CEO
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4. A U S E R E X P E R I E N C E P R I M E R
one guy’s perspective at least
Business
User Experience Design
Branding

5. A U S E R E X P E R I E N C E P R I M E R
crossovers with related disciplines

6. A U S E R E X P E R I E N C E P R I M E R
who we are and where we came from
T E CHNOL O G Y T E S T I N G C R E AT I V E
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JavaScript, CSS & HTML5 Gurus
Information Architects
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Majors
Cognitive & Behavioral Psychology Researchers
Production Artists, Designers
Art Directors, & Creative Directors

7. A U S E R E X P E R I E N C E P R I M E R
the path from Creative to UX
M U LT I VA R I AT E T E S T ING S K E T C H Y W I R E F R A M E S
or how a colleague from Analytics made an offer I couldn’t refuse or how to communicate from one side of the brain to the other
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8. A U S E R E X P E R I E N C E P R I M E R
... but that doesn’t answer how to end up here
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9. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
& how we got a seat in the boardroom
1. THE SITE DESIGN PROCESS
2. POST LAUNCH OPTIMIZATION
3. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION
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10. RIGHT BRAIN QUESTIONS LEFT BRAIN QUESTIONS
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Who is our customer?
What are their needs?
Where are our touch points?
Who is our target market?
What are our business goals?
W
Where do we measure success? W
( & how do we build the right team? )
W
T H E S I T E D E S I G N P ROC E S S
the questions we tend to ask ourselves

11. 11
Functional
Design
Content
Analysis
IA, ID,
UI Design,
Usability
Production
Engineering
Discovery & Research Interaction Design Visual Design Engineering
User Research
Requirements
Content Inventory
Content Analysis Content Mapping
Business Objectives Card Sorting
Site Map
User Goals
Technology Selection
Wireframes
Usability Testing
Content Migration Plan
Visual Comps
Style Guide
CMS Framework HTML CSS Template
Content Migration
Testing
Launch
T H E S I T E D E S I G N P ROC E S S
UX has a role in nearly every phase

12. T H E S I T E D E S I G N P ROC E S S
UX engages across silos, divisions, regions
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R E - A RC H I T E C T I N G the I N T R A N E T
By running card-sorting exercises with colleagues across every Division
D E F I N I N G J A PA N U S E R N E E D S
By teaching colleagues in the Japan Office How to do a Site Audit

13. T H E S I T E D E S I G N P ROC E S S
a key boardroom presentation
T E CHNOL O G Y & T I M E L I N E R E COMMENDAT I O N S
based on business objectives & user requirements
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14. 14
S H O R T T E R M O P T I M I Z AT I O N
for the existing site
F I LT E R ING B Y C AT EGORY
for the proposed site
P RODU C T TA XONOMY
for the proposed site
T H E S I T E D E S I G N P ROC E S S
pre launch optimization & IA

15. P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
one particular a-ha moment
users engaging in the left navigation filters
WERE SPENDING 6 TIMES MORE
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...than users who didn’t engage in the left nav

16. LEFT NAV TEST 1 LEFT NAV TESTS 2&3 LEFT NAV TESTS 4&5
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Hypothesis:
Collapse “Categories” so that the user has
easier access to the grid filters.
Test:
Explore Messaging and Furled vs.
Unfurled Variations.
Hypothesis:
We can further optimize against Winner
of Test 1
Test:
Change sequence of filters, prioritizing
Fit, Size or Color
Hypothesis:
Successes in Men’s Left Nav are not
necessarily applicable to Women’s.
Test:
Change sequence of filters, prioritizing
Fit, Size or Color
P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
a deeper dive into the left nav filters

17. METHODOLOGY WINNER: CHALLENGER C
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FIT GUIDE TEST 1
Hypothesis:
We can do more to educate our new and existing
customers on Dress Shirt Fits
Test:
Include Fit information on Mood Bannersfor both
Unrefined and Refined grids.
unrefined refined 6 possible
experiences
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P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
taking filter learnings one step further

18. 18
WINNER:
CHALLENGER D
LIFT:
3.4%
WINNER:
CHALLENGER A
LIFT:
2.1%
WINNER:
CHALLENGER F
LIFT:
10.9%
WINNER:
CHALLENGER D
LIFT:
7.8 %
WINNER:
CHALLENGER A
LIFT:
4.1%
WINNER:
CHALLENGER A
LIFT:
5.8%
P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
reporting our successes

19. 19
C R E AT I V E / U S E R E X P E R I E N C E E D I T S
Monthly CRUX Review with CEO
T E CH. R E L E A S E N O T E S
Weekly Code Replication Updates
P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
gathering feedback mid-project & reporting on fixes, updates

20. P O S T L AUNCH OP T IMI Z AT ION
reporting “downward” not just “upward”
WEEKL Y S I T E R E P O RT WEEKL Y E M A I L R E P O RT MONT H LY S I T E U S AGE R E P O RT
Presented by Analytics to the Creative Team
Presented by Analytics to the Creative Team Presented by Analytics to the Creative Team
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21. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
faster, more,
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“ D O better,
RIGHT NOW.”
- 8th Floor Motto

22. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
INTERNATIONAL SITE LAUNCH
“ W E L COME M AT ” C O M M U N I C AT I N G C O S T & S H I P P I N G
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simplifying the complexities of a phased launch
across all touch points of the site experience

23. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
RESPONSIVE DESIGN
MOBI L E S I T E DE S IGN F UNC T IONA L S P E C I F I C AT IONS
6 weeks, designed purely by UX Vendor, Tech PM, & UX
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24. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
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T H E F I N I S H E D P RODUC T
the Design Your Own experience
S E L L I N G T H E P H O T O S H O O T
articulating the vision upward, securing budgets
W I R E F R A M I N G P RO C E S S
intense collaboration with the merch-data team
PRODUCT CUSTOMIZATION

25. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
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C O M P E T I T I V E L A N D S C A P E S TUDY
Best Practice Research on Apple, Crate&Barrel, REI, BestBuy
C O M P L E T E W I R E F R A M E S E T
Buy Online Pickup InStore User Experience
OMNICHANNEL

26. T H E U S E R E X P E R I E N C E ROL E
in Technology & Innovation
L A N D I N G PAG E S NUL L S E A RC H
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R E S U LT S
H O M E PAG E P RODU C T DE TA I L
PAG E S
E M A I L
PERSONALIZATION

27. mbon@BROOKSBROTHERS.COM