From Data to Design: Revolutionizing Threads & Beads

Overview

Threads & Beads (T&B) is a women's clothing boutique in Coimbatore, India, specializing in bespoke, made-to-order garments for women of all ages. To help T&B address the inefficiencies of manual record-keeping, my team and I developed a customized digital solution. This system not only streamlined their operational processes but also enhanced the customer experience by automating measurements and personalizing services.

Duration: 12 weeks

Team Size: 4 people

My Role in the project:

Problem Identification
System Design
Mockups

THE PROBLEM

The Obstacles in T&B’s Journey to Consistency

Threads & Beads (T&B) faces several challenges due to its manual, paper-based processes:

Data Inconsistency: Customer data, including body measurements and delivery dates, is manually recorded, often resulting in misplaced or inaccurate information.

Measurement Errors: Designers calculate garment measurements by instinct as sometimes they do not understand the handwriting, leading to frequent miscalculations and inconsistencies in production.

Operational Overload: Tracking delivery dates and managing ongoing projects manually is overwhelming, causing delays and reduced efficiency.

These challenges lead to rework, lower production volume, and decreased customer satisfaction.

USER INTERVIEWS

Talking to the People Behind T&B

We conducted interviews to understand the business perspectives and gather key information for this project. The interviews involved the founder, designer, and seamster of T&B.

Summarizing the insights gained from the user-interviews:

Inefficiencies in Customer Management: The onboarding process for new customers is lengthy, requiring manual data entry and multiple interactions.
Design and Communication Gaps: The design process lacks standardization—design ideas and sketches are communicated verbally or via rough sketches, leading to misinterpretations.
Inconsistencies in Measurement and Production: Fitting trials are frequent, resulting in multiple iterations, which delay deliveries and impact production efficiency.

Centralized Digital Platform

Develop a digital system to store customer records efficiently.

Digitization of Existing Records

Convert all paper-based customer records into a digital format.

Automated Measurement Calculations

Automate garment measurement calculations using current and historical customer data.

Predictive Sizing for Improved Fit

Leverage historical data to predict customer measurements for better initial fittings.

VALUES

Business Values Delivered by the New System

The implementation of this new system will result in the following benefits for T&B.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

Reduce rework efforts—currently 30% of production time—by minimizing manual measurement errors.
Decrease fabric waste—currently at 15%—by ensuring accurate, automated calculations.

Higher Customer Satisfaction

Reduce customer churn, which currently stands at 15% due to major rework caused by miscalculations.

Streamlined Processes

Digitize customer records for more efficient management and eliminate the risk of lost data.

SOLUTION

Proposed System Overview

We designed a customized system with a centralized database tailored for T&B. This solution handles customer orders, automates measurement calculations, manages garment design details, and prepares invoices—all accessible only to T&B employees. The system aims to enhance customer satisfaction and boost revenue by streamlining operations and reducing inconsistencies.

REQUIREMENTS

Business Requirements for Streamlined Operations

MOCKUPS

Dashboard

Overall view of critical stats such as Income, Expenses, and Orders, helping users keep track of T&B’s daily activities.

Measurement Log Screen

The measurement log screen is the input screen where the user adds the customer’s body measurements - which are manually taken by the designer. This page is navigated through the customer profile menu item present in the list of menus on the left side.

Measurement Calculation Screen

The measurement calculation screen is the output of the previous screen, i.e., the Measurement Log. Here, the calculated measurements are displayed on the screen; the calculation happens in the backend. The designer or founder can take a printout of the calculated measurements, design references, and notes, which will be handed over to the semester.

Learnings

Designing T&B from start to finish was such a positive learning experience. Starting from the requirement gathering to high-fidelity mockups taught me so much about the user-centered design process. A concrete understanding of how users think and feel is essential to making the right decisions.