Merch@Studio Scale

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Adobe Merch@Studio

Project Timeline

3 Months

Client

Adobe

Role & Contribution

Led the end-to-end design process, including user research, wireframing, prototyping, and usability testing to refine the product based on user needs. Collaborated closely with stakeholders to ensure a seamless and user-centric experience.

Project Overview

Merch@Studio Scale is a product designed for Adobe authors responsible for updating pricing and content across three key surfaces: Adobe.com, Creative Cloud Desktop, and Adobe Home. The platform streamlines the management of pricing cards across multiple locales, reducing the manual effort required to update and validate product information.

Problem Statements

Adobe authors manually update pricing and promotional content across 100+ multiple locales for 1000+ Products, leading to inefficiencies, errors, and delays. The lack of automation, preview functionality, and seamless promo management increases the complexity of their workflow. Authors must also rely on engineers to revert promo pricing manually, making the process cumbersome and time-consuming.

Challenges

Cross-Functional Alignment – Coordinating authors, marketing teams, and engineers to streamline workflows.

User Mental Model Shift – Designing automation without disrupting familiar manual processes.

Handling Locale-Specific Pricing – Addressing unique pricing rules and regulatory constraints.

Building Trust in Automation – Overcoming user hesitation by ensuring transparency and control.

Version History Complexity – Managing multiple pricing card iterations without cluttering workflows.

Minimizing Learning Curve – Providing effective onboarding for a smooth transition to the new system.

Scalability & Performance – Ensuring system stability for bulk updates across thousands of products.

Impact & Outcome

Impact

Merch@Studio Scale has significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of pricing and content management for Adobe authors. By eliminating manual, repetitive tasks and integrating automation, the platform has led to:

80% Reduction in Manual Effort – Automating the creation and management of pricing cards across multiple locales has minimized redundant tasks.
No Pricing Errors – Automated syncing and preview functionality have reduced inconsistencies and mistakes in pricing updates.
Faster Promo Management – Authors can now seamlessly switch between standard and promotional pricing without engineering dependency, reducing delays.
Improved Transparency – A centralized dashboard and version history tracking provide better visibility and control over pricing changes.
Enhanced Productivity – Authors can focus on strategic pricing decisions rather than manual data entry, improving overall workflow efficiency.

Outcome

Seamless Pricing Updates – Pricing cards are automatically generated and updated, ensuring consistency across all locales.
Streamlined Promotions – Promo cards override default pricing when active and automatically revert post-expiry, eliminating manual coordination.
Informed Decision Making – With preview functionality and version history, authors can confidently review and publish updates without errors.
Scalable Solution – The system is designed to accommodate future Adobe products and evolving pricing strategies with minimal adjustments.

User Research & Insights

To design an effective and user-centric solution, I conducted in-depth user research to understand the challenges Adobe authors face in managing pricing updates across multiple locales. Through weekly sync-ups with users, I gathered qualitative insights into their daily workflows, pain points, and unmet needs.

Research Methods:

User Interviews – Engaged directly with Adobe authors to understand their end-to-end process, frustrations, and expectations.
Contextual Inquiry – Observed how users interact with existing tools, identifying inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
Pain Point Mapping – Categorized common struggles such as manual workload, error-prone processes, and dependency on engineering teams.

Heuristic Evaluation of Existing Tools - I reviewed the Offer Selector Tool and SharePoint-based workflows, identifying inefficiencies like manual data transfer, lack of preview functionality, and engineering dependency for promo expiration.

User Journey Mapping - I mapped the current pricing update process to highlight inefficiencies and designed an optimized workflow that reduced redundancy and improved automation.

User Research & Requirement Gathering

User Persona

Sarah Thompson

Role: Adobe Pricing & Content Author

Experience Level: 5+ years in content and pricing management.

Background: Sarah has extensive experience in managing product pricing and promotional campaigns for Adobe. She works closely with marketing and engineering teams to ensure accurate, region-specific pricing is displayed across multiple Adobe platforms. Her workflow requires efficiency, precision, content writing and adaptability to handle frequent updates and promotions.

Goals:

Efficiently manage pricing updates across multiple locales without redundant manual work.

Reduce errors and inconsistencies in pricing updates.

Easily switch between default and promotional pricing without engineering dependency.

Preview pricing cards before publishing to ensure accuracy and consistency.

Streamline promo expiration management without requiring manual intervention

Pain Points of Adobe Authors

Overwhelming Manual Workload

Authors must manually update pricing cards for multiple locales, duplicating efforts across dozens of country-specific variations.
Every pricing update requires copying and pasting content, increasing workload and slowing down the process.

High Risk of Errors

Manually inputting pricing data increases the chances of inconsistencies between different locales.
A small mistake in one card can lead to incorrect pricing being displayed to customers in multiple countries.

Inefficiency in Managing Promotional Pricing

Switching between default pricing and promotional pricing requires manual intervention, making it time-consuming.
The lack of automation makes it difficult to ensure all promotions are updated correctly across all regions.

Lack of Preview Functionality

Authors cannot see how the pricing card will appear to customers before publishing.
They rely on assumptions and post-publication checks, leading to uncertainty and last-minute corrections.

