This document provides a summary of Stephen Aris's experience and qualifications in user experience design, service design, and research. Over the past few years, he has led large-scale transformation projects for various clients in retail, financial services, media, and public sectors. Some examples of projects include redesigning the online shopping experience for Waitrose and conducting user research and prototyping solutions for the UK government's National Apprenticeship Service. Stephen Aris has expertise in all stages of the design process from user research and strategy to prototyping, testing, and delivery.

1. Stephen Aris
Transforming Business
With:
User Experience
Service Design
Research
stephenaris.com
+44 [0] 7976 282618
Skype: stevearis

2. Problem solving
Stakeholder management
Workshops
Business goals
Service design thinking
Platform agnostic
Collaborative
Vision
Leadership
Strategy
Team building
UX Evangelism
Project approach
Divergent thinking
Brainstorms
Expert reviews/ heuristic
evaluations
User Interviews
Personas
Ideation
Sketches
Prototypes
Information architecture
Wireframes
Site Maps
Content tone
Card sorts
Taxonomy
User journey
Research/ insight
Competitive reviews
User testing
Delivery and management
Agile iteration
Lean UX
Analytics
Working with teams or as
sole consultant to the
business
The right methods at the
right time
Business as usual

3. What have I been doing the last few years ?
Large scale business transformation projects. Acting as the lynch
pin between business, the user/customer and technology teams.
Increasing revenue, workflow efficiency, usability
Reducing cost and project risk
Types of project:
Browser/Desktop/Mobile/Enterprise/e-commerce/Service/Content
• UX project rescue and optimization
• UX discovery and strategy
• Greenfield product development and journey mapping

4. What have I been doing the last few years ?
• Service design lead ‒ Publicis Sapient
• UX/ product design lead - Mcann
• UX/ product design Xreach. Cyber Security mobile products
• UX lead Keytree. A leading technology consultancy
• Lead UX consultant Sainsbury's Argos Plc x2
• UX Lead at Summit Media for Peugeot and JLR
• Lead UX/ Service design consultant UK Ministry of Justice
• Principal UX consultant BT Plc for InfoSys
• Principal UX consultant National Grid Plc for Wipro
• Principal UX/ Service design consultant UK Governments Skills Funding Agency
• UX/ Service design lead consultant FullSix London for Waitrose
• Principal UX consultant House of Fraser
• Principal UX consultant Bupa
• UX lead consultant LBi
• UX lead consultant BskyB for Foviance [Seren]
Supporting a mix of retail/ financial services/ media/ public sector/ agency and corporate clients

5. A few examples
take a deep breath…….

6. Waitrose Ecommerce for Full Six London
Problem
I needed the business to have a shared vision and to understand how the right customer experience
would impact on their business metrics and KPI’s. At the same time giving all stakeholders a voice so the
business could see their opportunities and challenges in relation to the customer experience.
A planning solution was needed that would frame the user experience in context to the business goals
Finding the solution
A cohesive strategic view of this multi channel retailers e-commerce offer was needed to break the cycle
of tactical fixes to the online business – the user experience was getting lost and the business was loosing
sales opportunities and causing frustration to their astonishingly loyal customer base.
But where should they start?
Creating an over arching customer journey formed the basis of this framework and formed ‘pillars of
excellence’ that we could build upon.

7. Waitrose for Full Six London
• Lots of background, insight and analysis
• Lots of data analysis, and site assesment
• Lots of stakeholder engagement, interviews and
contextual enquiry
• Lots and lots of post it notes
• Lots of extra calories
Methods
At the end the blueprint looked a little like this…..

9. Business KPI’s mapped against user journey

14. Over 100 recommendations for improving the customer experience
against KPIs were identified from each sector of the user journey.
Each was assessed in terms of complexity and customer benefit. Projects
in the 'sweet spot' moved into scoping with full business support.
Each then went on to wireframe and development.

15. Bupa Group/ Bupa International
• Leading their largest web transformation project to date.
Full lifecycle legacy replacement.
• Results speak volumes.
Additionally tasked with educating group businesses, selling UX, and
building a team and methods that were faster, better, smarter.
In the first month:
45% increase in transactions
$ payments up 177%
Self service administration increased 1300% with
no promotion.
Projected annual cost efficiency of £1.3 million
ALL WITH NO FUNCTIONAL CHANGES

16. The legacy system
Five international extranets for B2B and B2C claims, processing and management
After unpicking it, and to gain buy in I described the sites ………….

