Quicker Redesign – Case Study

Brief

Enable appraisers to quickly record potential customer details and building data.

The Problem

With many potential leads, appraisers need an efficient way to monitor which leads are waiting for their response and which leads will bring in the most revenue. They don’t want a cluttered screen of leads from months ago, but those leads need to be easily accessible if some time later the lead decides to go ahead with the appraiser.

Appraisers are under a lot of pressure when inspecting a home. They need to quickly and accurately record data. And if the homeowner is present during the inspection, there is added pressure to avoid distractions from the homeowner and wrap up as quickly as possibly as possible.

Goals

  1. Easily add house and location data in whatever sequence is most appropriate for the current visitation (flexibility)
  2. Speed up data collection by minimizing typing
  3. Keep the interface clean by only displaying necessary fields

Design Process

  • Interviewed appraisers currently using the product
  • Shadowed appraisers as they used the product to record information about potential leads, properties to assess, and generate reports
  • Created personas
  • Identified motivations and pain points
  • Brainstormed various “How Might We” solutions
  • How Might We … sessions
  • Rapid sketching
  • Wireframing
  • Interactive Prototyping

Had the project not been halted due to Corona, this would have included having users perform test tasks, observing success rates, noting errors, and conducting follow-up interviews to gain additional insights for the next iteration

Target User

I both interviewed and observed appraisers who were already using the product in order to understand their needs and pain points.

User Pain Points

  • “When I get a call from a new lead, my ‘go to’ is to quickly write the details in a WhatsApp. I wish it was as easy using the app.”
  • “I have to jump around the page to fill out information about a room.”
  • “There’s too much scrolling to fill out the fields.”
  • “Why do I see the map feature where it isn’t helpful and not when I actually need it?”
  • “The ‘New Project’ button is very confusing: I am generating a new lead. I don’t start a new project until the lead has agreed to the job.”
  • “It’s confusing that some dropdown fields are auto-complete while others force me to scroll to select.”
  • “I hate having to take time to calculate the inspection date.”
  • “It breaks my flow when I end up on a new page when I click to see more details about a lead.”

Addressing the Issues

The original state of the app was the result of a programmer who bought a template to use for the site.

I used that layout as my starting point, but revamped almost every area in order to make it a friendlier experience for the user:
  • More space and an open feeling by increasing white space where possible and adding a minimum of lines to create natural divisions between sections
  • Updating the call to action button to reflect the most critical part of the workflow
  • Consolidating and rearranging the New Lead page to maximize speed of data entry
  • Restyling the project and contact details pages with overlays and expansion panels so that addition information appears with minimal scrolling or bringing the user to a different page
  • Styled a special entry field to allow calculating the inspection date, allowing the user to select from 3 different methods of calculation
  • Moving the map feature to where the user actually needed it in the workflow

Style Guide

Prototype Walkthrough

Let's Connect

Feel free to reach out if you want to collaborate, connect, or just have a chat.

nacherdesigns@gmail.com