Manual Promo Expiration Management

When a promotional period ends, authors must work with engineers to manually revert pricing back to default.
This process causes delays, increases dependency on the engineering team, and adds extra workload.

Disjointed Workflow with Multiple Tools

Authors must use multiple tools and interfaces to track, edit, and verify pricing updates.
There is no unified system, leading to confusion, inefficiencies, and difficulty tracking changes.

Lack of Transparency & Version Control

Authors have no centralized way to track pricing history or changes made across multiple locales.
Without version control, it becomes challenging to revert to previous pricing details when needed.

Fragmented Workflow

Authors must switch between multiple tools (SharePoint, Offer Selector Tool) to update pricing, leading to inefficiencies.

User Stories

Adobe Authors

I want to manage pricing and content for multiple locales in a centralized system, so that I can reduce manual effort and errors.
I want to automate the creation of pricing cards for different locales, so that I don’t have to manually duplicate and verify each one.
I want an easy way to manage promotional pricing separately from standard pricing, so that I can ensure accurate product listings during promotions.
I want expired promo cards to automatically revert to default pricing, so that I don’t have to manually coordinate with engineers to make these changes.
I want to preview how my pricing card will appear to customers before publishing, so that I can verify the accuracy and completeness of the information.

Primary Workflow & Information Architecture

Home Dashboard

Overview of all products & pricing cards
Filters: Product, Locale, Promo Status, Card Type, Offer Type, Customer Segment, Market Segment, Plan Type.
Quick status indicators (Active promos, pending updates, unpublished changes)

Product Detail Page

Master Default Card – Source template for all locales
Default Cards – Auto-generated pricing for each locale
Custom Default Cards – Manually customized versions of Default Cards
Promo Cards – Temporary overrides during promotions, auto-reverts after expiration

Card Editing, Versioning & Validation

Edit Mode – Modify pricing, content, metadata
Version History & Rollback – Auto-saved versions, restore previous versions
Preview Mode – Real-time preview before publishing
Validation Checks – Detects errors & inconsistencies before publishing

Publishing Workflow

Review & Compare – Summary of changes, side-by-side version comparison
Approval Process – Admin validation (if applicable)
Publishing Options – Publish now or schedule later
Audit Log – Tracks published versions & rollback history

Promo Management System

Activate a Promotion – Set promo pricing & duration
Manage Live Promotions – Edit, extend, or monitor active promos
Automated Promo Expiry – Reverts back to Default Cards after promo ends

System Settings & Metadata Management

User Roles & Permissions – Define access levels (Authors, Admins, Reviewers)
Metadata Controls – Manage pricing attributes (customer type, market, locale, etc.)
Localization Settings – Add or update locale-based pricing rules

Journey Mapping

Touch point: The author logs into Merch@Studio Scale and views all products and associated pricing cards.
Experience: Straightforward login with a clean, organized dashboard displaying all necessary information at a glance.

Master Card Management

Touch point: The author updates the Master Card, which automatically updates Default Cards across locales.
Experience: Seamless, automated updates reduce manual work and ensure consistency across regions.

Customization for Locales

Touch point: If needed, the author customizes specific pricing cards, which are tagged as Custom Default Cards.
Experience: Intuitive UI highlights changes and tracks custom modifications, reducing confusion.

Promo Management

Touch point: The author enables a promotional offer, which temporarily overrides default pricing for the selected period.
Experience: A simple toggle-based system allows for efficient promo setup with clear start and end dates.

Preview Mode

Touch point: The author previews how the pricing card will be displayed to customers to ensure accuracy before publishing.
Experience: Real-time preview eliminates uncertainty, improving confidence before publishing.

Promo Expiry & Reversion

Touch point: Once the promo ends, the system automatically reverts all promo cards to their corresponding default pricing without manual intervention.
Experience: Automation reduces engineering dependency, ensuring a smooth transition back to default pricing.

Review & Publish

Touch Point: The system validates the changes, and the author publishes the updates across all surfaces.
Experience: A final review step provides reassurance, ensuring accuracy before going live.

Solutions

Centralized Pricing Management – Manage all pricing and content updates from a single dashboard.
Automated Locale-Based Card Creation – Master Card updates automatically generate Default Cards for each locale.
Customizable Pricing & Content – Authors can modify specific locale-based cards, which are tagged as Custom Default Cards.
Integrated Promo Management – Allows smooth activation and deactivation of promotional pricing without disrupting standard pricing.
Automated Promo Expiry Reversion – Promo cards automatically revert to default pricing when the promo ends, eliminating manual intervention.
Preview Mode – Authors can preview how pricing cards appear to customers before publishing to ensure accuracy.
Version History for Pricing Cards – Every modified version is saved, allowing authors to track changes and restore previous versions if needed.
Direct Integration with Offer Selector Tool – Eliminates manual data transfer by allowing seamless pricing updates within the platform.
Automated Pricing Sync – Ensures that pricing updates are reflected across all surfaces without copying and pasting links.
Elimination of External Tools – Removes dependency on SharePoint for managing product pricing, streamlining the workflow.

NDA
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