17. Disorganised
Trip hazards everywhere
Functional but not fit for purpose
Confusing language
Like a teenagers bedroom, as sites were:
Inefficient

18. Wire frame and prototype, no time/ money for user insight, I needed buy in first.
The business didn’t want to talk to customers, I showed them how and the benefits that it would bring

19. Prototype and test with users internationally to validate the structure. Gaining insight here via extended
test questioning. The business were truly amazed about what they learnt.
Iterate and retest.

20. Managed the visual designers, curated visuals and content team. Coordinate stakeholders sign off
*Visuals Charles Migut

21. The National Apprenticeship Service
Problem
Analysing data and interviewing stakeholders quickly revealed that the service did not understand
their user base, user journeys were broken and tactical fix’s had no impact.
A more strategic view of their future offer was needed. To provide insight I started by segmenting
their user base. Which was broader than they first thought.
Contextual interview to establish need and behaviour with:
• Existing candidates,
• Current Apprentices
• Partner organisations where there were touch points i.e. national telephone help centres
• Young and older potential target groups
• Small, medium and large employers
• Educational establishments and commercial training providers
Three core user groups emerged for which I created personas.
Finding the solution
The UK Governments National Apprenticeship Service identified that they were under performing and
not achieving policy objectives. They operate a complex public facing online system that manages and
communicates to Apprenticeship candidates, employers and training providers.

22. Candidate personas

23. Candidate personas

24. • Working independently with key business stakeholders to define and
develop a new online proposition -Sky Living
• Additional involvement with Sky TV and Sky movies sites
• Two screen experience UX planning
• Outline app development
User Experience Lead Foviance @ BSKYB

25. Analysis
• Current site usability tests
• Analysis of Hit box data
• Product development roadmap
• User interviews/ user research- guerilla style
• Stakeholder interviews
• Card sorting with editors
• Creative workshops and ideation

26. I hung out at cafes and hairdressing salons to gain insight into the target group, refusing to accept
that the client was the user. Using women's lifestyle magazines as ‘props’ to aid my questioning.
This evidence proved invaluable to the project

28. The site was broken down into core templates.

29. Helping the content team to plan.

31. National Grid Plc
Assignments
IOS, phone and tablet apps for the field force
Internal ERP portals
Mobile SAP Apps
.Com retail journey enhancements and testing
Scope and redesign of consumer self service applications to increase NPS
Mobile and Desktop Application UI and interaction style guides
Strategy and Innovation for the strategic applications group

32. Mobile workforce
Time Accounting
A complex time accounting app for for a highly distributed field workforce. IOS integrated
with SAP
Apps

33. Legacy system created confusion, additional processes and poor customer satisfaction resulting
in regulatory fines. Business was convinced that design work would fix this. I proved them
wrong BEFORE they made a very costly mistake.
Consumer web self service

34. Insights
Personas created from contextual interviews, analytics and reports. Helped business to focus outside
in on the REAL problems

35. Consumer web self service
Iterative prototypes helped evolve businesses vision and service proposition

36. User testing prototypes to validate assumptions

37. Strategic Innovation- Mobile real time planning

38. A suite of highly complex fleet management systems
Digitising and refining a complex workflow
BT for InfoSys

39. Customer self service, resource management portal. Data driven, complex workflows and
reporting

40. Employee view, resource management portal. Work Approval and tracking, data driven, complex
workflows and messaging

41. Sainsburys Plc
Key enterprise projects
• Allocation and replenishment
• Post check out experience
• Online Driver Scheduling and logistics tools
• Store Risk Mobile & Hot Food Counters Risk
• In Store logistics screens
Key consumer projects
• TU Clothing
• Grocery site redesign and re platform

42. Online delivery driver shift allocation
Digitise a highly manual process
Simplify the process, make
significant time savings
Over 18k+ hours lost annually
Remove duplication, reduce
effort
Reduce risk of breaching
working time directives

43. Method
Understand and make the team aware of
what the real life problems were faced in
the field, and re align the project with the
users at the heart. Sell the benefit of user
centered design to product owner.
Design a solution based on the research
above.
Rapidly prototype and test the concept
with users ahead of build.
Give the build team direction and
guidance based on the above, whilst
allowing them the flexibility to deliver.

44. Fairly light touch user
testing with a working
prototype to validate
thinking and provide
evidence based design to
the product owner.

45. UI version looks something like this. System now live and deployed.
One of Sainsbury's most successful UX projects to date.

