Product Comparison Feature

Findings

Anthesis needed a product comparison tool that could make Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data understandable for non-experts while still meeting the expectations of LCA specialists. Existing tools on the market were highly technical, relying on trellis charts and filters that confused many clients.

As the sole designer, I created and tested two design approaches:

• Expert-focused trellis charts with filters
• Simplified box charts with plain-language labels

Usability testing included three LCA experts and two non-expert clients. Results showed that while experts could navigate both formats, clients overwhelmingly preferred the box chart approach, finding it more accessible and less intimidating.

The final design reduced time to interpret results by 33% for non-experts, while maintaining enough depth for experts to drill into detail when needed. By balancing clarity with complexity, the platform opened up LCA insights to a wider audience and delivered on the business goal of creating a tool usable by both specialists and clients without LCA backgrounds.

Balancing Expert Depth with Client Simplicity

Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are complex by nature, and existing comparison tools in the market reflected this complexity. Most relied on trellis charts and advanced filters that were designed for experts familiar with technical terms and detailed impact categories.

However, Anthesis' clients often came to the company precisely because they could not use traditional LCA software. They needed results explained in clear, understandable terms, without layers of technical jargon.

This created a design challenge:

• Experts wanted advanced tools: Trellis charts with filters that could drill down into specific impact categories.
• Clients wanted clarity: Visualisations that helped them quickly understand environmental trade-offs without needing technical expertise.
• The business goal: Create a platform that was open to non-LCA experts while still credible enough for specialists.

The tension between these two audiences made it clear that a single design approach would not work. The solution required testing both expert-friendly and client-friendly options to find the right balance.

Understanding Both Audiences

To understand which approach would work for both audiences, I designed and tested two comparison formats:

• Trellis charts with expert filters: Designed for LCA specialists who wanted detailed, category-level analysis and the ability to filter comparisons down to specific impact areas.
• Box charts with simplified labels: Designed for non-experts who need a clearer, high-level comparison without technical jargon.

Testing Approach

I conducted usability testing with:

• Three LCA experts who regularly interpret detailed environmental data
• Two clients without LCA backgrounds who represent the typical end-user Anthesis wanted to reach

Key Findings

• Experts were able to use both formats, but found the trellis charts more aligned with their workflow
• Clients strongly preferred the box charts, reporting that the trellis charts felt overwhelming and full of unfamiliar terms
• Both groups agreed that the box chart design was the clearest overall, while still giving enough insight to make informed decisions

Client-First with Expert Depth

Based on testing results, I prioritised the box chart design while ensuring the system still provided enough depth for expert users. The approach focused on three core principles:

By combining a client-first visualisation with optional expert detail, the platform achieved the business goal of making LCA accessible to a wider audience while maintaining credibility with specialists.

Designed for Both Audiences

The final design balanced simplicity for clients with enough depth for expert users. Key screens included:

User Flow

The user journey was designed to guide users through a structured workflow from initial assessment selection through the complete product lifecycle analysis. This flow accommodated both quick comparisons and detailed lifecycle stage breakdowns.

Complete user flow for the LCA product comparison feature, from dashboard to detailed lifecycle analysis

LCA Dashboard

Goal: Provide an overview of all assessments in one place.

Solution: A card-based dashboard where each assessment showed a title, category, and quick visual identity.

Impact: Helped non-experts find and manage their assessments quickly without needing to navigate complex menus.

Dashboard view displaying all assessments in an organized card layout with visual categorization

Comparison Portfolio

Goal: Allow users to compare multiple products and generate shareable reports.

Solution: A guided form for selecting benchmarks and assessments, naming comparisons, and adding descriptions.

Impact: Created a structured workflow that reduced confusion and ensured results could be reused across projects.

Guided form for creating comparison portfolios with structured input fields and clear workflow

Product Comparison

Goal: Make environmental trade-offs easy to understand for clients without LCA expertise.

Solution: Box charts displayed product impacts across categories in a clear better–worse format, with high contrast colour coding and plain-language labels.

Impact: Reduced interpretation time by 33% for non-experts in testing.

Complete product comparison view with color-coded environmental impact indicators across multiple categories

The product comparison tool in use, demonstrating the clean interface in a real-world consulting scenario

Delivering Value to Both Audiences

The final design delivered clear improvements for both clients and experts while aligning with the business goal of making LCA accessible to a wider audience:

By prioritising box charts as the default and positioning expert tools as secondary, the design struck the balance needed to serve both groups effectively.

Key Takeaways

This project highlighted the challenge of designing for two very different audiences: technical experts and non-expert clients. A few key takeaways:

Overall, this project showed how thoughtful UX can make specialist insights accessible to a broader audience, helping Anthesis deliver value to clients who had struggled with traditional LCA software.