Native Competitive Bidding for Procurement Platforms
I led the design of DeepStream's new Auctioning feature, which lets companies run competitive bids right in the platform. It's transformed how businesses handle purchase orders, making the whole process faster, cheaper, and more reliable.
Senior Product Designer
Jan - Dec 2021
Web
Procurement
50+
Challenge
The key challenge was integrating real-time bidding functionality into DeepStream's procurement platform without adding complexity. Users were struggling with manual processes and external tools, leading to inefficiencies and reduced transparency. Working closely with stakeholders, we simplified the auction creation process through guided setup flows and improved bidder communication tools, resulting in a more streamlined experience.
Results
The new auction features made a real difference in how teams managed their procurement process. We saw bid management time drop by 25%, while bidder participation went up by 20%. Users were noticeably happier too, with satisfaction scores increasing by 30%. The improvements we made - especially the real-time bidding and guided setup - helped teams make faster decisions and get better prices from suppliers. It was great to see how our focus on user needs and continuous improvements paid off in practical ways.
25%
Reduction in Bid Management
20%
Increase in User Engagement
30%
Increase in User Satisfaction
Process
Research & Discovery: I conducted 15 user interviews and distributed a survey with 56 responses to procurement professionals to uncover pain points in competitive bidding. The research highlighted inefficiencies in manual processes, lack of transparency, and a strong need for automation to streamline bid management.
Information Architecture: Based on the insights, I structured the Auctioning feature into a clear, step-by-step workflow. This included a guided setup, real-time bidding updates, and a transparent bid history to support better decision-making.
Wireframing & Prototyping: I designed low-fidelity wireframes to map out key interactions and iterated on them based on feedback from stakeholders. High-fidelity prototypes were developed to test real-time bidding, automated notifications, and bidder engagement tools.
Usability Testing: I conducted beta testing with a select group of users, gathering feedback on bid transparency, ease of auction setup, and bidder engagement. Based on insights, I refined the UI and notification system to ensure users could better understand and track bidding activity.
Interaction Design & Navigation: I introduced a guided auction setup to simplify bid creation, along with bidder communication tools to encourage real-time engagement. I also added an enhanced reporting system to help users track bidder behavior and auction outcomes.
Visual Design & Prototyping: I iterated on the UI to create a clear and intuitive bidding interface with live updates, notifications, and detailed tooltips. High-fidelity prototypes were tested to validate the final interactions before launch.
Conclusion
Our new auction platform transformed how competitive bidding works - making it faster, clearer, and more engaging for everyone involved. We spent a lot of time talking to users and refining the design, which paid off: bidders now spend far less time managing their bids and can make better decisions more quickly. It really showed us how focusing on user needs can turn a complicated process into something that just works.