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A typical day with Hardy
Hi Hardy!
Hardy is an executive UX designer with a passion and is responsible for the OTTO apps. He provides an insight into his typical day-to-day work at OTTO.
The start of the day.
Before I head off to OTTO, I take my kids to school and daycare. After that, I take the public transport to work. To make the daily commute more varied, I try to take different routes. I use the driving time to observe people's app usage behavior and identify trends - my time for inspiration and ideas.
I arrive at OTTO between half past seven and eight and go straight for a coffee. Then I check the dashboard of the OTTO app. My focus here is on the customer perspective: Do the teasers look good? Do the features perform as we imagine? At the same time, I check the Internet to see what's happening in the design industry and check the comments from users in the app and play stores to see where we need to optimize.
The morning.
Then I structure my day. What appointments are coming up? Is everything prepared? What tasks are my colleagues currently working on? This is done via Microsoft Teams, Slack and Outlook, or with a Jiraboard in which we map all current tasks.
In the morning, I exchange ideas with colleagues from different teams and disciplines. For example, we have regular "discovery" meetings. The focus here is on improving the customer experience within the OTTO app. To do this, we think about which features we can develop or which we can optimize.
This is usually followed by time on my laptop, where I create new prototypes and designs and answer emails. Often I can be found at my fixed workstation. When I need quiet, I retreat to our co-working space Collabor8 or find another location on campus. Overall, we work decentrally as a team, using tools like Microsoft Teams or Slack to keep in touch.
We try to push the designs created here relatively quickly with developers and other designers. Either to test them promptly in our UX Lab on campus or to let them go live for customers.
Lunch break.
Depending on my schedule, I take a lunch break between 12 and 1 pm. Here, too, I rotate between the bistros and cafeterias on the OTTO campus to get new ideas and integrate exercise into my daily routine.Inkeeping with the lunch culture at OTTO, I have lunch with colleagues from different departments to exchange ideas and maintain contacts across disciplines.
Hardy bei der Arbeit
The afternoon.
Further exchange meetings follow in the afternoon. Here we regularly engage in preliminary analyses to assess future market developments, evaluate innovations and test new technologies. One example is the release of new smartphones or updates to operating systems. Together with analysts, business designers, technical designers and product owners, we weigh up the pros and cons for customers and define appropriate measures for the OTTO app.
One of my highlights is our own UX Lab on the OTTO campus. Here we test our new features in the OTTO app every two weeks with external people. The focus here is on whether the new functions are understood by users and offer added value. If these tests are positive, the features go into "execution", i.e. they are implemented by the developers and put online.
And closing time.
Around 5:20 p.m., my workday is usually over. However, I try to be flexible with my time in the afternoon so that I can pick up my children and spend the evening with them. With proper organization and prioritization of tasks, this is quite possible. From time to time, I still work a little from home once the kids are in bed. Here, for example, I prepare presentations for UX MeetUps, provide my colleagues with impulses and review the working day. OTTO gives me the space I need to balance family life and work.
In this interview, Hardy and his colleague Julian talk about smartphone shopping behavior, the importance of apps and traditional online stores. So take a listen (german only)!