1stdibs Taxonomy Tool - Research & Discovery

PROJECT dETAILS

Role: Design Lead, Project Manager
Project Type: User research, product solution, workflow & process definition, prototyping
Timeframe: 3 months to V1 release

Background

There are over two hundred thousand rare “one of a kind” items listed for sale on the 1stdibs website and thousands of new inventories added to the marketplace each week. Classification and categorization of these items are essential to buyers’ shopping experience, items need to be discoverable at the right time in the buyers purchase journeys.

Due to limitations on resources and other product prioritization, the creation of a taxonomy tool has been delayed for some time. When I first learned about the project, I knew my immediate task was to help the team make a strong case to the stakeholders that this initiative will deliver valuable business and user impact.
 

approach

• Identify key user challenges across 1stdibs ecosystem

• Audit current workflow and process of taxonomy modifications with user shadowing

• Define business objectives and user requirements

• Propose new workflow and process for taxonomy management

• Design and iterate based on user feedback
  

user CHALLENGEs

Sellers:

• Limited item categories and item tagging

• Specifications for item's style, period, creator, material and technique not up to date

Buyers:

• For furniture items, buyers have no ability to filter items by color or size

• For art pieces, buyers cannot filter by prints and editions

• For jewelry items, buyers cannot filter gemstones by cut or shape

Internal Team:

• Taxonomist cannot execute on the modification needs and requests with ease

• Editorial and marketing team cannot create curated shopping experiences