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

The Challenge:

Canyon Ranch sought to extend its signature on-site wellness experiences to a digital platform. The existing service model relied heavily on in-person scheduling and guide support, creating friction for guests and limiting scalability.
‍Core Problem: Guests lacked a self-service option to explore and book experiences independently, resulting in increased call volume, lower ancillary spend, and operational inefficiencies.

🎯 Objective:

As Product Manager, I was responsible for defining the MVP strategy, aligning cross-functional stakeholders, and delivering a mobile-first application that simplified booking, increased guest engagement, and reduced reliance on manual support.

Project Goals & Assumptions

  1. Business Growth - Increased Ancillary Spend on Ranch:
    Drive additional guest spending by improving discoverability and ease of booking wellness services.
  2. Improve Customer Experience
    Empower guests with intuitive tools to manage their schedules independently.
  3. Reduce Support Overhead
    ‍    Lower call center volume by streamlining self-service options.
  4. Enhance Operational Efficiency
    ‍    Free up wellness staff to focus on high-touch, complex guest needs.

The Journey Begins

Phase 1: Discovery & Strategy

Objective: Map the guest journey and identify high-value opportunities for digital enablement.

Actions

  • Led cross-functional discovery workshops with business, tech, and operations.
  • Conducted stakeholder interviews to capture pain points and business constraints.

Outcome

  • Aligned on MVP focus areas including service scheduling, daily planning, and itinerary visibility.

Defining the Essentials

Phase 2: Crafting the MVP

Objective: Define and scope an MVP that balanced user value, technical feasibility, and business impact.

Actions

  • Developed a feature prioritization framework using MoSCoW and RICE scoring.
  • Collaborated with engineering and design to size effort and dependencies.

Outcomes

  • Created a phased roadmap with 3-month MVP delivery and a 6-month post-launch expansion plan.

Building the Dream

Phase 3: Prototyping and Testing

Objective: Validate critical assumptions around usability, adoption, and guest preferences.

Actions

  • Oversaw the development of clickable prototypes for high-priority flows.
  • Conducted moderated usability testing with 20+ guests (11 first-time, 9 returning).

Outcomes

  • Refined onboarding, scheduling, and itinerary flows to ensure clarity and engagement.
“ 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: Launch a functional MVP to validate product-market fit and drive early impact.

Actions

  • Led MVP development kickoff with global dev team (on-shore/off-shore model).
  • Managed agile ceremonies, sprint planning, and backlog grooming.

Challenges

  • Coordinated time zones and feedback loops across distributed teams.
  • Adjusted scope mid-sprint to address edge cases uncovered during 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.