Case Study 2

To deeply understand the needs, workflows, and emotional expectations of funeral professionals (vendors) who purchase crematory urns for resale, and to use these insights to guide the creation of a functional and aesthetically sensitive eCommerce platform.

1. Understand how vendors currently research, select, and order urns for clients.
   
   

2. Identify inefficiencies or frustrations in current B2B eCommerce solutions.
   
   

3. Discover how vendors perceive “care” and “quality” in a digital interface.
   
   

4. Explore the overlap and differences between B2B and B2C feature needs.
   
   

5. Assess how aesthetics and emotion influence trust and brand loyalty in this sensitive market.

1. Field Studies (Contextual Inquiry)

🟢 NN/g Recommendation: Understand users in their real environment.

• Purpose: Observe vendors in their workplace (e.g., funeral homes) interacting with current urn suppliers or platforms.
  
  

• Method: Shadow 6–8 vendors during their daily workflow, especially as they handle client requests and make ordering decisions. Conduct contextual interviews during or after.
  
  

• Focus Areas:
  
  

  • How vendors prioritize product selection
    
    

  • What pain points occur in platform navigation or bulk ordering
    
    

  • How aesthetic presentation affects perception
    
    

2. Task-Based Usability Testing (on Existing and Competitor Platforms)

🟢 NN/g Recommendation: Test existing systems to find usability issues.

• Purpose: Understand real usability breakdowns in the ordering process.
  
  

• Method:
  
  

  • Recruit vendors to perform tasks (e.g., find an urn, place a bulk order, customize engravings) using your current or competitor’s platform.
    
    

  • Use think-aloud protocol; observe hesitation, confusion, or emotional responses.
    
    

  • Capture qualitative and quantitative data (e.g., task success rate, time on task).
    
    

3. Diary Studies or Longitudinal Feedback Loop

🟡 NN/g Recommendation: Use longitudinal data to inform product lifecycle design.

• Purpose: Capture ongoing vendor sentiment, order frequency, and trust-building over time.
  
  

• Method:
  
  

  • Provide select vendors with a journal (paper or digital) to log experiences across multiple orders.
    
    

  • Ask them to rate ease of use, visual appeal, support experience, and emotional tone of the site.
    
    

  • Weekly check-ins or surveys to gather evolving impressions.
    
    

4. Emotional Response & Aesthetic Preference Testing

🟢 NN/g-Inspired from Emotional Design Research

• Purpose: Assess how visual design affects the vendor’s sense of being cared for.
  
  

• Method:
  
  

  • Present vendors with different UI mockups (sterile vs. warm design; minimal vs. ornate layout).
    
    

  • Use semantic differential scales (e.g., sterile—welcoming, indifferent—attentive).
    
    

  • Ask open-ended questions about the emotional tone and perceived professionalism of each.
    
    

5. Card Sorting (for Information Architecture)

🟢 NN/g Recommendation: Improve navigation and product categorization.

• Purpose: Create a logical product organization system that reflects vendor mental models.
  
  

• Method:
  
  

  • Give vendors a list of products/features and ask them to group or label them.
    
    

  • Use results to inform the navigation and taxonomy of urn types, collections, and customization options.

Recruit 15–20 participants, aiming for:

• Funeral directors in major metropolitan areas
  
  

• Mid-size regional funerial care providers
  
  

• Memorial service planners
  
  

• Clergy who manage end-of-life rituals (as B2C proxies)
  
  

• Retail staff interacting with grieving families
  
  

Prioritize diversity

Activity

Phase 1

Recruit participants, prepare materials, set up research protocols

Phase 2

Conduct contextual inquiries and field studies

Phase 3

Run usability tests on existing and competitor platforms

Phase 4

Execute emotional design testing and card sorting

Phase 5

Analyze data, map findings to UX principles, present recommendations

Journey Maps of vendor tasks and emotional touchpoints

Design Personas (e.g., “The Compassionate Curator” vs. “The Operational Buyer”)

Usability Issues Report with severity ratings

Emotional Design Feedback Summary

Information Architecture Recommendations

B2B/B2C Feature Comparison Matrix