Quick-commerce substitutions and refunds

01 / Define

The problem to explore

In a fictional 10-minute grocery app, items often go out of stock after the order is placed. Shoppers are surprised by substitutions or partial refunds. Explore how to set substitution preferences and communicate changes quickly and fairly.

This is an original UXCharan practice scenario, not a commissioned client project or a validated research finding. Treat the problem as a hypothesis. Adapt it when your research points elsewhere.

Who to learn from

Urban shoppers ordering groceries for delivery within minutes. Recruit consenting adults with relevant experience where possible; document recruitment limits and avoid claiming your sample represents everyone.

02 / Discover

Research before choosing a solution

Questions to investigate

How do shoppers react when an item is replaced?
What information do they need in the few seconds they look at the screen?

Start with a small set of interviews or contextual walkthroughs that fits your access and consent arrangements. Compare two existing approaches to the same task. Separate direct observations, participant statements and your own assumptions. If primary research is not possible, clearly label desk research and list what remains untested.

Map the experience

Trace the task from its trigger through completion and follow-up. Identify where information, responsibility or confidence is missing. Choose one opportunity you can justify with evidence.

03 / Design

A manageable project scope

Set substitution preferences
approve or reject a change
track a refund

Choose one primary device and a realistic context of use. Explore at least two approaches before refining a flow. Build only the screens and states needed to demonstrate the selected task; a complete production system is outside this brief.

Include the difficult moments

Shopper unreachable during packing
substitute costs more
refund delayed

Document loading, empty, error and success states where relevant. Consider keyboard order, text enlargement, contrast, meaningful labels and alternatives to colour-only status. Use synthetic data and a fictional brand; do not collect real medical records, credentials or payment information.

Project-specific artefact

A real-time substitution approval notification and screen.

04 / Test & improve

What would make the design work?

Can shoppers make a substitution decision in under 10 seconds and trust the final bill?

Turn this question into realistic prototype tasks. Record whether participants complete each task, where they hesitate, what they misunderstand and how much help they need. Choose success criteria before testing; report observed counts with sample size, rather than claiming statistically proven improvements.

Prioritise findings by impact on the task. Revise the flow and retest the most consequential change where possible. If you cannot retest, explain that limitation.

05 / Tell the story

Your submission checklist

Problem framing, intended users, scope and your role.
Research approach, anonymised evidence and assumptions that changed.
Journey or flow, alternatives explored and reasons for your decisions.
A real-time substitution approval notification and screen.
Viewable Figma prototype or a shareable document, including key edge cases.
Usability findings, before-and-after revisions and remaining limitations.
A concise portfolio narrative that labels this as a self-initiated concept.

Show what you learned and changed. Do not invent testimonials, interview quotes, launch metrics, employment relationships or business outcomes. Disclose material AI assistance and verify generated content.

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Useful methods for this project

These sources inform the learning process; they do not validate the fictional scenario or endorse UXCharan. Explore more tools in the resource library.