Chris Pennell
About Me  //Case Studies  //Resume
Chris Pennell
About Me  //Case Studies  //Resume

Canyon Ranch

My Role : Product Manager
‍Duration : 5 Months
Tools Used : Pen & Paper, Mural, Zoom, Figma

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Canyon Ranch :

  • Renowned wellness guidance company
  • Over 40 years of immersive destinations in the US

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The Challenge :

  • How might we extend Canyon Ranch's on ranch experiences beyond physical locations to a digital platform?

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The Vision :

  • Develop a mobile-first customer application
  • Multi-phase approach focusing on MVP

Project Goals & Assumptions

  1. Business Growth - Increased Ancillary Spend on Ranch:
    Our primary goal was to boost visitor spending by simplifying the process of booking ranch services.
  2. Improve Customer Experience
    Develop a mobile application to extend Canyon Ranch's reach beyond its physical locations.
  3. Reduced Call Volume for Wellness Guides:
    Empowering guests to handle more tasks independently was our strategy for enabling Wellness Guides to focus on complex visitor needs.
  4. Increase Team Efficiency
    We optimized team member efficiency by allowing guests to book services at their convenience.

The Journey Begins

Phase 1: Mapping the Path

Objective: Understand the customer journey,
stakeholders, and potential conflicts

Actions

  • Created detailed customer journey maps
  • Held immersive workshops with stakeholders

Challenges

  • Balancing diverse stakeholder needs
  • Verifying key assumptions about desirability and feasibility

Defining the Essentials

Phase 2: Crafting the MVP

Objective: Define and prioritize the
Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Actions

  • Conducted dynamic ideation sessions
  • Prioritized features that enhance the customer experience and support business growth

Challenges

  • Narrowing down features to the most impactful
  • Balancing immediate needs with future potential

Building the Dream

Phase 3: Prototyping and Testing

Objective: Develop and validate prototypes
to test key assumptions.

Actions

  • Created low to high-fidelity prototypes
  • Conducted testing sessions with target user segments

Challenges

  • Ensuring prototypes addressed critical assumptions
  • Collecting actionable user feedback
“ If I had it all right here, it would make life so much easier.” - P4

Insights from Usability Testing

20 interviews in Tucson, AZ

Collective takeaways from 11 first-time guests and 9 returning guests.

  1. Comprehensive Scheduling:
    ‍    "If I had it all right here, it would make life so much easier" - P11
  2. Free Time Management:
    "Seeing my free time would allow me to better plan my day" - P14
  3. Organized Planning:
    "... It would help me to be organized with my daily schedule.." – P10
  4. Time-Saving:
    ‍    "Time-saving in the sense that... I don’t have to walk back to my room for my book." - P20

The Beta Launch

Phase 4: Bringing the MVP to Life

Objective: Develop and launch the beta version of the MVP.

Actions

  • Initiated MVP development in Dec. 2021
  • Led strategic planning with a global engineering team
  • Conducted continuous user research and prototyping

Challenges

  • Coordinating between on-shore and off-shore teams
  • Balancing rapid development with thorough user testing

Reaching the Milestone

Impact …

  1. Improve Customer Experience
    Simplified the booking process; By consolidating services and activities into one platform, guests were more likely to explore and participate in various offerings.
  2. Reduced Call Volume for Wellness Guides
    Guests empowered to handle tasks independently, contributing to a more personalized and stress-free experience.
  3. Increase Team Efficiency
    Optimized team member efficiency, allowing team members to focus on more complex wellness goals and visitor needs. 

Reflecting on the Journey

Key Learnings

  1. User-Centered Approach
    Guests have varying preferences and expectations. Ensuring our app met the needs of both first-time and returning visitors required careful consideration. Involving our guests in the design and testing process was essential. Their feedback directly shaped the app’s features and usability.
  2. Strategic Planning
    Effective teamwork and communication across diverse teams were key to overcoming challenges and delivering a successful product. Managing a global team with on-shore and off-shore members required clear communication and strategic planning.
  3. Iterative Development
    Regular prototyping and testing allowed us to refine the app continuously, ensuring it met our guests' needs, and we were able to quickly validate assumptions along the way.