46. Stock allocation & replenishment

47. Stock allocation & replenishment
Reducing margin erosion through maximising fill price sales
Improving store specific sku availability and range forecast.
“The right stock in the right store at the right time”
A highly manual and complex process
System to drive £3bn sales and £1bn profit

48. Helping a long running failing project to refocus and reframe
the problem. Whilst also providing UX tactical support
Identifying the ‘system users’ against a backdrop of ‘we don’t have
any users
Creating a product vision to drive towards

49. • Research
• Design thinking
• Storyboards

50. Summit Media
Peugeot Citroen
Selling new and used cars online. User journey strategy,
conversion funnel and lead optimisation for ecommerce.
Jaguar Landrover
Classic part sales. Idea development and strategy

51. Defining a method to analyse user journeys through the retail and
ecommerce sites in order to optimise conversion funnels.
Groupe PSA

52. User experience framework and conversion funnel

53. JLR – Classics Division
Selling classic car parts through a JTBD framework

54. Assist planning and reduce waste.
Apps to reduce store risk at hot food counters.
Recording food temperature checks and safety information for
compliance.
Sainsbury's - Hot Food Counters Risk

55. *Visuals Gareth Williams

56. *Visuals Gareth Williams

57. *Visuals Gareth Williams

58. Assist planning and reduce waste.
Logistics planning, view of inbound deliveries to store
Screens for back of store and web app
Sainsbury's - Logistics

60. Keytree
• Customer self service applications for Severn Trent Water
• Mobile planning tool for Babcock
• Mobile applications for Menzies airlines
• Mobile Application for grocery distribution
• SAP fori ‒ News International.

61. Severn Trent Water
• Customer self service applications for Severn Trent Water
• Re design My Account.
• Payments, meter registration, moving home etc
• Complex environment re aligning the business, technology and
design teams.

64. *Visuals David Wong

65. *Visuals David Wong

66. *Visuals David Wong

67. Babcock ‒ Planning apps for vehicle maintenance

68. *Visuals Kofi Brenya

69. *Visuals Kofi Brenya

70. *Visuals Kofi Brenya

71. Xreach ‒ Cyber Security
Covert mobile communications platform for law
enforcement, government, military and security agencies

72. Situational awareness system that enables field agents
and all tiers of command to securely communicate and
monitor each other from mobile devices

73. Hidden in plain sight

74. Modular, configurable command and control centre

75. Infrastructure dashboard

76. IOSVersion

77. IP voice and video comms, group messaging and file
sharing. Location track and trace ++

78. Job.com ‒ Blockchain/ smart ledger job matching platform.
Visuals: Matt Hawkins

79. Working with the founders to create a consumer mobile and desktop
experience and a B2B enablement platform.
Delivery focused very lean UX, focus on user journey and rapid
prototyping to meet development goals.
Consumer mobile and desktop views plus ERP workflows.

80. Visuals: Matt Hawkins
Playful & conversational interaction design.

81. Publicis Sapient
Banking - Nationwide
Focused on shaping service design team activity for agile at scale digital banking
transformation. Specifically account origination, open banking, and visa card controls.
Using customer insight and research,AI and predictive analytics to create better
customer experiences that align with strategic business objectives.
Health tech - Amplifon
Creating a remote care telemedicine service for the Worlds largest hearing aid
retailer. Giving hearing professionals situational awareness of their patients
healthcare.

82. Nationwide - Sample activities
• Business, design and tech alignment. Resetting against value
• Adult current account opening user journey
• Account switching user journey
• Qualitative banking/ current account opening research with
customers ‒ in home and in branch
• Instigating a test and learn approach
• Employee interviews ‒ pain point and internal process review
• Mobile app, visa card controls design and test.

83. Mapping technical components to the user journey, giving teams and stakeholders a view
of the account origination journey for the first time.
Capability and eco system mapping

85. Lots of this...mapping the user journey. It’s never too late to test and learn

86. Amplifon the worlds largest hearing care retailer.

87. Re imagining hearing healthcare. A platform connecting patients and their
devices to audiologists for remote care.

88. Amplifon - Sample activities
• Business, design and tech alignment against project and business
goals. Focusing on value.
• End to end user journey mapping and MVP definition.
• Instigated a test and learn approach to design.
• Design team optimisation and tools.
• Qualitative research
• Employee and market by market stakeholder interviews to define
proposition and localisation gaps.

89. Discover//Design//Develop

90. Where are we now and where are we going?

91. Mapping the service

95. Prototype and test

96. Research, service safari and shadowing.

98. Every story starts with Listening.
More? Available on request