Mobile e-commerce had become the primary strategic focus for the future of Ahold Delhaize, and while the Albert brand was to be the first cab off the rank we were tasked with designing a white label app, that could easily be transferrable to other brands and markets. Additionally the project had an ambitious launch date of just 6 months, therefore we placed our focus on designing for an 'essentials' proposition (limited SKUs and essential features first.) However, this 'essentials' proposition was not to come at the extent of a quality user experience for the customer. Given this app was to set the foundations for other Delhaize brands, true emphasis was to be place on designing a well crafted, intuitive and delightful shopping experience.

Prior to the design phase of the project, we under went a discovery phase where I completed activities such as competitor benchmarking, audit of the current customer experience, data analysis etc. Working alongside a  Business Strategist I put together a strategic mobile and e-commerce vision. I bought the vision to life by designing a series of customer journey maps.This was used by the VP of Digital at Ahold Delhaize to take to the board in order to gain approval for the Ahold Delhaize app project.

We ran the project in a series of 2-3 weeks design sprints, where each sprint focussed on a different part of the app e.g. login and registration, search and browse, checkout etc. Activities throughout each sprint included IA and User Flow mapping, wireframing and concepting, user testing and validation, weekly client presentations and finally handover to engineering teams.

Initially in the first week we also spent time "laying the foundations” for our design system e.g. setting up icons, type styles, colour palettes etc. As we progressed through our sprints we built out our design system components along the way. Components and styles were structured in a way that would enable the app to be easily replicable for other brands and markets, therefore future proofing the design solution for the client  as they continued to scale.

In order to ensure the delivery process went smoothly, I collaborated closely with the engineers throughout, where I facilitated weekly tech review sessions and produced prototypes that could act as a guide for more complex interactions. I was also heavily involved in the UAT testing to ensure the developed app matched the designs. We ran design and development concurrently and delivered the entire app over a period of 6 months.