Laddawn.com : Notes from 4-19 weekly status discussion

Default landing/banner/search widget

• "Welcome Chris!" verbiage in my account box may need work; doesn't seem to make sense for person who frequently logs in/has been logged in a while.  OWEN/SUSAN easy/later
  
• Need to validate that search widget accommodates depth and breadth of product categories and subcategories. OWEN/SUSAN (in progress, looking good)
  
• Need to decide if we need to make it easier for pounders to enter item #s and quantities from the homepage/banner, or if going straight to shopping cart is sufficient. Try placing a pounder link under the item # box. (Note, I think this will be confusing, at least as described.) FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. Discuss w/whole group 4/26
  

Search results

• Should quantities for custom be rounded to next integer or not? Precision v. simplicity. See sample data below. For now, assume yes; keep as is. No final decision? FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION. - OWEN, JIM, SUSAN
  
  • Should price break unit prices be rounded to pennies? For now, assume yes; keep as is. FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION - OWEN, JIM, SUSAN
• Default MOD quantity - need to somehow highlight/indicate that it's a minimum STEVE - accomplished via method for showing price breaks in table below?
  
• Change "Freight included" to "Included" (no need to repeat column header) STEVE
  
• Refreshes: Unclear whether refresh for zip applies only to zip or to other items that could be modified. User needs to a prompt to refresh after changing quantity (MOD only, or also stock?) or count per case/roll; making the change is not just a matter of adding to cart or hitting return; users need a cue, such as a refresh prompt, to recognize that pricing (and availability) may change when they change count/quantity. STEVE/SUSAN
• Should price breaks on stock be shown? Did we resolve this? FOR NOW, LET'S LEAVE IT AT "NO."
  
• Showing price breaks for MOD; just include at least 3 breaks in the results - see sample data below. STEVE/SUSAN - SEE TABLE. Users need some prompt or indication that they can change the break quantities. I think this prompt needs further discussion; I have some difficulty envisioning what it is. The quantities are already editable, for the purpose of putting the desired quantity into the cart.  In this context, it could be confusing or purpose-less to call further attention to their editability for another purpose (seeing a different break, which won't change pricing or availability). If the main purpose of changing the quantities for breaks is to give customers the ability to customize breaks for marked up quotes, I don't think the cue belongs here, but rather in the "share cart" functionality.
   
• There was a whole discussion of tagging and sharing. Is tagging really a single item quote? Or does original decision to require items to be added to a cart in order to have quote properties still stand? Should we allow customers to share search result rows with their customers (not just internally), if so, do we require the item to have a tag before it can be shared? FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION - OWEN, JIM, SUSAN
  

Sample data

Cart

• Flow of movement between carts needs work. "New cart" does not adequately account for user desire to close or leave a cart.
  
  • Scenario: User logs in, active cart is empty. Conducts 1 or more searches via Shop, adds several items to active cart. 1) Clicks cart tab to review what's been added so far, saves cart, decides to add some more items. Assumption: It will be intuitive to click shop or tagged items tabs (and leave cart tab) to find items to add to cart; 2) Alternatively, while in cart, user decides he/she wants to move on to building a different quote for a  different customer.  Assumption: it may be intuitive to click "saved carts" to start adding to an existing cart, but not to click "new cart" and then see just an empty cart. User more likely to expect to see Cart tab refresh to 0 items/$0 dollars and be brought back to Shop widget. How does this interaction flow step by step?
• Concern that Quick Add doesn't make sense sitting below the space that it populates above. In conjunction with issue in next bullet below, try moving Quick Add to top right corner of Cart? This may go some way toward mitigating Dawn's concern that 'quick add' is not sufficiently visible to "pounders" (assumption: they'll quickly learn to click cart tab, so let's meet half way and not make them scroll to it) and head off the desire to add a pounder link to the banner, below the item # search box.
• Unlike consumers, Laddawn customers compiling and sharing quotes, not always driving immediately to checkout. Idea behind enabling storage of multiple carts is sharing. Delete/Share/New, especially Share, should be almost or equally as prominent as Checkout.  Place enlarged text+icon versions of share/delete/new cart buttons, to left or right of checkout summary table? (And, remove checkout from bottom band, and include it in this stack of buttons?)  Or work all these buttons into the bottom band where the big Checkout button currently sits solo?  (Might repeat miniature icon-only versions somewhere in header, so functionality is also present above fold, but in a shorthand form.)

Pounders for reference

Check out Grainger.