Booking Calendar Redesign

The Redesign Was Not Part of the Plan

Booking Calendar is the most critical screen Groupon merchants will see and use on a daily basis. This is where they can find their most recent bookings and be able to track and manage them.

This project started with a very simple objective - to surface one extra piece of information in the Booking Calendar - which may be completed within a week by doing some quick fixes.

As soon as I stepped in, I started to evaluate the project objective. Considering the fact that Booking Calendar page is current a problematic page with usability issues and low engagement rate, according to our previous research. Me, together with the team, needs to decide if we want to stick with the plan or go beyond.

I ask myself - how this effort will contribute to the overall success of this product, and not just meet the requirement of this single project?

So this project witnessed how I discover the need to improve an existing screen and persuade my Product partners to buy in. It turns out to be a success for me, for the entire team, and for our users.

Build on top of An Underperforming Page?

Problem of the original Calendar Page

1. Booking cards are confusing in terms of color differences
2. Flyout is not providing much info compared to the cards
3. Controls are missing for everyday usage

There are so many usability issues here that this page doe not work like it should be, merchant don’t use it as much as we expect.  And if we keep ignoring our problems, for instance, in this example, with this quick fix, we will be able to surface the staff member information, like we planned to, but I highly doubt that it will add any value to our merchants, if they don’t even like to use this calendar at all.  And it would be harder to make the change if we wait too long to take actions.

Think Strategically and Pitch to Product Leaders

The reality is, the product team really like what I proposed in the ideal version, which helps them address some hidden pains, adds significant value to user experience, but still within reach. So we decide to shoot for the ideal version directly. To be honest, it’s unexpected. My manager was saying that’s a big win, in terms of how design can influence product decisions, which is something does not happen very often in the Groupon setting.

Final Outcome

In the end, thru discovery and explorations on type, icon, color, layout, responsiveness, I was able to come up with a solution that addresses all the user pain-points we targeted.

What I delivered is not just a prototype for a static screen, but a system that can support users through various booking status. It also becomes part of the design system. And its components and element are being used across the board in other projects.