Home Depot Associate Integration
Offering the whole project in a more efficient way while addressing 72% service lead loss through system integration
The Problem
The flow of helping a customer find a complete solution with products, services, and credit card can be very cumbersome for associates with many different systems to interact with.
What is Order Up and Service Connect?
Order Up — Replacing ESVS, Order Up is a platform used by Sales Specialists, Service Desk Associates, and Pro Associates to sell products to the customer.
Service Connect — Service Connect is a platform that can be used by any associate to sell a service lead to a customer from Home Depot Home Services or ProConnect.
The Core Issue
Associates must toggle between disconnected systems to complete a single customer transaction, creating friction that results in massive lead loss and degraded customer experience.
Explore & Discover
I approached this project through three research methods:
- Business Analytics — Breakdown the leads collected from store 6869 and analyze in-store performance vs. other lead collection methods
- User Interviews — Collect unbiased views from other associates and sales specialists of common pain points and concerns
- User Personas — Take insights from associates and turn them into user personas to represent the users who interact with the platforms
72.2% of potential service leads were lost to other channels (website, third-party vendors) due to system fragmentation
Insight from the results: Why is the percentage so low? Are the associates having issues putting in the leads?
User Personas
"Having a way to learn the different service programs but through less systems would make my job easier."
Sales Specialist - Appliances
"I find joy in helping customers, but need to do it efficiently to avoid a line at the Service Desk."
Service Desk Associate
"It's important for me to train my associates well enough to feel comfortable and confident in doing their job."
Specialty Department Supervisor
"I want to help the customer as much as I can with what little time I have to give from my own duties."
Specialty Assistant Store Manager
User Journey Map
Mapped the complete associate workflow showing system switches, pain points, and opportunities for integration.
Design Planning
The design process followed an iterative approach:
- Sketches — Several rounds of quick sketching to figure out the layout
- Low Fidelity Wireframes — Integrating the sketched iteration into the existing platform
- High Fidelity Mockups — Incorporating the last refinements and enhancements to complete the project
Integration Strategy
Rather than redesigning individual systems, I proposed strategic integration that brings Service Connect functionality directly into the Order Up workflow:
Key Integration Points
- Recommended Services Widget — Automatically surface relevant services when service-eligible products are added to cart
- Embedded Service Connect Flow — Capture service leads without leaving Order Up interface
- Single-Point Data Capture — Eliminate manual re-entry between systems
- Unified Customer View — Surface relevant history from both systems in single interface
Final Prototype
Future Iterations
- Adding Multiple Services — What would the flow be like in the case that a customer wants to add multiple related services to a purchase?
- Home Depot Credit Card Integration — Is there a way to create an API embed within Order Up in a similar way for new applications?
- Search Bar for Non-Related Services — Can we integrate a search bar from Service Connect to add services not related to the merchandise they are purchasing?
- Pushing this Flow to HomeDepot.com — Allow related services to show up as an option in the customer's checkout flow
Key Takeaways
Design System Adherence
Trying to adhere to the design system without access to it was difficult, but gave a deeper appreciation of the current design system.
Business Considerations
Understanding that Pro Customers shop and see those screens, include ProConnect options.
Advanced Computer Logic
Diving into computer science and logic to understand how APIs work and to optimize the listings with SEO practices.