Case Study
CounterWorks
Modernizing a point-of-sale experience for auto parts retailers.
Role: Lead Designer
Scope: End-to-end UX & UI
Collaborators: Product, Business, and Engineering
The Hook
CounterWorks was a point-of-sale system in use for more than 20 years. Over time, features were added, tools were bolted on, and workflows became increasingly hard to follow. The system still worked, but using it felt stressful, especially during busy hours.
Counter staff had to move fast. The software slowed them down.
This project focused on modernizing the experience without disrupting day-to-day operations and on making it easier for countermen to manage multiple customers simultaneously.
The Context
CounterWorks served as the core POS and inventory system for auto parts retailers. It handled customer lookups, vehicle data, parts searches, pricing, and checkout. As new technologies emerged, third-party tools were layered on top of the original system, but very little was ever removed.
The result was an interface packed with screens, options, and edge cases. New hires struggled to learn it. Experienced countermen relied on muscle memory and workarounds. Store managers handled support calls and addressed training gaps.
The challenge was not to build a shiny new system.
It was to understand how work actually happened at the counter and reduce friction where it mattered most.
The Problem (Reframed)
What users experienced
- Dense, hard-to-navigate screens.
- Limited training documentation.
- Constant context switching between customers, calls, and walk-ins.
What the system caused
- Only one customer lookup at a time.
- Multiple application windows open at once.
- Heavy reliance on ALT+TAB to stay oriented.
The assumption was that countermen just needed to work faster. In reality, the system forced them to juggle too much information in their heads at once.
" I have 5 windows open; which customer was in this window? "
The Design Question
How might we help counter staff manage multiple customers simultaneously without increasing cognitive load or slowing them down?
This question shifted the focus from speed to control, clarity, and confidence
The Investigation
I spent time observing countermen in-store and talking with them during real interactions. Phones rang. Customers waited. Orders changed mid-flow.
What I learned
- Users created their own workarounds to handle multiple customers.
- ALT+TAB was a core workflow, not an edge case (This blew my mind).
- Checkout felt longer than it needed to be because of screen hopping.
The issue was not effort. It was mental overhead.
The Turning Point
The biggest breakthrough came when I reframed the experience from multiple windows into a single workspace.
Instead of opening a new instance of the app for each customer, each customer had their own tab within a single window. Countermen could switch context instantly without losing their place.
This also made it possible to support multiple vehicles within a single customer tab, which matched how real orders and quotes actually worked.
Once everything lived in one place, the rest of the experience could be simplified.
The Solution
The final experience focused on clarity, calm, and forward momentum.
Key design decisions
- Tablet-first, web-based experience.
- One tab per customer within a single window.
- Multi-vehicle support inside each customer tab.
- Simplified parts lookup and checkout flow.
- Large tap targets and high-contrast text for accessibility.
- Familiar UI patterns to reduce learning effort.
Intentional restraint
- Rarely used features were de-emphasized instead of removed.
- Advanced actions were available, but not front and center.
- Screens showed only what was needed for the current task
Visual noise was minimized to help users stay oriented during high-volume periods.
The interface was built with Angular and integrated PrimeNG components to enable faster development, consistency, and long-term maintainability. The desktop application was built with Electron.
The Outcome
CounterWorks debuted at a trade show and quickly drew interest from retailers. It was later piloted in a live store before rolling out more broadly.
Impact signals
- Reduced reliance on workarounds like multiple open windows.
- Faster onboarding for new counter staff.
- Fewer support calls related to navigation and checkout.
- Improved confidence during peak customer traffic.
Most importantly, countermen felt more in control during peak hours.
Stores could spend more time helping customers and less time fighting the system.
Reflection
What worked
- Designing around real counter workflows rather than idealized flows.
- Progressive disclosure reduced confusion and mistakes.
What I would improve
- Expand role-based customization for managers versus counter staff.
- Introduce keyboard-first optimizations for power users earlier.
In Closing
This project reinforced a belief I carry into every enterprise product.
Good software should support the pace of real work, not compete with it.
The principles behind CounterWorks apply to any operational system in which people multitask under pressure. A clear structure, a visible state, and thoughtful restraint make complex work feel manageable.