SHIPPED · SPRING 2024
BEST BUY CONNECT · MOBILE WORKFLOW
Replacing Best Buy's paper certification process with a mobile workflow
I combined observation, saved progress, sign-off, and employee history in one mobile workflow.
Context
Best Buy Connect · internal employee platform
My role
I framed the service, designed the resumable mobile workflow and role states, and prepared the experience for engineering handoff.
ROLE • SENIOR UX DESIGNER
SCOPE • WORKFLOW SYSTEM
SHIPPED • PROGRAM SCALE
An observed certification that survives real store interruptions
One workflow replaced the clipboard, the PDF, and the form.
Observe on the floor, pause when the store interrupts, and sign off with the employee.
Workflow model
4 steps
47
active certification types supported
1
resumable workflow
1
durable record per employee
The project in one minute
Sales certifications helped store leaders assess whether an employee could apply training during a real customer interaction. The process was split across printed PDFs, handwritten notes, Microsoft Forms, and reporting.
I redesigned it as one mobile workflow that connected observation, evidence, recovery, sign-off, and a durable employee record.
- ROLE
- Senior UX Designer · service framing, workflow, role states, and handoff
- TIMELINE
- January to April 2024
- USERS
- Store leaders and employees receiving results
- SCOPE
- Observation, notes, recovery, validation, and sign-off
A later operating report showed the program at scale
90,309
certifications recorded in one monthly program report
20,889
employees with certification records in that report
47
active certification types
Spring 2024
launched to stores
How to read this
These figures show operating scale in a later monthly report. They do not measure lift caused by the redesign.
THE DECISIONS THAT SHAPED THE PRODUCT
Three decisions turned a paper process into a dependable system
SERVICE MODEL
Design around observation, not form completion.
The workflow supported judgment during a live sales interaction instead of reproducing the PDF.
INTERACTION
Keep the assessment visible without forcing its order.
A hybrid accordion balanced overview, focus, and the flexibility to record evidence as it appeared.
RESILIENCE
Treat interruption as a normal state.
Autosave, recovery, validation, and role rules protected unfinished work and final records.
The old process duplicated work and lost evidence
Three handoffs. No shared record.
A leader had to move between a shadow checklist, a certification PDF, and a separate Microsoft Form.
- Paper checklists were difficult to find
- Notes could be lost between steps
- Manual entry created inconsistent data
A hybrid layout supported non-linear observation
Long page
Not selectedEverything visible, but hard to resume
Step flow
Not selectedFocused, but hides surrounding context
Accordion
SelectedKeeps context and supports partial completion
Decision criteria
Preserve the full assessment, allow evidence in any order, and make partial progress clear when a leader returns.
A four-step certification flow built for the sales floor
Select
Assess
Record
Sign off
Incomplete work is a normal state, not a failure
Interruption is expected
Incomplete work is a normal product state.
- Partial progress stays visible
- Autosave preserves notes through interruptions
- “In progress” is a status, not a failure
Role logic protects both the assessment and the employee
Role logic
Each role sees only the task and record it needs.
- EMPLOYEE
- Sees status and development history
- LEADER
- Assesses evidence and completes sign-off
- GENERAL MANAGER
- Sees aggregate progress without private notes
REFLECTION
The redesign changed the service, not only the screen.
The work removed duplicate entry, protected incomplete assessments, clarified role access, and created one structure that could support a growing certification program.