CHALLENGE
"Create a non-native mobile application for merchants (contractors and renovation company heads) to go about their with the project from take-up to completion."
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How might we assist customers along the B2B2B chain with their on-the-go habits when it comes to renovation works?
ROLE
UX Research & Designer Intern @ Homeez
(Renovation-Technology Startup)
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Ethnographic Interviews (Miro)
Customer Insight & Ideation (Miro)
Service Blueprint (Draw.io)
Low & High Fidelity Designs (Figma)
Product/ Service Pitching
Context: Understanding the Problem
In my 3-month internship with Homeez, a renovation-technology startup, I undertook a pivotal project—redesigning their merchant panel. The aim was to craft an efficient non-native mobile application that would empower merchants, contractors, and consumers in the home renovation domain. This venture emphasized the significance of a holistic systems approach, intertwining stakeholder collaboration and seamless information flow.
Main Objective:
Our principal objective was to create a user-centric merchant panel that streamlined project management, communication, and performance tracking for merchants. Partnering with Homeez, a key player in the renovation sector, I delved into their ecosystem to reimagine the panel's design as well as its system of products.
Client Collaboration:
My role as a UX designer entailed close collaboration with Homeez's stakeholders - my fellow UX designer, Chief Technical Officer, Chief Financial Officer and clients - integrating their insights and requirements into the design process. This project was pivotal in redefining merchants' interactions, ultimately contributing to enhanced business operations and user satisfaction.
Impact: Bridging UX Enhancement and Business Success
The redesigned merchant panel brought tangible benefits to both users and the company. By enabling seamless project tracking, performance analytics, and multi-tiered communication, the panel empowered merchants to navigate their projects efficiently. Being largely a mobile-based design, this was produced to support on-the-go updates for both customers and contractors which provided more checkpoints along the otherwise long renovation process.
This product gave the business an edge in the industry, as traditional renovation companies paired clients to one project manager, who often only communicated with clients in the case of issues or hiccups.
Role & Team: A Collaborative Journey through Insights
Research Methods:
By employing diverse research methodologies such as user interviews and usability testing, I was better able to craft a working persona, empathy map and customer journey map to guide the designs of this merchant panel. From a group of 8 focus group discussions, insights moved from verbatim speech, to post-it notes, and lastly concise and thematic concerns. In particular, this took the form of consolidated customer journey maps, empathy maps and personae.
Considering it was a multi-stakeholder project, insight generation came in handy in drawing similarities in needs and pain points across users, to design products used during 2-way communication between them. One example of this would be a working checklist of deliverables - on the contractor's end to view the upcoming hacking, tiling and painting projects, and on the homeowner's end to asses if the project is on track.
Empathy Map, Customer Journey Map and Persona of 1 Stakeholder
*Content has been blurred due to company's intellectual property rights
From ideation to insight generation
*Content has been blurred due to company's intellectual property rights
Design Thinking Methodology & Interdisciplinary Experiences:
Following the design thinking process, I conceptualized, iterated, and refined the panel's design. The process included brainstorming diverse design concepts, creating wireframes that were low to high fidelity, and thereafter adapting the designs based on user feedback. Many versions grew from this, especially when taking into consideration, possible advertising spaces for the businesses to display sponsors, such as furnishing companies, on their page.
Throughout the project, I drew from interdisciplinary experiences, speaking with client to understand their pain points, discussing with management on the feasibility of designs and other UX designers to incorporate this new flow into the pre-existing UIs that we had. These engagements enriched my perspective and enabled a holistic approach to design.
Double diamond approach to curating a merchant panel
Method: Designing a Systems-Oriented Product
I employed a diverse array of research methods to uncover insights into merchants, contractors, and consumers. Specifically user interviews, usability testing were adopted to better comprehend user behaviors and refining design requirements. This "develop" stage of the process was important in helping me better understand how designs had to be desirable - for clients, feasible - in accordance to UX developer's capabilities, and lastly viable - being in line with management's concern for bottom line.
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Applying design thinking, I navigated a structured process—ideation, iteration, and refinement. By collaborating with stakeholders and fellow designers, I distilled diverse design concepts into a cohesive and intuitive merchant panel.
non-native mobile application that would empower merchants, contractors, and consumers in the home renovation domain. This venture emphasized the significance of a holistic systems approach, intertwining stakeholder collaboration and seamless information flow
Low fidelity design incorporating previous UIs, as driven by insights generated
Lesson learned: Balancing Complexity for Optimal Solutions
Growth Through Collaboration:
This journey illuminated the potency of collaborative design. Stakeholder insights played a pivotal role in shaping effective solutions. The interplay between various user needs and constraints underscored the importance of modular designs that cater to different user requirements.
Balancing Complexity:
Amidst the complexity of stakeholder dynamics, I learned that striking a balance between diverse user needs is crucial. This led to the creation of user-centric interfaces that catered to unique requirements, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction.
Challenges: Navigating Complexity
Multiple Actors:
One challenge surfaced was trying to assimilate all new information flows into a revised information channel. As we has never before had a merchant panel for contractors, homeowners, nor company administrators, it called for a restructuring of information flows. This meant that I had to consider not just designs, but also how information flowed rom one user to another. An example of this include how a homeowner looking to find a contractor, had to first put in a request, then be approved by Homeez's administrator, before a contractor decides to accept working with the homeowner.
Revised service blueprint with introduction of merchant panel
Balancing Complexity:
Amidst the complexity of stakeholder dynamics, I learned that striking a balance between function and feasibility. While there may be many customer pain points and gain points, it is important to prioritize work according to the limits of time and resources. Being a start-up, we only had 2 main UX designers and researchers producing this product among many others. It was a harsh reality knowing that not all need could be met, but fulfilling to know that a design could be functional and 75% operable within 1 month of development. It was refreshing to work in an environment that challenged time and outcome every day.
Conclusion: A Holistic Design Triumph
The merchant panel redesign stands as a testament to the transformative impact of systems-oriented UX design. Beyond crafting a user-friendly interface, the panel reshaped how merchants, contractors, and consumers collaborate, fostering enhanced project execution and mutual understanding.
Future Improvements:
As Homeez evolves, future recommendations include integrating real-time performance analytics and AI-generated insights. These additions would further elevate the user experience and amplify operational efficiency, solidifying the panel's role as a pivotal asset in the home renovation ecosystem.
As a "good-to-have", I believe reactive designs which respond to haptics such as switching to landscape mode with phone rotation, or double-tapping the screen to enlarge the view of the floorplan. These would maximize motions for users especially on devices with a smaller screen when on the move.
High fidelity mock-up of merchant panel