When the Side-Hustle Becomes The Hustle

When JOOR handed me a navigation rebuild, I uncovered a bigger problem — a release process with no way to catch issues before they hit every customer at once. I turned a scoped technical task into a fix for that instead. Two beta rounds, under 0.25% incident rates, and what Support called …”the quietest release in JOOR's history.”

Resources were tight when I stepped into a high-stakes initiative as the project lead and IC, with no project manager. The initiative stemmed from tech debt: migrating and sunsetting outdated content and code on jooraccess.com, creating an opportunity to modernize both the platform's backend infrastructure and user experience.

The design focus was revamping the global navigation system to accommodate the restructuring—a seemingly straightforward task complicated by localization, deployment challenges, and the lack of systems and appetite to test the release. I was very concerned about the impact on our customers, product support, and our brand reputation.

While the navigation redesign itself was simple, the real challenge lay in delivering this update to our diverse, multilingual, global user base in a way that minimized disruption and maximized user satisfaction. JOOR's outdated beta testing process forced features on users without consent, leading to frequent complaints, churn risk, and overburdened support teams. Recognizing this issue, I spearheaded the development of a feature that let users choose when and how they engaged with beta releases (The Opt-in/Opt-out Tool).

By implementing this tool, we not only streamlined the rollout of the new navigation but also reduced support workload, improved user sentiment, and restored internal trust across the organization. The project ultimately transformed our approach to beta testing and became a foundational element of JOOR's release strategy.

“The Opt-in/Opt-out Tool is indispensable - a foundational part of how we do business now. I don’t know how we worked without it in the past.”

Christi Wruck, SVP of Product at JOOR

Background

JOOR, a global wholesale marketplace SaaS platform, faced significant challenges with product releases. Our users, predominantly in the fashion industry, operate within "Market" periods for eight months a year—critical sales periods where disruptions to new functionality can have severe consequences. Previous releases, like the Order Review page redesign, resulted in over 400 Tier 1 support incidents within five months of the beta launch. This created operational fatigue for support teams and eroded cross-functional trust.

When I took on the challenge of launching a redesigned navigation bar. My goals were to:

  • Rebuild trust with our customers and internal teams.

  • Minimize disruptions during beta testing.

  • Increase feedback and satisfaction through user-driven participation.

The Problem

Traditionally, we released a beta experience to a company account via a feature flag without prior communication. This drove high support volumes and individual user opt-out requests. There was no formal process in place to validate the UX before or after the release.

I needed a solution that would target the right users for beta participation, let users opt out if it interrupted their workflow, and gather actionable feedback for iterative updates, ultimately reducing Support volume.

Approach

  1. Stakeholder Alignment

    • Conducted usability testing with internal teams; using the new UX gave them the confidence to go forward with the release.

    • Collaborated with customer and product support teams to prioritize beta release strategies and release timing.

  2. User Selection Strategy

    • Filtered beta participants based on usage behavior, language settings, and churn risk.

    • Prioritized diverse groups, especially non-English users, to test translations and UX across demographics.

  3. Beta Testing Process

    • Beta Group 1 (4,125 users): Focused on Pro Brands during a quiet period (Dec 4–Jan 1).

      • Results: 48.6% participation, five incidents reported (0.24% issue rate)

    • Beta Group 2 (4,553 users): Expanded group to refine features based on initial feedback.

      • Results: 48.6% participation, three incidents reported (0.17% issue rate).

  4. Opt-in/Opt-out Tool Implementation

    • Designed and implemented the widget to allow users to turn new features on or off, starting with the new global navigation

    • Incorporated a sentiment feedback mechanism to capture user opinions.

*First quote translation: “It's often a good sign when a new feature or update seems more intuitive or efficient at first glance!”

Results

  1. Quantitative Metrics

    • Participation Rates: The average participation rate across beta groups was 48.6% before the Opt-in/Opt-out tool. The average participation rate with the tool is 54%.

    • navBar incident Rates: Reduced to <0.25% (5 incidents per group). 

  2. Feedback Submission: Sentiment survey responses increased significantly with the Opt-in/Opt-out tool. (From 0 to 77)

  3. Sentiment Feedback

    • User responses varied, with highlights including:

      • Positive: "Great work! So much easier to use."

      • Negative: "Not user-friendly—too disruptive."

    • Poll Data: 31 users rated the new navigation “Great,” while 3 rated it “Horrible.”

  4. Operational Efficiency

    • The support team workload was reduced by eliminating manual opt-out requests.

    • The team immediately resolved a critical internal menu issue during beta.

  5. Stakeholder Satisfaction

    • Support leaders deemed the navigation release “...the quietest in JOOR’s history.”

Key Innovations

  1. Opt-in/Opt-out Tool: Enabled user autonomy and reduced operational strain.

  2. Data-Driven Design: Leveraged behavioral data to target the right beta participants.

  3. Cross-functional collaboration: Built trust by addressing stakeholder concerns early.

Lessons Learned

  1. Start Small: Iterative testing with segmented user groups ensures smoother rollouts.

  2. Empower Users: Allowing users to control their beta participation builds goodwill.

  3. Centralize Feedback: Integrating sentiment tools directly drives higher response rates.

Next Steps

  • Expand the Opt-in/Opt-out tool for all future feature launches.

  • Refine sentiment collection to include detailed qualitative responses.

  • Continue stakeholder engagement to improve internal processes.