When most people think of UX, they picture slick interfaces and seamless in-app flows. But for last-mile delivery, the biggest UX challenges aren’t inside the app, they’re playing out in the real world, between drivers, customers, merchants, and a whole lot of unpredictable variables.
We sat down with Jacob Shapiro, our lead product designer, for a candid conversation on the hardest design problems no one talks about and how Burq tackles them. Spoiler: It’s not about making things “look nice.”
The Real World Is Your UX — Whether You Like It or Not
“The hardest challenges happen outside your app,” Jacob shared. “It’s not about how a user interacts with a screen, it’s about how they interact with another person while using your app.”
Take pickup and dropoff. On paper, it’s simple: a driver picks up a package and delivers it. In reality? That handoff is a mess of possible scenarios. Did the customer give the right address? Is the store actually ready with the order? Is there a parking spot within three blocks?
“You can’t control every real-world variable,” Jacob said, “but you can design your platform to make those moments easier and clearer for the people in them.”
Designing for Competing Needs (Without Making Everyone Hate You)
Drivers, dispatchers, customers, each has their own priorities and pain points. The challenge isn’t just designing separate tools for each, but finding where their needs overlap and building experiences that work for everyone, without compromise.
Case in point: Burq’s delivery tracking page. It gives end customers live updates and ETAs, while also letting merchants add their own branding, logos, and messaging. It’s not just functional, it’s intentional.
“This has to start with understanding the unique workflows, needs, and pain points of each type of user,” Jacob said. Once you have that, you can spot the overlaps and design accordingly.
“It lets end customers track their delivery, while also letting merchants customize branding via logos, graphics, and colors.” That’s how you meet different needs with a single, thoughtful experience.
The Tiny UX Change That Made a Big Impact
Burq once moved the merchant tipping option in the order creation flow. It seemed logical at the time but merchants pushed back.
“They needed info on the provider before deciding how to tip,” Jacob explained. “So we moved it back.”
Lesson? “Listen to your users. You might be designing a flow that makes sense on paper but doesn’t fit real-world workflows.”
Designing for What Happens Next
Even the best delivery operations run into unexpected issues, it’s just part of the job. What matters is how you design for those moments.
“At Burq, we monitor deliveries constantly, rerouting when needed and solving problems before they land on the merchant’s plate,” Jacob said. “They count on us for reliability without the added hassle.”
When a platform quietly takes care of hiccups behind the scenes, it means the merchant can stay focused on their business and that’s a user experience win.
The Hardest Thing to Design For? Transparency.
Designing for speed and reliability comes with its own challenges. But transparency? That’s in a league of its own.
“Transparency is the hardest because communicating transparently means that you understand your user, their day-to-day workflow, and the context in which they’re receiving information,” Jacob said.
It’s not enough to just share information, it's about knowing what your user needs to hear, when they need it, and how it fits into their world. And that’s a lot harder than it looks.
Why Most Automation Features Flop
Tech teams love building automation tools. The problem? Most users aren’t thinking like engineers.
“Most people don’t want to spend time setting up custom workflows,” Jacob explained. “They just want things to work.”
Look at iPhone Shortcuts. Great tool. Hardly anyone uses it.
Instead of throwing complex automation features at users, Jacob believes it’s better to do the heavy lifting for them, anticipate what they’ll need and surface it naturally.
Final Takeaway
Designing for last-mile delivery isn’t about perfecting the app. It’s about making the chaos of real-world interactions smoother, designing for the actual workflow of your users and doing it all in a way that makes the messy parts of delivery feel invisible.
Or, as Jacob put it: “If no one notices your UX, you’re probably doing it right.”