1.
Don´t listen to yourself: successfully redesigning the leading e-commerce platform in Latin America <ul><li>Daniel Rabinovich CTO </li></ul><ul><li>www.mercadolibre.com </li></ul><ul><li>@drabinovich </li></ul>Add to Schedule

2.
Agenda <ul><li>Who we are (2’) </li></ul><ul><li>Why we were sidetracked </li></ul><ul><li>The Redesign </li></ul>

3.
Who we are <ul><li>MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) is the largest e-commerce platform in Latin America and the 11 th Retail Site in the world. </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Hard data (2010): </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>1.7bn pages viewed per month </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>~50mm search page views /weekday </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>3.4BN in GMVe </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>697MM Total Payment Value </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>84MM New Paid Listings </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>39MM Successful Items </li></ul></ul>

4.
We lead in every market we operate in ComScore MMX – Brazil Retail ComScore MMX – Argentina Retail ComScore MMX – Latin America Retail ComScore MMX – Mexico Retail

5.
Agenda <ul><li>Who we are (2’) </li></ul><ul><li>Why we were sidetracked </li></ul><ul><li>The Redesign </li></ul>

6.
First Rule of Usability: Don’t Listen to Users <ul><li>The greatest usability barrier was the preponderance of cool design. Most projects were ruled by usability opponents who preferred complexity over simplicity. </li></ul><ul><li>Too frequently, I hear about companies basing their designs on user input obtained through misguided methods. A typical example? Create a few alternative designs, show them to a group of users, and ask which one they prefer. Wrong. </li></ul><ul><li>To discover which designs work best, watch users as they attempt to perform tasks with the user interface. This method is so simple that many people overlook it. </li></ul>Jakob Nielsen

7.
How to get it right: watch instead of listen <ul><li>Watch what people actually do. </li></ul><ul><li>Do not believe what people say they do . </li></ul><ul><li>Definitely don't believe what people predict they may do in the future. </li></ul>Jakob Nielsen

8.
How we got it wrong: listened to our own needs <ul><li>We claimed to focus on users… </li></ul><ul><li>… but developed the ability to explain away many design mistakes in the name of revenues or features </li></ul><ul><li>We were really designing around two wrong principles: </li></ul><ul><li>Revenue generation trumped usability </li></ul><ul><li>Engineering challenges/feature richness trumped usability </li></ul>

9.
By focusing on wrong principles we developed a series of “design anti-patterns” <ul><li>Anti pattern #1: Charge for a good experience. </li></ul><ul><li>Anti pattern #2: If it brings eyeballs to site, it is good. </li></ul><ul><li>Anti pattern #3: If it brings revenue, then it is worth doing. </li></ul><ul><li>Anti pattern #4: All BU’s need exposure on the HomePage </li></ul><ul><li>Anti pattern #5: Complexity is a sign of feature richness </li></ul>

10.
Agenda <ul><li>Who we are (2’) </li></ul><ul><li>Why we were sidetracked </li></ul><ul><ul><li>In-depth look at each anti-pattern </li></ul></ul><ul><li>The Redesign </li></ul>

11.
AP #1: Charge for a good experience <ul><li>Revenue opportunity: charge for “picture in listing pages” </li></ul><ul><li>It was the most profitable “Optional Feature Fee” </li></ul><ul><li>Outcome: No pictures in search results for millions of queries… </li></ul>

12.
AP #1: Charge for a good experience (II) <ul><li>Revenue Opportunity: charge for “highlight your item” </li></ul><ul><li>It was the second most profitable “Optional Feature Fee” </li></ul><ul><li>Outcome: “Happy” sellers, overwhelmed buyers… </li></ul>

13.
AP #2: If it brings eyeballs to site, it is good <ul><li>Traffic opportunity: Add “harmless” content for Search Engines </li></ul><ul><li>Traffic opportunity: Users don’t even see footers. Let´s use them for something “productive”… </li></ul><ul><li>Outcome: loads of useless content that confuses buyers </li></ul>

