Church leaders ordering Bible studies for groups struggled to determine which materials their group needed. Through iterative usability testing and guided ordering prototypes, this research identified a simplified product selection flow that improved clarity and reduced purchase errors for ministry staff.
Small group and Sunday school leaders often purchase Bible study materials for an entire group. But the product pages were designed primarily for individual purchases — not the complex, multi-format ordering decisions ministry staff face when buying for groups of 10, 25, or 50 people.
Leaders struggled to determine which materials were required versus optional, which formats participants needed, and how many copies to purchase. Without clear guidance, church administrators were forced to interpret multiple product options before completing an order — and many turned to customer support out of frustration.
This is the kind of friction that structured usability research is designed to surface and solve — especially for faith-based organizations whose buyers have unique purchasing workflows.
The research focused on validating guided ordering experiences that could help church and small group leaders quickly identify the correct materials for their group. Rather than a single large study, the research was structured as four iterative rounds — each study informing the next prototype.
Participants were recruited through UserTesting and screened for familiarity with Lifeway and recent online purchasing of Christian resources. Each study used an unmoderated prototype format on web and desktop, with 10 participants per round.
When ministry users selected the study format before seeing product options, comprehension of required materials improved significantly across all study variations.
Allowing church leaders to input group size before ordering — and receiving a recommended bundle — eliminated the most common point of confusion in the purchasing flow.
Ministry users consistently misidentified which products were required until explicit "required" and "optional" labels were added to the ordering experience.
Participants completed tasks faster and expressed greater purchase confidence as the guided ordering logic was progressively refined across all four studies.
The research produced actionable outcomes that directly informed product design decisions. This is the kind of end-to-end research Transformed Works delivers for faith-based and nonprofit organizations — structured, rigorous, and directly connected to real design decisions.
This research shifted internal conversations about how Bible study products should be presented online. Instead of treating product pages as individual product listings, the design approach began to consider the broader purchasing context of church leaders ordering materials for groups.
The work helped establish the need for more structured ordering guidance and informed future design exploration around guided purchasing experiences — moving the conversation from "product page" to "purchasing system" for ministry buyers.
Ready to bring this kind of research to your organization? Let's talk about what a study like this could look like for your team.
Validated ordering structures that reduced confusion and improved decision confidence for church and ministry group leaders — and changed how the product team thinks about group purchasing.