Content
Project Overview
1. Understanding the user
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User Research
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Personas
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Problem Statement
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User Journey Map
2. Design
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Paper Wireframes
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Digital Wireframes
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Low-Fidelity Prototype
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Usability Studies
3. Refining a Design
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Mock Up
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High-Fidelity Prototype
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Accessibility
4. Going Forward
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Takeaways
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Next Steps
The Product
Home Marketing Group is an online hub for property professionals offering a wide range of marketing services to architects, property professionals and estate agents.
The Problem
Estate agents and property professionals need a one-stop shop to save time and cost when marketing properties.
Responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wire framing, low- and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs. Translating the design to a website.
The Goal
Design an app and website that improves marketing assets for estate agents and property professionals.
2. Understanding the User
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User Research
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Personas
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Problem Statement
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User Journey Maps
User Research: Summary
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the user needs.
The primary user group identified through research was estate agents and property professionals.
Research revealed that cost of services and turn around time is critical.
Persona : Andrew
Andrew is an estate agent based in Stoke on Trent with over 15 years of experience. Andrew is extremely busy day-to-day, and marketing properties is a critical, yet time consuming, part of his role. Outside of work, Andrew is a distance runner and father of three.
Age : 38
Education : BSc computer science
Home Town: Burton on Trent, UK
Family: Parent
Occupation: Estate Agent
“The UK Property market is booming; we need advanced tools to market effectively” Andrew Sharpe
Problem statement:
Andrew is a busy estate agent who needs a better marketing solution for his listings to improve sales, save time and reduce costs.
Goals:
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More efficient post production service.
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Reduce costs.
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A trusted provider.
Frustration:
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Slow turn around time.
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High cost of service.
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Poor customer service.
User Journey Map
Mapping Andrew’s journey showed the positive impact using Home Marketing Group offers to estate agents.
3. Starting the Design
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Paper Wireframes
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Digital Wireframes
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Low-Fidelity Prototype
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Usability Studies
Paper Wireframes
Drafting iterations of each screen on paper ensured that subsequent digital wireframes address user pain points.
The home screen prioritises a user dashboard, simplifying the order process and saving time with a shorter user journey.
User Research: Pain Points
Time
Estate agents are extremely busy, often multi-tasking with limited time.
Process
Delays in listing properties negatively impacts business revenue.
Support
Suppliers work limited hours, causing delays.
Financial
Cost of services reduces profitability.
Digital Wireframes
As the initial design phase continued, I based screen designs on information from user research.
Upload bar showing file names, file size and upload progress.
Step-by-step process.
Scroll to keep everything in one page.
Digital Wireframes
Uploading files is an important aspect of this design; a clear and simple approach ensures clients in different age groups can use the product.
A simple design and step-by-step process provides accessibility for all ages.
Easy access to the
Photo library, capturing a new photo or choosing a file from an external drive.
Usability Study: Findings
Round 1 Findings
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Users wanted access to a gallery of completed jobs.
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Access to invoices and user profile.
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Sharing options to social media.
Round 2 Findings
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Delivery progress and updates with email notifications.
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Greater customisation of each service.
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Live chat.
4. Refining the Design
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Mock Up
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High-Fidelity Prototype
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Accessibility
Mockups
Early designs allowed limited customisation; following usability studies, I added indicators to show upload progress.
I also revised the design so users can see file numbers, file size and an animated gif while uploading.
The second usability study revealed frustration with the checkout flow.
To streamline this flow, I added a cart page with summary details of each individual file.
I also added the option of deleting an item from the cart.
Accessibility Considerations
To help users better understand each service, I used detailed graphics, showing before and after images.
Provided access
to visually impaired users by adding alt text to images for screen readers.
Used icons to
facilitate easier
navigation.
5. Going Forward
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Takeaways
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Next Steps
Takeaways
Impact:
The app provides a simple step-by-step process to complete an order. This ensures users with different technical capabilities can use the app.
A quote from peer feedback: "The app saves a lot of time for estate agents taking pictures on site, allowing them to upload photos for editing remotely."
What I learned:
While designing the Home Marketing Group app, I realised the initial stage of a design is just a starting point. Each usability study demonstrated the importance of implementing user feedback.
Next steps
Conduct further usability studies to ensure all pain points are identified and addressed.
Conduct additional user research, defining amendment or addition of functionality.
Deeper research into user interface and accessibility considerations.