14.
AP #3: If it brings revenue, then it is worth doing <ul><li>Advertisers want to be above the fold </li></ul><ul><li>Should lower featured items </li></ul><ul><li>Outcome: “hidden” loss of revenues from poorer conversion rates as a consequence of the ads </li></ul>

15.
AP #4: All BU’s need exposure on the HomePage <ul><li>Site is treated as real estate that has to be distributed among BU’s. Outcome: site overload </li></ul>

16.
AP #5: Complexity is a sign of feature richness <ul><li>Users demand hundreds of features </li></ul><ul><li>Should try to please everyone </li></ul><ul><li>Outcome: overwhelmed users </li></ul>

17.
<ul><li>Solving these anti-patterns </li></ul><ul><li>required much more than “Web Design”… </li></ul>

18.
Agenda <ul><li>Who we are (2’) </li></ul><ul><li>Why we were sidetracked </li></ul><ul><ul><li>In-depth look at each anti-pattern </li></ul></ul><ul><li>The Redesign </li></ul>

19.
Get out of the Monkey Trap

20.
Re-think the pricing model <ul><li>It was neccessary to fix revenue induced anti patterns </li></ul>Business Units Pricing Model Revenue streams

21.
From “Featured Fees” to “Exposure Fees” <ul><li>There is no maneuvering room when there are “visual highlight” fees </li></ul>Old Optional Feature Fees New “Listing Types” allow cleaner results

22.
Never charge for delivering a good experience <ul><li>Eliminated “Picture in Listing Pages” Optional Feature Fee </li></ul>Old version: paid pictures in listing pages Same Search Query with New Version (all pictures for free)

23.
The real cost of advertising and communicating <ul><li>Minimizing the “vicious cycle” of visual competition </li></ul>Old Home Page New Home Page

24.
Simplify, simplify Thoreau Slide inspired from a Chris Nodder Presentation

25.
<ul><li>Keep what the users acually use, not what managers *think* is useful </li></ul>Simplicity first

26.
<ul><li>Useless content on footers is typically added aiming to Search Engines traffic </li></ul>Nothing is “harmless” Previous Scroll Bottom (1024x768) Current Scroll Bottom (1024x768)

27.
<ul><li>Focus on HTTP requests and implementing CDNs. </li></ul>Velocity First Oct 2009 Apr 2010

28.
<ul><li>Favor the majority and make choices for them </li></ul>Use the crowd to help new users Automatic “zoom in”: Demand data was concentrated in “Players” and not “Accessories” Top Nav Bar for “Players”: Specific facets

29.
<ul><li>Lowered bounce rates, decreased time on page and accelerated Successful Items </li></ul>Direct Operational Metrics

30.
Agenda <ul><li>Who we are (2’) </li></ul><ul><li>Why we were sidetracked </li></ul><ul><ul><li>In-depth look at each anti-pattern </li></ul></ul><ul><li>The Redesign </li></ul><ul><li>Wrapping up </li></ul>

31.
Wrapping up… <ul><li>User Experience goes far beyond “Web Design”. </li></ul><ul><li>Requires “true commitment”, usually from the CEO. </li></ul><ul><li>“ Unstable Organizational Equilibrium”. Must apply force to achieve collaboration. </li></ul><ul><li>A/B testing is useless when evaluating dramatic changes. </li></ul><ul><li>Usability Testing is key. </li></ul><ul><li>Beware of HIPPOs (Highest Paid People´s Opinion). </li></ul><ul><li>Going after UX, everything could be changed. Even your business model. </li></ul>

32.
Don´t listen to yourself: successfully redesigning the leading e-commerce platform in Latin America <ul><li>Daniel Rabinovich CTO </li></ul><ul><li>www.mercadolibre.com </li></ul><ul><li>@drabinovich </li></ul>