ISSUE
Initially the concept was for an in-store kiosk which was an iPad tethered to the desk. iPhones or iPod Touch units were given to users to select items for their registries. Design decisions had to be made under these constraints.
At one point, we had a heated discussion about how we could expect users to learn how to use the app as they used it. I argued, there is no room to "learn" if you are tethered to a kiosk. We need to make it simple and obvious, possibly losing some of the delight of more 'discoverable' ui elements.
I stated, “let’s go shopping and watch. I can tell you that when a mom comes into the store with a screaming kid, in a hurry to pick up a gift, there is not time to learn something new and cool. It just has to work.” This inspired a spur of the moment guerillla testing session.
SOLUTION
We all walked to the nearest shop with a registry. We watched people shop and check out. Then we asked people if they could talk to us about shopping for others and how they used various registries. We also asked about their tablet and smartphone use. We established that the user was more likely be in a hurry with less room to learn if they were tethered to a kiosk, but if they could use their own devices they would enjoy taking the time to look through a registry even if it took time to learn how to maneuver within the application.
IMPACT
The product went live in select stores for pilot testing and Target quickly determined they would design and build the app for personal tablets and smart phones.
Below are examples of the annotated wireframes, I would be happy to walk through the full experience in person or over a screen share.
