Case Study · UX Design · Product Thinking

Case Studies

A deep dive into real-world product challenges — focused on usability, clarity, and user trust. Two products, two problems, one goal: make the experience feel obvious.

UX Design Product Thinking Redesign
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Role
Product Designer
Year
2026
Type
UX Case Studies
Tools
Figma · Miro · Notion

Group Ordering — Redesigned

Swiggy's group order feature lets multiple people add to a single cart — but the experience is fragmented, confusing, and prone to mid-flow drop-offs. The challenge: make group food ordering feel as effortless as ordering for one.

The redesign focused on three friction points — initiating a group session, tracking what others have added in real time, and managing the final order before checkout.

Problem Areas

Where the flow breaks

[01]

Session Initiation

Creating a group order required too many steps and unclear affordances. Users often didn't know how to invite others or where to find the feature. Redesigned with a prominent entry point and a one-tap share flow.

[02]

Real-time Cart Visibility

Members had no live view of what others were adding. This caused duplicates, confusion at checkout, and order abandonment. Solution: a live "what everyone's adding" panel with name attribution.

[03]

Pre-checkout Coordination

The final review step before payment was a single user's responsibility with no visibility for the group. Redesigned with a shared review state and a "ready to order" signal from all members.

Design Process

How it was approached

Pre-Game

Heuristic Audit & Benchmarking

Conducted a heuristic audit of the existing Swiggy group order flow. Identified 6 usability violations. Benchmarked against DoorDash and Uber Eats group features.

Game

Exploring the Real-time Cart

Explored 3 approaches for the real-time cart view — a floating panel, a split-screen layout, and a bottom drawer. The bottom drawer won in usability testing for thumb accessibility on mobile.

Post Game

Annotated Flows & Edge Cases

Delivered annotated flows, component specs, and a full prototype in Figma. Documented edge cases: what happens when a member leaves mid-order, payment split scenarios, and timeout states.


The 'Processing' state that loses trust

When a Google Pay transaction is processing, users see a generic spinner with no feedback. For 3–8 seconds, they have no idea if the payment went through, if it's stuck, or if something went wrong. That uncertainty is a UX failure.

The redesign focused on making the processing state feel alive — communicating progress, reducing anxiety, and giving users confidence that something real is happening.

Problem Areas

3–8 seconds of uncertainty

[01]

Zero Progress Feedback

The existing spinner gives no sense of stages. Is it connecting? Verifying? Waiting for the bank? A redesigned state machine communicates each micro-step with clear, calming language.

[02]

Ambiguous Failure States

When a payment fails, the error screen arrives abruptly with no transition. Users aren't sure if they were charged. Redesigned with a graceful failure state that answers the most important question first: "You were not charged."

[03]

Trust Signals During Wait

High-value payments create disproportionate anxiety during the wait. Added contextual reassurance — bank name, masked account, and a real-time status indicator — so users feel informed, not abandoned.

Design Process

Designing calm under pressure

Pre-Game

Mapping the Anxiety Window

Mapped the full payment journey from tap-to-confirm. Identified that 100% of anxiety occurs in the 3–8 second processing window. Referenced research on perceived wait time and animation's effect on anxiety reduction.

Game

Testing 4 Processing Animations

Designed 4 versions of the processing animation — a progress bar, a pulsing ring, a step-by-step checklist, and a morphing icon. User testing showed the step-by-step checklist (even with fabricated steps) reduced anxiety by making the wait feel purposeful.

Post Game

Motion Specs & State Machine

Delivered motion specs for the processing state transitions. Documented the full state machine: pending → processing → success / failure, with timing and easing for each transition.

"The best UX is the kind users never notice — but always trust."
Outcomes

Across both studies

6
Usability violations identified across both heuristic audits
3
Redesigned critical flows — initiation, real-time cart, and processing state
4
Processing state variants tested before arriving at the final design
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