Counter Product designer, 2023

A morning dashboard shop managers actually open.

Counter gives small shop chains their numbers. Managers had a dashboard with 14 tabs and opened it once a week. I designed one morning screen that says what to do before the doors open.

Role: Product designer
Team: 1 product manager, 2 engineers, 1 data scientist
Time: Three months, 2023
Platforms: Web and tablet

02In short

The problem: Managers opened the dashboard once a week, mostly to export a spreadsheet.
What I did: Mornings with 11 managers at opening time, the morning screen and its three alerts.
The result: 92% of managers open it every morning.

03The problem

Managers start the day on the shop floor, not at a desk. The dashboard answered questions nobody had at 8 in the morning.

So the numbers came too late: by the time someone exported the spreadsheet, the oat milk had run out.

Opening time with a store manager: about four minutes for numbers before the doors open.

04What we heard

I spent opening hours with 11 managers in Copenhagen and Aarhus.

I don't need charts. I need to know what's going wrong today.

Store manager, Nørrebro

By the time I open it, the day is over.

Store manager, Vesterbro

Tell me what to order. I'll trust you.

Store manager, Aarhus

Mornings are short.Managers had about four minutes for numbers before opening.

Actions beat charts.Every number needed a next step next to it.

Compare with last week.Nobody thought in averages, only in “last Thursday”.

05The decision

Show everything, or only what needs action?

Keep every chart, add filtersPowerful, and still ignored. Nobody had time to filter at 8 in the morning.

Three things to look at, rankedShippedThe morning screen picks the three issues that cost the most today, each with a next step.

Send alerts by text messageFast, but managers muted them within a week.

Why: Ranking by cost kept the screen short enough for a busy morning, and every item ends with something to do.
What it cost: Regional managers lost their overview, so the full reports moved one click away.

06Look closer

The morning screen, with the decisions behind it. Point at the dots.

07Results

After a pilot in six shops, the morning screen became the start page for all 48 shops in September 2023.

92%of managers open it every morning, up from 18%

31%fewer empty shelves at noon

1screen instead of 14 tabs

Before18%

After92%

Managers who open Counter before 10 in the morning, on a normal week.

08Timeline

12 weeks from the first interview to launch.

Mornings in shops3 weeksConcepts3 weeksPilot in 6 shops4 weeksLaunch2 weeks

09What comes next

Put the same three things on the till screen, so the staff see them too.

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