Main challenges
Instant price displaying
Typically in countertop industry the price is calculated manually, by a trained person. My goal was reducing human labor, without limiting product specs and features variety.
Opposite flows
Based on the renovation stage, people search for countertops very differently. I had to support both "early bird investigators" and clients looking for a certain thing they need.
B2B & B2C customers
The furnishers and the homeowners have different amount of knowledge about the product. So the calculator had to be easy-to-use for every customer type.
Research process
1
Plunging into business processes
Together with the business owner we made several step-by-step roleplay calculations. Afterwards I made a semi-proto in Excel to make sure I can reproduce the math, with some limitations.
2
Looking for a possible tech solution
I searched within industries operating sheet materials (e.g. plywood). The goal was to find an algorytm of lean cutting.
3
Analyzing the competitiors
I made feature comparison table based on 24 competing calculators, to collect all necessary options.
4
Analyzing customers' requests
Analyzing 78 real B2C leads I got from Instagram ads, I made statistics showing which features are most mentioned and desired.
Looking for the materials
Filters
Help in discovering materials based on Brand name, Color, Pattern and Surface finish.
Direct material search
For the situation where a certain stone color needs to be found quickly.
Find similar
Allows to discover similar stone colors across the brands and find more affordable ones.
Playing with countertop size and shape
Product shape & size
Supports I, L, U shapes - which are 90% of all the orders. For more complex ones suggests to send the sketch to the company.
Add parts
Allows to add extras: kithen island, bar counter, vertical supports, backsplashes.
Edge shape
Offers 2 thickness options and several decorative facets which impacts the price.
Cutouts and sinks
Offers a variety of cutouts for different types of appliances: undermount sinks, integrated basins etc.
Viewing the items
Name & specs
Shows Brand name, Color name, Surface finish (in case it is non-standard). Labels mark the availability of exact stone colors, and highlight the most popular ones.
Price
Displays the final cost of the countertop based on its dimensions and features. Updates itself automatically when sizing changes.
Save the offer
Sends the relevant item card to the client's email.
Secret feature: cutting layout
Shows the precise material cutting map when clicked. Bulk clients are told about it privately, others aren't supposed to check it.
Testing and measurements
Excel prototype testing
low fidelity
Goals: to verify natural calculations flow, and evaluate formulas accuracy
User session analytics
live prod
Goals: to find drop-off points within userflows
Guerilla testing
medium fidelity
Goals: to check interface usability, easiness of finding necessary information
Video interviews (B2B)
high fidelity
Goals: measuring the time to accomplish the tasks (finding a color, getting prices)
Results achieved
x25
calculations speed
+34%
avg. B2C check
+10%
to B2B sales
Known issues and potential growth points
1
Lack of visuals
Visually-oriented B2C clients are craving for live photos of the countertops. Unfortunately, these can not be provided by the business (they simply don't have that massive of 500+ live photos).
Potential solution: embed an AR feature allowing them to experience their future countertop in any color/thickness they want, and try it on their actual interior.
2
Windowsills
Small orders (e.g. 2-3 windowsills) can be calculated via existing interface, but bigger ones - can not.
Potential solution: extend product shape list with windowsill tab, with the inputs adjusted.
3
Purchase button missing
There's no "Buy me" or "Order now" button due to local business specifics. The deal goes "under the hood", shortly said.
Potential solution: change the purchase flow to a more common one when the business develops proper sales infrastructure :)
Technologies used
Contributors
People who directly or indirectly helped to release the project
Piotr Kowalski
Developed the initial 2d bin packing algorytm
Anatolii Lisinchuk
Assisted in js rendering cutting layouts
Katerina Zvolinskaya
Assisted in fixing markup for Safari browser