Canna
Coordinate distribution teams
Client: A&P, Mexico
Role: Product / UX / UI Design Consultant
Platform: Web Application
Overview
The product and my role
Stocking retailers with products across large regions in a way that reflects local demand takes coordination. Distributors often engineer elaborate systems of independent tools and services to manage their efforts. Working with A&P, my role in designing Canna was to bring a number of complicated elements together into one harmonious product to streamline the creation and execution of their distribution campaigns.
Phase 1 - Discovery
Activities and deliverables
Information gathered from these activities shaped the product strategy and helped us define a clear product roadmap.
Stakeholder Interview
Uncover goals and objectives
I spoke with my client at length about his business operations, goals, and vision for Canna. With his permission, I recorded and transcribed our conversation so that I could extrapolate information to shape product features and functional requirements.
Interview Synthesis
Create a shared understanding
Statements from our stakeholder interview were mapped into categories. This helped bring visual definition to the product.
Personas
Visualize our users
I created personas for each user type. They served as a helpful point of reference in maintaining a user-centered approach when making product decisions.
Journey Map
Tell the user’s story
From our personas, I developed a journey map to help my client visualize how users would interact with Canna to accomplish tasks and reach their goals.
Phase 2 - Scope and Design
Create a tangible product from abstract concepts
The discovery phase helped us clarify Canna’s role in supporting business objectives and user needs. Our goal in Phase 2 was to further increase definition by translating the product strategy into artifacts that established the scope of the project.
Site Map
Screen inventory
I created a primitive site map to plot each feature’s placement within the product. This artifact also gave us our first holistic look at the product we were planning to build.
Wireframes
Low-fidelity product experience
Using the site map, I created low-fidelity wireframes to further define the structure of the product, its interface components, and basic information architecture. These were key in keeping stakeholders and the product team on the same page.
Prototypes
Test interactive assumptions
Prototypes were used to validate complex interactions as well as demonstrate how the product would respond to our users.
Product Requirements
Define functional expectations
I created a product requirements document (PRD) to further clarify Canna’s functionality and expected behaviors. This powerful tool removed ambiguity and strengthened each interactive design decision by stating its intended purpose.
Phase 3 - Visual Design
Create a system for growth
I designed Canna to grow with my client’s needs. Reusable design components provide the flexibility to quickly test, iterate, and improve. This approach to design ensures the product team can implement future changes with ease, manage consistency, and scale design resources.
Colors
Type System
Illustration
Components
Looking Ahead
Future SaaS Opportunities
While Canna was designed with A&P’s needs in mind, they aren’t unique to their business. At the time of this writing, plans to make Canna available to other distributors are in the works and should be available in the near future.