“User Research and Real User Problems: Improving the User Experience of Online Shopping” is a creative thesis project that incorporates user research, user experience design, and coding skills. The first phase of the project consisted of market research and generative user research to develop a plan for a shopping companion app. The findings of this research shaped the scope of the project according to user needs and established the basis of a plan to create a progressive web application and Google Chrome browser extension that will respond to specific user problems.

These tools would solve three key user problems: users do not know what size to order when shopping online, users are uncertain about the items they order online due to a lack of familiarity with the items prior to purchase, and users cannot visualize items on themselves when shopping online. I constructed a user experience that would solve these problems, incorporating the principles of user-centered design and user experience best practices.

The progressive web application and Google Chrome extension will work together to store user-provided data, create size/style recommendations based on this data, and display crowd-sourced reviews for items in online stores. Using the Vue.js JavaScript framework, Firebase data storage, and the Agile Project Management Methodology, I built a proof of concept for the progressive web app, and have outlined a comprehensive plan for next steps.